We all know that bittersweet feeling when you are watching a great TV show and realize that the episode you just watched was the end. Soon, that bittersweet feeling will become just bitter when you find out that the writers had previously planned more content but were cut off like an infected limb. One might contemplate why this could happen, but we all know the real answer: money, art’s greatest enemy. Television series are cut off for one reason and one reason only, they didn’t bring in a profit. This could mean an actual monetary profit, or a reputational profit for the company producing these shows. Everyone has a show they loved that was cut off too soon and for me that is The Middleman.
During the tumultuous time of cable TV, when shows were popping up and disappearing left and right, The Middleman aired its twelve episodes on ABC Family from June 16th to September 1st of 2008. Based on the Viper Comics series of the same name created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine, the series centered around witty and relatable Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales) as she is thrust into a high-stakes, surreal world of science fiction adventure. In the first episode, Wendy is recruited as a Middleman apprentice by The Middleman (Matt Keeslar), whose real name is unknown until the finale, for her ability to calmly handle the weird and impossible. As Wendy learns the ropes of handling unimaginable exotic problems, the viewers explore the world of The Middleman through its quirky humor, comic-book tone, and pop culture references.
What sets The Middleman apart from TV of its time is its unique style. It’s not your typical sci-fi fare with dark themes or heavy drama. Instead, it embraces a light-hearted tone reminiscent of classic comic book adventures. The show’s charm lies within its witty dialogue and playful banter among characters giving it a similar feeling to the hit TV show Psych, which was written about in a previous edition of Ram Report.
Despite developing a cult following due to the show’s charm and originality, The Middleman was ultimately canceled by ABC Family due to low ratings and minimal mainstream appeal. The show aired on a channel geared towards young women and family dramas, which made The Middleman’s quirky humor and comic-book feel an awkward fit. In many ways, it was simply too clever and self aware for its time, arriving just before the superhero boom and meta-comedy that later swept television on its feet. As a result, ABC family ended the series early, cutting the initial episode order by one, and leaving behind a loyal and royally disappointed fanbase in the dust.
Still, The Middleman didn’t end there. Even though ABC Family walked away, the people behind the show and the fans who loved it refused to do the same. In 2009, creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach organized a successful Indiegogo campaign to publish two new graphic novels, “The Pan-Universal Parental Reconciliation,” in which the comic book and TV versions of the Middleman intersect, and “The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse,” where the series reaches its conclusion. The Middleman may have been too quirky for network television, but its comic form revival proved something important: creativity doesn’t die just because the industry says it’s not profitable enough, instead, artists make strides to fight evil, so you don’t have to.