When your parents name you after a character in To a Kill a Mockingbird, odds are that a flair for the dramatic comes with the territory. Which is why it probably should come as no surprise that Atticus Shaffer, the pint-sized star of ABC’s new family comedy THE MIDDLE is this TV Addict’s first in what we hope will become a series of ‘Fall Faces to Watch.’ Just how talented is this kid? Not only is he the lone survivor of the original pilot — which featured chatfest host Ricki Lake in the Patricia Heaton role — but he manages to completely steal the new version from his on-screen parents, which is no small feat seeing as they’re played by Patricia Heaton (EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND) and Neil Flynn (SCRUBS). Said Eileen Heisler, THE MIDDLE creator/executive producer, “Atticus walked in the door and we were done, you know, we’ve got that one.” But don’t take our word for it, judge for yourself when THE MIDDLE premieres this September 30 at 8:30PM on ABC. 
