This new comedy series uses a mother's point of view to shed light on the lives of a middle-class family in the Midwest.
The show focuses on the Heck family's life in an Indiana suburb and is narrated by Frankie, a dedicated—though frazzled—mother who works at a local car dealership and volunteers for school functions. Father Mike works at a quarry and takes a more laid back approach to most things, but backs up Frankie with force when the need arises. Oldest child Axl, a snarky, surly, high schooler, spends much of his time napping and roams around the home shirtless. Geeky, gangly, braces-wearing Sue is trying to navigate her way through junior high, join the cool crowd, and avoid Axl's endless onslaught of taunts, none of which she does with much success. Youngest child Brick is in elementary school and is the academic in the family, but suffers from near-crippling social anxieties and possesses an odd habit of repeating words he just said back to himself in a loud whisper.
Starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn, the Warner Bros. Television pilot was written by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, who also serve as executive producers.
Frankie and Mike are surprised to receive an invitation to Mike's brother Rusty's fast approaching wedding. But their surprise turns to panic when they discover that he has listed the Heck house as the site of the ceremo...
It seems like Frankie truly has eyes in the back of her head when she busts both Sue and Axl for making some bad choices that they thought no one would ever find out about. But when it turns out that she's using Brick to...
Brick is hired to deliver newspapers. Elsewhere, Sue faces the challenges of a long-distance relationship; Frankie is shocked to learn that Mike hoards batteries; and Sue struggles with wearing some complicated headgear....
Sue anticipates a big birthday celebration since it's leap year and she'll get to celebrate on her actual birth date. Meanwhile, Frankie discovers Mike cares for a stray cat at work; and Axl becomes obsessed with vacuumi...
Sue anticipates a big birthday celebration since it's leap year and she'll get to celebrate on her actual birth date. Meanwhile, Frankie discovers Mike cares for a stray cat at work; and Axl becomes obsessed with vacuumi...
Axl, Sue and Brick call a sit down meeting with a shocked Frankie and Mike, accusing mom of being a nag and dad of giving out crazy punishments without ever hearing their sides of the story. In return, all they ask is fo...
Frankie pulls out all of the stops in an effort to get an over-excited Sue tickets to a Justin Bieber concert, Mike is thrilled over Brick's enthusiasm to win the school's spelling bee and coaches him for the event, and ...
Frankie serves as an official volunteer at the Super Bowl, but her assignment proves disappointing. Meanwhile, the Hecks have fun with the Donahues' new car while their neighbors are away; and Sue declares her true feeli...
Frankie serves as an official volunteer at the Super Bowl, but her assignment proves disappointing. Meanwhile, the Hecks have fun with the Donahues' new car while their neighbors are away; and Sue declares her true feeli...
After attending Aunt Ginny's funeral, Frankie begins to fear that the family is missing out on important life milestones and vows to begin celebrating all of them. Meanwhile, Axl accidentally eats Brick's Indiana dough s...
Frankie hosts a holiday party, despite Mike's protests. Meanwhile, Sue asks Rev. TimTom to explain Christmas to Brick; Mike struggles to keep Frankie's present a secret; and Axl and Bob clash as coworkers on a tree lot
Frankie hosts a holiday party, despite Mike's protests. Meanwhile, Sue asks Rev. TimTom to explain Christmas to Brick; Mike struggles to keep Frankie's present a secret; and Axl and Bob clash as coworkers on a tree lot
Frankie's parents, Pat (Marsha Mason) and Tag (Jerry Van Dyke), invite the Hecks to spend a few days at their house to celebrate Thanksgiving together. But the festivities begin to fall apart quickly when Frankie's siste...
Frankie and Sue are cast in a community-theater production of "The Wizard of Oz," but things get awkward when Sue's role is in jeopardy. Elsewhere, Brick invites Uncle Rusty (Norm Macdonald) to participate in Special Fri...
Axl has an interview with a college-football scout, and his parents worry it won't go well. Elsewhere, Sue and Brick engage in a texting marathon with their aunt's cell phone
Sue's juvenile Halloween costume isn't a hit with the boys at school, so she turns to her dad for advice about guys. Meanwhile, Frankie chaperones a trick-or-treating adventure for Brick's social-skills group; and Axl pl...
