Stuck in The Middle With Brooke Shields Entertainment

Watch your back, Frankie Heck! When Brooke Shields' trash-talking, beer-guzzling, chain-smoking neighbor from hell Rita Glossner returns to The Middle on October 17, it's with a vengeance.

"Everyone thought Rita was in jail," says executive producer Eileen Heisler. "Frankie [Patricia Heaton] is walking in the neighborhood and accidentally makes eye contact with her. Rita believes Frankie has stolen her hose, [which] she uses to fill the kiddie pool she hangs out in."

And as the Heck family learns, nothing comes between Rita Glossner and her garden hose. "She says, 'If that hose isn't back, I'm gonna rain fire on your house,'" says Heisler. "Frankie is terrified." But don't expect Mama Heck to cower for too long. Adds Heisler, "It's a Frankie and Rita Smackdown,