Former Saturday Night Live regular Chris Kattan will continue his role on ABC’s new comedy The Middle beyond the pilot.

Kattan, who was billed as a guest star for the pilot, has been promoted to a series regular, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He plays Bob, a good friend of star Patricia Heaton’s character and a colleague at the auto dealership where she works.

The role will be the first regular TV gig for Kattan since he left SNL in 2003. He’s done a bunch of voice work, including in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie and The Year Without a Santa Claus, and has a number of indie film projects in various stages of development and production.

He also stars in the semi-scripted Bollywood Hero, which will air as a three-night event on IFC in August and follows him to India as he’s promised a part in a Bollywood film.

The Middle also stars Neil Flynn (Scrubs) as Heaton’s husband and Eden Sher, Charlie McDermott and Atticus Shaffer as their kids. It’s scheduled to premiere Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Source: Zap2It