Expect to feel some déjà vu when The Middle returns on September 22 with an episode that reunites Patricia Heaton with her Everybody Loves Raymond mother-in-law, Doris Roberts. And for Heaton, it's like old times when her character, Frankie, ends up on the losing side of a battle with Roberts, who plays Brick's teacher Ms. Rinsky, a woman Heaton describes as "very no-nonsense and sick of interfering parents like Frankie."
Executive producer Eileen Heisler adds, "It's a nod to their previous relationship, where [Ms. Rinsky] just kind of makes Frankie spin — she makes her confidence go down the drain rather quickly." Heisler, a self-proclaimed Raymond fan, says she didn't consider having the two get along. "I don't think anyone would have liked that. Patty tries, but I don't think she can ever have the last word with Doris Roberts—not on my watch!"
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