Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
10 questions No timer
60 free The Middle trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
54 free The Middle trivia questions with answers. The Middle ran nine seasons on ABC without ever winning the awards it deserved, and this quiz is for the people who watched every one of its 215 episodes. It covers the Heck family of Orson, Indiana: Frankie's jobs at Ehlert Motors and the dentist's office, Mike's quarry, Axl's girlfriends, Sue's Wrestlerettes and her Leap Day birthday, Brick's whisper and his font obsession, plus the neighbours, the Glossners, Reverend Tim-Tom and the flash-forward finale. Easy questions ask which state the show is set in and who plays Frankie; harder ones want the working title of the scrapped Sue spin-off, the most-watched episode, and which Van Dyke played Frankie's dad. Guest-star questions cover Brooke Shields, Norm Macdonald, Ray Romano and more. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the series, its characters and its cast, and each question shows its source once you have answered.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which US state is the fictional town of Orson, home of the Heck family?
Indiana
Orson is based on the real town of Jasper; the setting was renamed on the advice of the show's lawyers.
Q 02Which network aired The Middle for its entire run?
ABC
It ran nine seasons, from September 2009 to May 2018, and was picked up for a full first season after only two episodes had aired.
Q 03Who plays Frankie Heck, the mother who narrates every episode?
Patricia Heaton
Before The Middle she won two Emmys on Everybody Loves Raymond.
Q 04Neil Flynn, who plays Mike Heck, was previously best known as which Scrubs character?
The Janitor
He auditioned for Dr. Cox and was only supposed to appear in the Scrubs pilot; he ended up in eight seasons.
Q 05What is Mike Heck's job?
Manager of a limestone quarry
He hits his 25-year anniversary at the quarry in season 9's 'The Crying Game' and is promoted to regional manager.
Q 06Where does Frankie work when the series begins?
Ehlert Motors
She loses the job in season 4 and retrains as a dental assistant, the job she keeps for the rest of the show.
Q 07What is the name of the Hecks' oldest child, the lazy, popular jock?
Axl
He is presumed to be named after Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose and plays electric guitar.
Q 08Why are Sue Heck's first and middle names both 'Sue'?
A mistake on her birth certificate
Her tell when lying is ending sentences with 'and so on, and so forth, and what have you'.
Q 09What is Brick Heck's middle name?
Ishmail
A fitting name for the family's compulsive reader, who once called Diary of a Wimpy Kid 'the book that changed my life'.
Q 10Brick's habit of repeating words from his own sentences in a whisper is a form of what?
Palilalia
He also whispers 'I'm lying' after a fib, though by season 6 he claims he farts instead.
Q 11Which fictional book series is Brick obsessed with?
Planet Nowhere
It exists only in the show, unlike his other favourite, the very real Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
Q 12What happened to Brick shortly after he was born?
Switched with another baby
Mike was watching a football game and took home the wrong baby; the Hecks meet the other child, Blake Ferguson, in season 8.
Q 13Which of the Heck kids was born on Leap Day?
Sue
The season 3 episode 'Leap Year' reveals it, which fits a girl who is perpetually overlooked.
Q 21Which 30 Rock actor plays Dr. Ted Goodwin, the dentist who hires Frankie?
Jack McBrayer
His practice is bought out by the chain Smile Sensations in season 7, to Frankie's annoyance.
Q 22Which supermodel and actress plays the Hecks' rough neighbour Rita Glossner?
Brooke Shields
Rita once calls Frankie a 'one-percenter'; the Glossners are the only family on the block worse off than the Hecks.
Q 23Nancy Donahue's son Sean, Axl's best friend, marries which character in the finale flash-forward?
Sue
Reverend Tim-Tom officiates after the couple break up and reunite a couple of times.
Q 14What is the name of the school cheer squad Sue joins in season 3?
The Wrestlerettes
Her fellow squad members include ultra-religious Ruth and troublemaker Becky.
Q 15What is Sue's tell when she is lying?
She adds 'and so on, and so forth'
That whispered 'I'm lying' belongs to her little brother Brick.
Q 16Which website does Sue constantly consult for life advice?
kickingitteenstyle.com
Once she is at college, she graduates to kickingitcollegestyle.com.
Q 17What is Mike Heck's favourite film, the one Frankie pretended to like on their second date?
Reservoir Dogs
His other great passion is watching the Indianapolis Colts, ideally in a Super Bowl.
Q 18What does the Heck family always forget when they set off on a trip?
The blue bag of food
They leave it on the roadside one last time in the series finale as they head for Denver.
Q 19Which comedian played Mike's unreliable brother Rusty Heck?
Norm Macdonald
The season 3 finale reveals Rusty's real first name is Orville.
Q 20Chris Kattan played Frankie's lonely co-worker at the car dealership. What was his name?
Bob Weaver
He was a main-credit character for the first two seasons before Frankie lost her job and his role shrank.
Q 24Who does Axl end up marrying, according to the series-finale flash-forward?
Lexie
They have three sons who behave exactly as he did, which Frankie clearly regards as justice.
Q 25In season 8, Axl secretly marries a sweet but dim girlfriend, mainly to defy his parents. What is her name?
April
Mike calls her 'dumb as a box of hammers'; the marriage is annulled once both sets of parents find out.
Q 26Which pair of Axl's girlfriends were inseparable cheerleaders who dated him 'as one'?
Courtney and Debbie
He guessed Courtney was the real girlfriend and kissed her; both slapped him and dumped him.
Q 27Which actor played Sue's friend Brad Bottig on The Middle and later co-hosted a rewatch podcast with Eden Sher?
Brock Ciarlelli
The podcast, Middling, launched in July 2024 and works through the show episode by episode.
Q 28What is the name of the baked-potato fast-food restaurant where Sue works from season 5?
Spudsy's
Axl briefly works there too in season 9, along with a stint as a school bus driver.
Q 29Brick's girlfriend Cindy always wears what?
A safari hat
She finds Brick's missing shoe when she first appears, a heavy hint that her name nods to Cinderella. Her favourite food is shrimp.
Q 30Which youth minister at the Hecks' church, adored by Sue, turns everything into a song?
Reverend Tim-Tom
He gets a girlfriend, Reverend Tammy (Casey Wilson), in season 5, and Sue takes a while to warm to her.