Ok, so I know we have a lot of family comedies, new and old. We probably won’t need many more. But one worth saving is The Middle. It’s as warm and hearty as a winter stew, and you don’t have to be married with kids to appreciate it. At first it reminded me of Malcolm in the Middle, but after watching a few episodes it came true and felt like a whole show. Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton play Mike and Frankie Heck, a married couple living in a small Indiana town with their three children. You’ll recognize Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond, but don’t worry, he’s a whole new character now. Flynn is easily separated from his role as a janitor at Scrubs, so he doesn’t fit in here. Instead, what we get is an endearing sitcom narrated by Frankie, as she recounts all the mishaps of her day, whether they’re at work or caused by the kids, and how in the end she’s glad to come home with the brood.

The eldest son is Axl, a 15-year-old teenager, full of apathy and sarcasm. Sue is 13 and dedicated to trying things despite the fact that she never gets anywhere (there’s a life lesson in there somewhere), while remaining optimistic and undeterred. The youngest is Brick (Frankie was hoping to give him a cool name that would make him a cool kid, not so much), socially inept but disconcertingly intelligent. Brick is played by Atticus Shaffer, who you might recognize from The Unborn (if you managed to sit down), and he’s an excellent child actor. Every kid offers a different kind of fun: Axl is lazy, Sue is silly, Brick whispers to himself. In many family sitcoms, the kids tend to be either popular and beautiful, or biting and condescending, making the Heck kids an untypical breath of fresh air.

Frankie works for a fanatical car dealership owner, and much of the humor is seen in his politically incorrect dialogue. Frankie is a soldier for her family, but not a pushover, making her a realistic representation of the modern mom. Mike is uncomfortably blunt, he has the honesty we all wish we had the balls to have. The Heck family isn’t perfect, their kids aren’t perfect, and nothing goes their way. Yes, we’ve seen it before in other family comedies, but it’s never had such a powerful echo before.

You’ll do more than smile gleefully at The Middle, you’ll laugh out loud and be blown away by the depth the characters have. It’s so good that I even compared it to food. However, if you don’t like feeling fuzzy on the inside, or just can’t stand kids, then it may not be for you. But I would recommend taking a look anyway, even if just out of curiosity.