Stuck in the Middle is an American comedy television series created by Alison Brown that premiered on Disney Channel on February 14, 2016. The series stars Jenna Ortega, Ronni Hawk, Isaak Presley, Ariana Greenblatt, Kayla Maisonet, Nicolas Bechtel, Malachi Barton, Cerina Vincent, and Joe Nieves. In addition to the series' regular episodes, the series also aired six shorts on December 16, 2016.
Harley struggles to get her siblings and parents to the park, where she is to receive a young inventor's award. She looks to Ethan for help and encouragement that they will make it to the park, but Georgie has a basketball game and Rachel is serving at a soup kitchen. Harley worries the basketball game will not finish on time. Rachel decides to spend time with her boyfriend Cuff after her volunteer work, despite her parents' admonitions. The Diaz family does eventually arrive at the park, though late for Harley's award.
When Suzy and Tom refuse to buy the children another tablet to replace the one they broke, Harley comes up with a plan to raise money for that tablet. She decides to rent the family couch to a stranger, picking up the idea from the Peters, who are renting a room in their house. With Ethan's help, she books an Asian music student, Bai Hsu, to stay in the Diaz home for two nights. Bai's accommodations are not exactly as he expects since the children are trying to keep Suzy and Tom from becoming suspicious. When Bai cannot sleep in the Diaz home on the second night, Harley brings him to her father's store, where he ends up sleeping by a raft. The next morning, Harley, Ethan and Georgie discover Bai and the raft are gone. Tom tells them he sold the raft to Bai, whom he recognized in selfies Rachel posted online. As Tom did not accept any additional money from Bai, Harley's effort to fund the new tablet falls short. Meanwhile, the younger children attempt to raise money themselves by promoting frog wrestling.
While using her sure-fire way to get free stuff from companies through her "feedback" approach, Harley forgets she has a school science project due until her mother reminds her and wants to see that project. Meanwhile, Suzy is preoccupied with the family's Wi-Fi bill and complains to their provider, but when she follows Harley's system of company feedback by asking for free service and threatening cancellation, the Wi-Fi provider summarily cancels their service, which causes the children to become restless. To calm them down, Suzy and Tom decide to take the family to the movies. Harley figures she can come up with her project before the movie begins, while monitoring the seats she reserved for the family, but fails even after she manages to build something. The Diaz family ends up having a short stay at the theater as Suzy and Tom notice the movie they are watching is not G-rated. Harley finally settles on her project when Ethan shows her behind-the-scenes family moments he captured on his phone while at the theater; she builds a film projector so the family can watch those moments. It does help them pass the time without Wi-Fi service, which Suzy hopes to get restored.