As the Heck home begins to literally fall apart, Frankie and Mike consider leaving homeownership behind and moving the family to an apartment. Meanwhile, Axl tries to fake Frankie out by pretending that he's sick in orde...
Frankie cracks down on Axel and forces him to focus on his future when she learns that the school PSATs are right around the corner and he hasn't even begun to study for them. Meanwhile, Sue once again tries out for a sc...
After being mortifyingly humiliated and grossed out due to a family member's actions, Frankie has a meltdown and decrees to the family that major changes need to take place in every aspect of the Heck household - and the...
With Sue now in high school with Axl - who is totally embarrassed by her presence - Axl decides to play a mischievous trick on her, which earns his perfectionist sister a number of tardy slips. Meanwhile, Mike sets a mee...
In the third-season opener, the Hecks goes on a camping trip, which sparks honeymoon memories for Frankie and Mike, whose honeymoon campout was spoiled by Mike's gloomy former classmate (Ray Romano).
Season 2 finale: Brick must write a daily journal to pass the third grade; Axl hasn't completed his 30 days of community service; and Sue has to prove that she's never taken a sick day to get a perfect-attendance award
Brick has a fear of crossing bridges, so Frankie and Mike try to help him conquer it; Axl wants to be a lifeguard at the public pool, but so does his nemesis, Sean Donahue; and Sue has trouble picking out a two-piece swi...
Axl accidentally texts a prom invite to the wrong girl, and Frankie and Mike insist that he either go through with it or meet her in person to break off the date. Meanwhile, Sue and Carly try to find a group to fit in wi...
A Mother's Day episode finds the family offering Frankie a day to herself as a present, but the idea doesn't come off as planned
Frankie becomes obsessed with the upcoming royal wedding; Brick helps Sue when she decides to try out for the school's news team; Mike has to make cutbacks at the quarry.
The Hecks spend spring break trying to clean out the house; Brick opens an information stand where he sells advice for a dollar.
Ms. Rinsky (Doris Roberts) asks Frankie and Mike to attend a math class after Frankie questions her teaching skills; Sue and Axl consider helping their aunt find a time capsule she buried.
After Sue wins a family trip to New York, Murphy's Law goes into full effect when the Hecks board a plane and fly to the Big Apple
Frankie is determined to find a suitable friend for Brick; Sue sneaks into an R-rated movie with her friend Carly; Axl and his band covertly shoot footage of their biology teacher (Kristin Cavallari) for their music vide...
Frankie is happy when Axl asks her to help him choose a present for his mysterious new girlfriend; Mike accidentally embarrasses Brick; Sue tries to find the guy she kissed during a hayride.
In preparation for the upcoming Super Bowl, Brick studies football; Mr. Ehlert asks Frankie to accompany him to a managerial seminar.
Mike gets mad at Frankie when she unwittingly pays $200 for eye cream; Axl cares for a mechanical infant for health class; Sue and Brick try to repair a hole in the wall.
Axl, Sue and Brick resist when Mike and Frankie try to regain control of the household.
Frankie's holiday plans are threatened when her parents come to stay with the family.
Mike reluctantly invites his brother (Norm Macdonald) and father over for Thanksgiving; Sue wants to start a holiday tradition.
Brick pleads with Frankie to leave him home alone when she runs errands; Mike overhears Sue's friend insult his daughter; Axl tries to grow a beard for the football playoffs.
On his ninth birthday, Brick wants to hear the true story about the day he was born; Axl's new manager at the movie theater is attractive but dumb, leading him to wonder if her attractiveness trumps her incompetence.
Frankie is excited about being invited to a neighborhood party; Sue finds out that the Rev. TimTom is hosting a event at church; Axl and his friends go to an exclusive haunted house party; Brick chooses a unique costum...
Frankie convinces the family to host a Japanese foreign exchange student to expose him to American life; the Hecks get frustrated when the student shows no interest in the family.
Mike tries to teach Axl a lesson after he is suspended from school; Brick is baffled by his own magic trick.
A store clerk makes an assumption that leaves Frankie feeling humiliated; Sue falls for one of Axl's friends; Brick tests urban legends.
Mike and Frankie must decide whether to attend Axl's football game or Sue's first cross-country meet; after raking the yard, Brick wants to set the leaves free in the forest.
