Patricia Heaton is well-known among television viewers. She co-starred in the hit series Everybody Loves Raymond, with Ray Romano from 1996 – 2005. Last season she co-starred with Kelsey Grammer in the short-lived series Back to You. Now she brings her comic abilities to another sitcom revolving around family life.
In The Middle, Heaton plays Frankie Heck, a woman just trying to get through each day with her husband (Neil Flynn) and her three children. She is a middle-aged woman living a middle-class life in the middle of the country. She works in the last surviving car dealership in her town, and her husband is the manager of the local quarry.
When Patricia Heaton spoke to the Television Critics Association to present her new sitcom, she was clearly excited about the possibilities of the show.
Once again Heaton plays a mother. In real life she has four children, ages ten, twelve, fourteen, and sixteen. Her on-screen character is a bit frazzled juggling her work and kids and home life.
Patricia Heaton Can Relate to Her New Character
Heaton said she feels comfortable with her new character of Frankie Heck. “I relate to every single thing. I grew up in Ohio, and since I didn't really get a regular start in this industry until much later in life, I feel the Ohio roots, that Midwestern roots are still really within me, and I feel that's where I'm most comfortable. So this is a very comfortable character for me to be in. Everything that the [writers] have written is just so [wonderful]. We just talk about all of the similarities that we have.”
Interestingly, Patricia Heaton has played characters from the Midwest in her series’. “I had an acting teacher once that [told me], ‘If you don't get rid of that Cleveland accent, you will never work.’ And that's all I've played are people from the Midwest. So it actually has worked for me,” she told the journalists.
“We have a scene in here where Frankie throws some frozen pancakes in the microwave and then calls everybody down for breakfast,” Patricia said. “I don't do it so much anymore, but when the kids were little and I was working a lot, that was totally me, although we did, like toaster waffles more.” So it is true that art imitates life; at least in sitcoms.
According to Heaton, Frankie is the typical worming mother. “Moms [feel] harassed in having to do everything and do everything really quickly and always feeling inadequate because everything you see on TV, in the magazines, is how you are supposed to prepare everything, and it's supposed to be fresh and organic, and eco-friendly and all of this kind of stuff. You just don't have time for it, and you are exhausted, especially when Frankie looks at her driver's license and sees the change. I mean, it's exactly what we all go through. And there's nothing on right now [on TV] that really deals with Midwestern people and [their] struggle [with] the economy, but in a funny way and in a celebratory way. So I'm so excited to be a part of it.”
The Middle also stars Charlie McDermott, Eden Shur, Atticus Shaffer, and Chris Kattan. The Middle premiers Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 8:30 PM ET/PT on ABC.
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