If you close your eyes and think of Eden Sher, you probably see Sue Heck. You see the braces, the neon sweatshirts, the relentless, bone-deep optimism of a teenager who just wants to make the cross-country team even though she has no athletic ability. The Middle cemented her as the queen of wholesome, dorky comedy. But right before she became a household name for being "the most relatable teen on TV," she took a detour into the gritty, suburban-noir world of Jenji Kohan.
Honestly, it’s a trip.
Seeing Eden Sher in Weeds is like seeing a parallel universe version of her career. She didn't play a lead. She wasn't there for seasons on end. But her brief stint as Gretchen in the Showtime series is a fascinating time capsule of an actress finding her footing in a show that thrived on making its characters—especially the young ones—uncomfortable.
The Gretchen Phase: When Eden Sher Met the Botwins
Weeds was always a weird show. It started as a satire about the fake perfection of Agrestic and devolved into a chaotic road movie about a family fleeing the consequences of their own choices. By Season 2, the show was hitting its stride, balancing the absurdity of Kevin Nealon’s Doug Wilson with the increasingly dark stakes of Nancy Botwin’s pot business.
Enter Gretchen.
Sher appeared in a multi-episode arc during the second season. If you go back and watch those episodes now, the physical transformation isn't what hits you—it’s the vibe. She plays a friend/love interest for Shane Botwin (Alexander Gould). Remember Shane? He was the kid who went from a quirky, sensitive pre-teen to a literal murderer.
Gretchen was one of the early catalysts for showing just how strange Shane’s social world had become. She was awkward, sure. But it wasn't the "I hope I get into the choir" awkwardness of Sue Heck. It was a more grounded, slightly cynical suburban puberty. They were kids in a world where parents were dealing drugs and everyone was lying.
Why the Role Matters Now
Looking back at 2006, the TV landscape was shifting. We were moving away from "The WB" style of teen drama into something more abrasive. Sher’s performance in Weeds was tiny compared to her later work, but it showed range. She could do deadpan. She could handle the "Kohan-speak"—that fast-paced, rhythmic dialogue that feels almost like a play.
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She was only about 14 or 15 when she filmed these scenes.
It’s actually a bit jarring to see her interact with Alexander Gould. They had this bizarre, prepubescent chemistry that fit the show's "nothing is sacred" ethos. In one specific beat, they're just hanging out, and you see the seeds of the comedic timing she’d eventually use to win Critics' Choice Awards. It’s in the eyes. Sher has always been an "eye actor." Whether she's terrified of a bully or trying to act cool in front of a Botwin, she sells it through sheer, frantic facial energy.
Breaking the "Sue Heck" Mold Retroactively
Most people think actors just fall into their most famous roles. They don't. They grind through guest spots on procedurals and cable dramedies. Before she was Eden Sher in Weeds, she was doing the usual rounds, but this specific role stood out because Weeds was the "it" show for actors who wanted to prove they had an edge.
The character of Gretchen didn't have a long shelf life. She didn't follow the family to San Diego or Dearborn. She stayed in the Agrestic/Majestic vacuum. But for fans of The Middle, going back to find her in these early episodes is like finding a hidden track on an old CD.
You’ve got to realize how different the sets must have been. The Middle was a multi-cam-adjacent single-cam with a huge budget and a "family first" message. Weeds was a gritty, low-light, premium cable set where the craft services table probably smelled like herbal supplements and chaos.
Sher held her own.
She wasn't overshadowed by the heavy hitters like Mary-Louise Parker or Elizabeth Perkins. She carved out a little corner of the Shane Botwin subplot and made it memorable enough that people are still googling "Eden Sher Weeds" nearly twenty years later.
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The Technical Shift: From Premium Cable to Network Sitcoms
If you’re a student of acting, watch her scenes in Weeds and then jump straight to the pilot of The Middle. It’s a masterclass in adaptation.
In Weeds, her movements are smaller. She’s playing to a camera that’s right in her face. The humor is observational.
In her later work, everything expands. Sue Heck is a character of "largeness." Everything is a big reaction. A big scream. A big fail. But that foundation of being able to play a "real" kid in a "real" (albeit drug-fueled) suburb is what made Sue feel human instead of a cartoon. Without the groundedness she practiced in shows like Weeds, Sue might have been too much to handle for nine seasons.
What Most People Get Wrong About Guest Stars
There’s this idea that a guest spot on a show like Weeds is just a paycheck. For a young actor in the mid-2000s, it was a litmus test. Can you handle a set that moves this fast? Can you work with child actors who are being asked to do very adult material?
Alexander Gould’s Shane was a difficult character to play against because he was so detached. Sher provided the perfect foil because she felt attached. She felt like a kid who was actually experiencing the weirdness, whereas Shane was becoming numb to it.
Fact-Checking the Cameo
Let’s be clear about the data because the internet loves to smudge the lines:
- Season: 2
- Episodes: Sher appears in roughly five episodes, including "Cooking with Jesus" and "Last Tangle in Abbotts."
- Character Name: Gretchen.
- Year: 2006.
It wasn't a "one and done" walk-on role. It was a legitimate arc. She was part of the fabric of the show during what many critics consider its peak creative years.
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The Evolution of the "Awkward Girl" Archetype
Eden Sher basically owns the "awkward girl" patent now. But Gretchen in Weeds was a different flavor of awkward. She was the kind of awkward you see in middle school hallways where everyone is trying to act like they aren't terrified of their own shadow.
There's a scene where she's just sitting on a bed talking to Shane, and it’s so profoundly uncomfortable that it transcends the script. That’s the Sher magic. She can lean into the cringe until it becomes art.
It’s interesting to note that Weeds often cast kids who looked like actual kids. This was before the era of "everyone on TV is a 25-year-old model playing a sophomore." Sher looked like a normal girl. That authenticity is why she keeps getting work.
What You Should Do Next If You're a Fan
If you only know Eden Sher from her voice work in Star vs. the Forces of Evil or her years on the Heck ranch, you owe it to yourself to see where the tools were sharpened.
- Queue up Weeds Season 2. Don't skip around. Watch the flow of the season.
- Pay attention to the eyes. Watch how Sher reacts to the chaos around her. It’s a precursor to the "Sue Heck panic" but muffled by the tone of a dark comedy.
- Compare the dialogue. Notice how Sher handles the cynical, sharp-tongued writing of Jenji Kohan versus the earnest, heartfelt writing of Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline.
Exploring an actor's "early years" isn't just about trivia. It’s about seeing the evolution of a craft. Eden Sher in Weeds is a reminder that even the most iconic sitcom stars started in the trenches of prestige TV, playing weird kids in weird suburbs, just trying to make sense of a script.
She wasn't Sue Heck yet. She was just a kid named Gretchen, trying to survive the Botwins. And honestly? She was great at it.
To truly appreciate the range of modern comedic actors, look for these "DNA roles." The roles that show the grit under the polish. Sher has plenty of polish now, but that Weeds grit is what made her a star. Go back and watch—you'll see a future icon in the making, one awkward encounter at a time.