I’ve Seen the Ill-Fated Middle Spinoff Centered on Sue Heck — and I Have a Lot of Thoughts

Nine seasons of The Middle taught me to never underestimate Sue Heck, yet as far as I can tell, that’s precisely what ABC did when they chose to pass on 2018’s Sue Sue in the City , a charming spinoff teeming with potential.

The Middle’ s Eden Sher and Brock Ciarlelli Recap Pilot of Cancelled Sue Heck Spinoff, Share Never-Before-Seen Photos — Watch

Six years after ABC nixed the Eden Sher-led offshoot, I managed to get my hands on a copy, and here’s what I’ll say: While it isn’t as strong an introduction as 2009’s The Middle — and lest we forget: there was a previous version of The Middle with Ricki Lake that was later recast and retooled — there was a good show here, with potential to become a very good show had it been given 13 episodes to find its footing and flesh out its supporting characters a bit more.

The discarded pilot picks up two years after Sue’s college graduation — so, roughly three years after the events of The Middle’ s 2018 series finale . Sue is living at home, working at a quaint bed-and-breakfast in Orson, and waiting to follow her future husband/doctor-in-training Sean Donahue to Lincoln, Neb., where he is set to complete his residency. Then, out of the blue, Sue receives an email from the general manager of Chicago’s Hotel Seville (sounds fancy, right?) who offers her an interview for the assistant manager position.

In that moment — and inspired by the motivational posters that hang on her bedroom wall — Sue makes the rash decision to break things off with Sean (for now) and blaze her own path in the Windy City. Alas, upon her arrival, Mike and Frankie’s daughter discovers that A) the once-illustrious inn is now a run-down dump, and B) the GM cannot be bothered to meet with her. Only later does she find out that the offer letter was sent a full two years ago, and the Hecks’ pesky Wi-Fi is to blame for its improbably late delivery.

Sue, of course, is nothing if not determined. She returns to the Seville, day after day, where she comes across a cast of capital-C Characters — including chef Remi ( Creamerie’ s Kimberley Crossman), bartender Hudson ( Saturday Night Live’ s Finesse Mitchell) and bellhop Otis ( Unstable’ s Aaron Branch) — and eventually meets with the owner, Nick ( Silicon Valley’ s Chris Diamantopoulos), who is looking to sell. She convinces him that his hotel is worth salvaging; it just needs a little love. It’s a particularly great scene for Sher, who gets to take stock of how often her alter ego has been overlooked and how it has made Sue fight twice as hard for the things she wants. “Everything I have ever gotten in my life has started with a ‘no,’ so no isn’t really the end for me. It’s actually kind of the beginning,” Sue explains. “When I hear ‘no,’ my brain replaces the N with a G and I just start fighting .”

The Middle Series Finale Recap: Do the Hecks Live Happily Ever After?

Because Nick has more money than God, he decides to take a chance on Sue. He tells her that she has six months to turn the ship around; if she doesn’t succeed, he’ll cut his losses. Suddenly, Sue finds herself under immense pressure. She begins to worry that she’s made a huge mistake uprooting her life. And when she’s at her absolute lowest point, perched on a city curb, a yellow taxi pulls up and out comes Brad. Surprise! Inspired by Sue’s big move, the former theater kid has decided to make a go at it as a working actor in Chi-town.

At one point, Brad tries to cheer Sue up by jumping onto the hood of his cab, where he attempts to launch into a musical number. The driver then puts his foot on the gas and insists that Brad get down. It’s easily the funniest moment of the episode — and as I watch it, I realize just how happy I am to have this best-friend duo back on my screen. Unfortunately, this is also where their story ends. As Sher and Brock Ciarlelli say on the debut episode of their Middling podcast , the shocking call from ABC came on Thanksgiving Eve 2018. Sue Sue in the City would not be moving forward.

Having now seen the pilot, I can say that this show had so much going for it. Namely, I was eager to see Sue and Brad embark upon this next chapter of their lives together. If anything, it might have been a mistake to wait until the 18-minute mark to reintroduce Ciarlelli’s character; bringing Brad in sooner might have shown ABC executives more of the show they would have seen going forward. On the plus side, I quite liked the idea of hotel owner Nick setting sky-high expectations for Sue because he’s one of the first people to see her true potential. Lastly, as a longtime Middle fan, it would have been fun to see Sue branch out on her own before settling down with Sean. So much of The Middle’ s final season was about whether she would wind up with the boy next door; it would have been a wholly new experience watching Sue navigate adulthood as a single woman in a new city, away from her family, before she inevitably settles down. That would have made for a delightful show had ABC given the greenlight to Sue Sue in the City .

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