Shows Like The Middle

Looking for shows like The Middle? Here are 10 sitcoms with the same relatable family chaos. We picked each title based on shared tone, themes, and emotional feel.

1. 

   1. Malcolm in the Middle

   2000Comedy

   Malcolm in the Middle follows a gifted kid stuck in a chaotic, financially stretched family with a fierce mother, a hapless father, and troublemaking brothers. It is the clearest ancestor of The Middle, with its unfiltered look at a struggling working-class household and a frazzled but loving mom. It is louder and more anarchic, shot single-camera with Malcolm talking to the audience, and its humor is more manic and slapstick.

   Where to watch Malcolm in the Middle
2. 

   2. Modern Family

   2009Comedy

   Modern Family follows three related households in Los Angeles, from a traditional suburban family to a blended family and a gay couple raising a daughter, in a mockumentary format. It aired alongside The Middle on ABC and shares its warm, kid-focused family comedy. The families here are mostly well-off, though, so it lacks The Middle's money worries, and its larger ensemble gives it a busier, faster rhythm.

   Where to watch Modern Family
3. 

   3. The Goldbergs

   2013Comedy

   The Goldbergs follows a family in the 1980s through the eyes of the youngest son, who films everything, with an overbearing, loving mother at the center. Like The Middle, it is an ABC sitcom about a noisy, imperfect family and a mom who drives every storyline. Its period setting and nostalgia give it a different spin, with 80s pop culture references taking the place of The Middle's small-town Indiana texture.

   Where to watch The Goldbergs
4. 

   4. Raising Hope

   2010Comedy

   Raising Hope follows a young man in a working-class family who unexpectedly becomes a single father and raises his daughter with help from his eccentric relatives. It is close to The Middle in its affection for a struggling, unpolished family making do with very little. It is quirkier and more absurd, with odder characters and stranger situations, but it has the same underdog warmth at its core.

   Where to watch Raising Hope
5. 

   5. Mom

   2013Comedy

   Mom follows a newly sober single mother, played by Anna Faris, who tries to rebuild her life and her relationship with her equally troubled mother, played by Allison Janney. It shares The Middle's honesty about money trouble and family dysfunction played for laughs. It goes to much darker places, dealing with addiction, recovery, and loss, and it is a multi-camera show with a studio audience, so it plays differently.

   Where to watch Mom
6. 

   6. Fresh Off the Boat

   2015Comedy

   Fresh Off the Boat follows a Taiwanese-American family that moves from Washington, D.C., to suburban Orlando in the 1990s to open a steakhouse. Its focus on a family working hard to get by, and a mom who rules the household, gives it plenty in common with The Middle. Culture and identity drive many of its stories, along with 90s hip-hop nostalgia, which makes it feel distinct from the Hecks' Midwest routine.

   Where to watch Fresh Off the Boat
7. 

   7. Last Man Standing

   2011Comedy

   Last Man Standing stars Tim Allen as a conservative father and sporting goods executive in Denver who feels outnumbered in a house full of women, including his three daughters. It shares The Middle's down-to-earth, middle-American family comedy, and it also began on ABC. Its humor revolves around its lead's opinions and generational clashes, and it is a traditional multi-camera sitcom, so it feels more old-fashioned.

   Where to watch Last Man Standing
8. 

   8. King of Queens

   1998Comedy

   King of Queens follows a delivery driver and his wife living in Queens, whose cranky father lives in their basement. It shares The Middle's working-class sensibility and its humor about everyday money pressures and family irritations. There are no kids at the center, though; it is a marriage comedy built on Kevin James and Leah Remini's sparring, with Jerry Stiller as the scene-stealing father.

   Where to watch King of Queens
9. 

   9. Everybody Loves Raymond

   1996Comedy

   Everybody Loves Raymond follows sportswriter Ray Barone, his wife Debra, and their kids, whose lives are constantly invaded by his meddling parents and brother across the street. Patricia Heaton, who later led The Middle, plays Debra, and both shows mine everyday family frustrations for comedy. This one is focused on the adults and the in-laws more than the kids, and it is a classic multi-camera sitcom with a studio audience.

   Where to watch Everybody Loves Raymond
10. 

    10. Home Improvement

    1991Comedy

    Home Improvement stars Tim Allen as the accident-prone host of a home-repair TV show, balancing his work with life as a husband and father of three boys in suburban Detroit. It is a classic ABC family sitcom with the same Midwestern setting and warmth as The Middle. It is more of a 90s star vehicle, with plenty of physical comedy, and its family is comfortable rather than struggling.

    Where to watch Home Improvement