September 1, 2008
If The Middleman creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach were to be believed, the first season finale of the sci-fi series, which airs tonight at 10pm on ABC Family, will be “a bigger, better, Middleman than anything that's come before it.”
On a more distressing note, Grillo-Marxuach himself admits that he is uncertain that the fate of the show is very much uncertain and “that's really no secret.” It is true, especially if you look at the ratings, that The Middleman is really on quite shaky grounds as to whether it will be renewed or not. Nevertheless, he wants to end it on a positive note, that, indeed, “all is right in the world,” and this is what he wants the final episode of its maiden run to reflect.
August 19, 2008
Natalie Morales may not have dreamed of becoming an actress during her younger years, but fate decided that she lands herself a role on one of the quirkiest television series today. Morales, who first appeared on television as a guest star in CSI: Miami in 2005, landed her first major television role on ABC Family’s The Middleman as Wendy Watson earlier this year. In fact, her accidental fall into the world of acting was in a summer class when she was younger. She took drama classes instead of photography, and since then, she was hooked. Now that she has successfully launched her career with The Middleman, Morales shares a little bit of her insights about the industry with If Magazine.
In talking about her struggles with making it big in the industry, she says, “Prior to the Middleman, I [have been to] about 800 audition rooms, 75+ theatre auditions, a couple of plays, and in a few really bad student films.”
July 24, 2008
Check out the rest of our coverage from San Diego Comic-Con.
When a man stood up during the Comic-Con Q&A session for The Middleman and admitted that he works for Nielsen -- the company that's responsible for reporting television ratings -- series creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach jumped off stage, gave him a hug and handed him two t-shirts. The quirky ABC Family series hasn't been doing particularly well in the ratings, so buttering up Nielsen employees with free gifts isn't a bad idea. The wacky action/comedy hybrid may not be a success by Nielsen's standards, but the audience that came to see Grillo-Marxuach and star Matt Keeslar was more enthusiastic than most Comic-Con crowds.
In addition to the free t-shirts, Grillo-Marxuach also handed out plenty of info about what's coming up in the final episodes of The Middleman's first season. If you love bleeped out profanity and evil doubles with menacing goatees, this is the show for you.
July 21, 2008
Fans of the ABC Family series The Middleman are perhaps more than familiar with the title character's offbeat nature—his gadgets, his love of gadgets, his humor, and the way he fights the bad guys in each episode. It's something that the lead actor Matt Keeslar enjoys. The role of a superhero is something that he's always wanted to do, and playing the Middleman, who was inspired by the comic book of the same name, certainly fits the bill.
In an interview with iF Magazine, Keeslar talked about the beginnings of his involvement with the series. “I got involved after I met Javier [Grillo-Marxuach, the show's creator] for coffee,” he said. “I had read the script and thought it was well-written and funny. Javier said he wanted me to audition for the executives at ABC Family. A week later I auditioned and got the part.”
July 14, 2008
When the idea a struggling female artist with a sidekick job on the side finally materialized via The Middleman, it seemed like a good idea. After it debuted on the ABC Family last July 16, the reviews were mixed. Some described it as ‘loaded with clever banter – like Men in Black if Will Smith's character was a geeky girl,' while others praised its ‘colorful sets and rapid-fire screwball dialogue,' that will make you ‘want to watch it repeatedly.' On the other hand, others criticized its unintentionally being campy, with its cheesy effects, poor performances, and subpar execution of potentially good ideas.
In an interview with Fanbolt, The Middleman's main star Natalie Morales, who plays Wendy Watson, revealed what she thought on the idea that The Middleman, although it may be too early to tell, may just evolve into a cult hit.
June 16, 2008
The Middleman has gone through quite the journey. Originally pitched as a television series by former Lost writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, the series failed to catch the eye of television executives. Instead, in 2005 The Middleman found life as a comic book series, in which Grillo-Marxuach's outlandish ideas could be realized without concern of a TV budget.
The comic series did well enough to garner the attention of at least some of those formerly naysaying execs, and now The Middleman is back where its creator always intended it to be: television. ABC Family picked up the series even despite its penchant for expensive monsters, and recently they released the first episode as a free download on iTunes.