<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 8 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 23 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> October 11, 2016 (2016 - 10 - 11) </Td> <Td> May 16, 2017 (2017 - 05 - 16) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> 9 </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> 24 </Td> <Td_colspan="1"> October 3, 2017 (2017 - 10 - 03) </Td> <Td> TBA </Td> </Tr> <P> The series features Frances "Frankie" Heck (Patricia Heaton), a middle class, middle - aged, Midwestern woman and her husband Mike (Neil Flynn), who reside in the small fictional town of Orson, Indiana based on the real town of Jasper, Indiana . They are the parents of three children, Axl (Charlie McDermott), Sue (Eden Sher), and Brick (Atticus Shaffer). </P> <P> The series is narrated by Frankie, initially an under - performing salesperson at a used - car dealership and later a dental assistant . Her stoic husband Mike manages a local quarry and serves as a stabilizing influence in the family, though Frankie complains about his lack of affection at times . The kids are quite different from one another: oldest son Axl, a popular but lazy teenager, does well in sports but not in academics; daughter Sue is an enthusiastic young teen but chronically unsuccessful and socially awkward; and youngest son Brick is an intelligent but introverted compulsive reader with odd behavioral traits . </P>

Where does the show the middle take place