In the Season 2 premiere, Frankie has a hard time getting the kids ready for school, and she's accused of being overprotective by Brick's new teacher (Doris Roberts). Meanwhile, Sue may be too enthusiastic about being on...
Parent-Teacher conferences cause Frankie to worry about the kids. In them she's told Axl is gifted but not applying himself, that her teachers still do not know who Sue is, and Brick may have to repeat the second-grade d...
Frankie does more for Mike and the kids and less for herself on Mother's Day; Sue feels guilty when she steals a motivational magnet from a store.
Mother's Day for Frankie is anything but serene when she finds herself doing more for Mike and the kids and less for herself. But she learns that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when she escapes the family for a...
Frankie worries that Axl will be heartbroken when his on-again and off-again girlfriend re-enters his life; Brick must watch over a baby chick for a school project.
After failing to pay the electric bill on time, the electric company shuts off the Heck's power. This leads Frankie and Mike to cut down on their unnecessary expenses, including their cable TV. The kids take up other act...
Mike receives tickets to a basketball game that falls on the day of the funeral of Frankie's uncle; Brick tries to avoid a birthday party.
Frankie worries about her job when a motivational consultant (Amy Sedaris) is asked to speak to the sales staff; Mike gives advice to Sue's ex-boyfriend and helps Brick with a school project.
Axl is heartbroken when his girlfriend (Alexa Vega) breaks up with him; Sue and Brick watch a scary movie.
The Hecks hope Brick's spelling prowess will put him on the fast track to the orthographic hall of fame, but all the fuss over the upcoming regional bee in Chicago causes Frankie and Mike to overlook Sue's birthday.
With Brick at his first sleep-over, Axl on a date and Sue at her first boy-girl party, Frankie and Mike believe that they will have the house all to themselves for a quiet and romantic . However, all of their plans unrav...
Frankie makes a deal with her kids, that if they do their homework and keep chores she won't nag them. Meanwhile, Mike takes a job as a night driver with Bob.
Mike begins searching for a new job when the quarry is shut down for scientific research because of the discovery of a dinosaur bone. He soon feels like a dinosaur himself when he realizes the drastic changes in technolo...
Frankie feels that a fight with her trashy neighbor Rita is imminent when Sue has a confrontation with her sons. Meanwhile, Axl is asked to teach Brick how to kick a ball for gym class, and brides him in order to do so. ...
Sue demands that Frankie and Mike buy her a expensive pair of jeans so that she can fit in with the cool kids at school, while Axl wants a car so he can impress a girl. Meanwhile, Frankie makes Brick take care of Aunt Ed...
Frankie rehearses for a choir solo for her church's midnight mass, and Mike's handling of the family yuletide preparations makes her jealous. Meanwhile, Brick has a problem, and Frankie and Mike try to help him overcome...
Frankie is determined to promote harmony among her children after observing what she thinks is a perfect, loving family. Also, Aunt Edie (Jeanette Miller) makes a big mistake at the quarry. Will Mike fire her for it?
Frankie's plan to have an idyllic family backfires when Mr. Ehlert demands his staff work over the holiday. Brick goes missing in a corn maze.
Frankie accidentally hits Brick in the head with a beer bottle when trying to get the trash out before the garbage truck leaves. But when Brick innocently tells his school that the scratch was caused by his mother throwi...
When Axl accidentally breaks down the front door, Mike insists that, he fix it in order to teach him a lesson, which leaves the Heck house wide open for days. At work, Frankie needs to sell a car within a week or she wil...
Brick's teachers tell Frankie and Mike that he is "socially challenged". Mike believes that enrolling Brick on a basketball team is a good way to get him to interact with others, but the idea falls through. However, when...
Sue sells sausage and cheese samples for the school. All her efforts go in vain as the school fails to see this. Frankie demands her daughter fights for her rights. Meanwhile, Brick discovers love with his current girlfr...
Frankie and Mike's romantic anniversary get-away is ruined by various family matters, including Brick being sick, Sue being lovesick, Axl just getting his learner's permit, and two psychotic aunt's and their dogs.
Trying to save her job, Frankie organizes a publicity stunt by filling a car with jelly beans. Meanwhile, Sue fails to make the swim team and realizes that she needs glasses and Brick starts reading his mother's romance ...
Sue auditions for show choir; Brick asks Frankie to come to his class presentation dressed in a costume; Frankie thinks she has finally sold a car.
