Beginning of the end for The Middle at ABC

ABC comedy The Middle is to end after its next season on US screens.

The series, which follows a middle-class Indian family, has run for eight seasons to date, with the ninth and final run set to begin filming this month.

Disney-ABC Television Group has announced the Warner Bros. Television-produced show will end, joining another long running series, Scandal, ending on the Alphabet network after the 2017/18 season.

The series has been in syndication on Hallmark Channel in the US since 2013, with ABC Family also airing episodes.

Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher and Atticus Shaffer star in the show.