ABC's The Middle is something of a middle child itself with its simple storylines and less than wacky but still pretty wacky leading family, the Hecks. The network likes them so much that the show has been renewed ahead of the other comedies that air on the same channel. Deadline reports that season 9 of the show will air at the same time next year.

The Middle began in 2009 a week after Modern Family. The two aired back to back before ABC moved The Middle to Tuesdays so that it could lead its own night of comedy. Last week, we released a video examining the history behind ABC's current crop of comedy shows. Check it out below.