Modern Family

Modern Family is an American pseudo-documentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. The show ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The show follows the lives of three distinct families connected through Jay Pritchett in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan created the film when sharing the story of their own “modern family”. Modern Family features an ensemble cast of co-leads and is made in a pseudo-documentary style, with characters frequently speaking directly to the camera in confessional interview scenes.

The series was renewed for a 10th season on May 10, 2017, the season aired on September 26, 2018; It was later renewed for an 11th and final season on February 5, 2019, which aired on September 25, 2019. The final episode aired on April 8, 2020.

Modern Family received much praise from critics in its first seasons. As time went on, the show received mixed reactions, but still maintained a loyal fan community throughout its 11 seasons and became increasingly popular. The final season was generally received positively, and the final episode reached 7.37 million viewers in its initial broadcast. The retrospective documentary broadcast before the final episode had its first 6.72 million viewers.

The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series during its first five years and four Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, with Eric Stonestreet and Ty Burrell each winning two, as well as two Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series to Julie Bowen. The film won a total of 22 Emmy awards from 75 nominations. The film also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical/Comedy in 2011. With 11 years on the air, the film has become ABC’s longest-running comedy series.

The series’ broadcast distribution rights were sold to NBCUniversal’s USA Network, Fox Television Stations, and many local stations in other markets in the fall of 2013. The series’ success led it to become a television program. The show was the tenth highest-grossing of 2012, earning $2.13 million per episode.

Modern Family Plot Summary

Modern Family revolves around three different types of families (nuclear, mixed, and same-sex) living in the suburbs of Los Angeles, who are connected to each other through wealthy businessman Jay Pritchett and his two children, Claire and Mitchell.

Jay remarried a much younger woman, Gloria Delgado (née Ramirez), a passionate Colombian immigrant, with whom he has a young son, Fulgencio Joseph (born midway through the fourth season), and a Gloria’s stepson from a previous marriage, Manuel “Manny” Delgado. Jay and Gloria’s ex-spouses, DeDe and Javier, both also occasionally appear on the show.

Claire is a homemaker who returns to the business world (at the beginning of the fifth season), eventually becoming the CEO of her father’s business, Pritchett’s Closets and Blinds (in the middle of the seventh season). She is married to Phil Dunphy, a real estate broker and self-described “cool dad” who is also an amateur magician and community college real estate instructor. They have three children: Haley, a stereotypical sleepy teenage girl; Alex, a smart and sassy middle child; and Luke, the unusual only son. Haley’s on-off boyfriend, Dylan, was a long-term fixture on the show, with the two eventually marrying in the tenth season finale and having two children, Poppy and George.
Mitchell and her husband Cameron Tucker have an adopted daughter named Lily, of Vietnamese descent. At the end of the show, they adopt another child, Rexford.
As the show’s name suggests, it depicts a modern-day extended family; Many humorous episodes are based on situations that many families encounter in real life.

Modern Family Cast

• Ed O’Neill as Jay Pritchett: Gloria’s husband; Claire, Mitchell and Joe’s father; Manny’s stepfather; Grandfather of Haley, Alex, Luke and Lily; Phil and Cameron’s father-in-law.
• Sofía Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett: Jay’s second wife; Manny and Joe’s mother; Claire and Mitchell’s stepmother.
• Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy: Jay and Dede’s daughter; sister of Joe and Mitchell; Phil’s wife; Mother of Haley, Alex and Luke, mother-in-law of Dylan and grandmother of Poppy and George
• Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy: Claire’s husband; Haley, Alex and Luke’s dad.
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett: Jay and Dede’s son; Joe and Claire’s older brother; Cameron’s husband; Adoptive father of Lily and Rexford, Haley, Alex and Luke’s uncle.
• Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker: Mitchell’s husband; Lily and Rexford’s adoptive father.
• Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy: Claire and Phil’s eldest daughter; sister of Alex and Luke; Dylan’s wife; Mother of Poppy and George, Mitchell’s oldest granddaughter.
• Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy: Claire and Phil’s youngest daughter; Haley and Luke’s younger sister, Mitchell’s youngest niece.
• Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy: Claire and Phil’s son; Haley and Alex’s older brother, Mitchell’s nephew.
• Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado: Gloria and Javier’s son; Joe’s brother; Jay’s stepson; Claire and Mitchell’s stepbrother.
• Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett: Mitchell and Cameron’s adopted daughter born in Vietnam. (seasons 3–11)
• Portrayed by twins Jaden Hiller and Ella Hiller in seasons 1 and 2.
• Jeremy Maguire as Joe Pritchett: Gloria and Jay and Claire’s son, Mitchell, and Manny’s half-brother (seasons 7–11)
• Portrayed by Rebecca and Sierra Mark in season 4 and Pierce Wallace in seasons 5 and 6.
• Reid Ewing as Dylan Marshall: Haley’s close boyfriend, later husband; Father of Poppy and George, son-in-law of Claire and Phil, brother-in-law of Alex and Luke. (season 11; recurring seasons 1–5, 7, and 10; guest seasons 6 and 8–9)