Modern Family is an American television sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for ABC. It aired for 11 seasons from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The series follows the lives of three diverse but interrelated family set-ups living in suburban Los Angeles.
Lloyd and Levitan conceived the series while sharing stories of their own "modern families." Modern Family employs an ensemble cast and is presented in a mockumentary style, with the characters frequently speaking directly to the camera in confessional interview segments.
Modern Family was highly acclaimed by critics throughout its first few seasons. Its critical reception became more mixed as it progressed. The final season received positive reviews, and the finale episode had 7.37 million first-run viewers. The retrospective documentary that aired before the final episode had 6.72 million first-run viewers. The series won a total of 22 Emmy Awards, including five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (twice each for Eric Stonestreet and Ty Burrell), and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (both for Julie Bowen). It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2011.
The broadcast syndication rights to the series were sold to NBCUniversal's USA Network, the stations of Fox Television Stations, and various other local stations in other markets for a fall 2013 premiere. The success of the series led to it being the 10th-highest revenue-generating show for 2012, earning $2.13 million an episode.
Premise
Modern Family revolves around three different types of families (nuclear, blended, and same-sex) living in suburban Los Angeles, who are interrelated through their patriarch, Jay Pritchett, and his two adult 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 "Joe" Joseph (born in the middle of the fourth season), and a stepson from Gloria's previous marriage, Manuel "Manny" Delgado. Jay's and Gloria's respective former spouses, DeDe and Javier, both also make occasional appearances in the show. They also adopt a dog, Stella, in the second season. Manny briefly has a turtle named Shell Turtlestein.
Claire was a homemaker, though returned to the business world in the fifth season, eventually becoming the chief executive officer of her father's business, Pritchett's Closets and Blinds. Claire is married to Phil Dunphy, a realtor and a self-professed "cool dad" originally from Key West, Florida. Claire and Phil have three children: Haley, a stereotypically ditzy wild teenaged girl; Alex, the middle child who is highly intelligent, gifted, and introverted; and Luke, the offbeat only son, known for his playful, immature, and sometimes dim-witted nature. Haley's on-and-off boyfriend, Dylan, is a permanent fixture on the show, with the two eventually marrying and having twins, Poppy and George, in the tenth season.
Mitchell is a lawyer who is in a same-sex relationship with Cameron Tucker. Cam, from a farm in Missouri, is a former music teacher and later works as a football coach and Vice Principal. The couple have adopted a baby daughter, Lily, of Vietnamese origin. Cam is a stay-at-home dad in the first couple seasons when Lily is young. Mitchell and Cameron are legally married in the fifth season, following the Californian legalization of gay marriage. At the end of the series, they adopt another child, a son, Rexford, and move to Missouri.
As the title suggests, it depicts a modern-day tight-knit extended family; many episodes are comically based on situations that many families encounter in real life.
Cast and characters
Main
Ed O'Neill as Jay Francis Pritchett: The wealthy patriarch of the family; husband of Gloria; father of Claire, Mitchell, and Joe; and stepfather of Manny. He is the founder and CEO of Pritchett's Closets & Blinds. After retiring, he later starts a dog bed business, Dog Beds by Stella.
Sofía Vergara as Gloria María Ramírez Delgado Pritchett: Jay's second wife; mother of Manny (with her first husband Javier) and Joe (with Jay). Originally from Colombia, she is passionate, outspoken, and family-oriented. She later launches a hot sauce business based on a family recipe. Even later, she becomes a realtor under Phil's mentorship.
Julie Bowen as Claire Melinda Dunphy (née Pritchett): Jay and Dede's daughter; Mitchell's sister; Phil's wife; and mother of Haley, Alex, and Luke. She is organized and high-strung. She succeeds Jay as CEO of Pritchett's Closets & Blinds before eventually stepping down.
Ty Burrell as Philip Humphrey "Phil" Dunphy: Claire's husband and father of Haley, Alex, and Luke. A real estate agent known for his enthusiastic personality, he later becomes a real estate professor. He is also an amateur magician and briefly owns a magic shop.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Vincent Pritchett: Jay and Dede's son; Claire's brother; Cameron's husband; and adoptive father of Lily and Rexford. He works as a lawyer, primarily in environmental law, and later becomes a prosecutor.
Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Scott Tucker: Mitchell's husband and adoptive father of Lily and Rexford. A former clown and music teacher, he later becomes a physical education teacher, football coach, and eventually vice principal.
Sarah Hyland as Haley Gwendolyn Dunphy: Claire and Phil's eldest daughter; sister of Alex and Luke; wife of Dylan; and mother of twins Poppy and George. Initially portrayed as a stereotypical "party girl," she later pursues a career in fashion and works at NERP, a lifestyle company.
Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy: Claire and Phil's middle child; sister of Haley and Luke. Highly intelligent and academically driven, she attends the California Institute of Technology and later works in scientific research, including a position in Antarctica.
Nolan Gould as Lucas Philip "Luke" Dunphy: Claire and Phil's youngest child; brother of Haley and Alex. Known for his goofy and inventive personality, he later attends college and pursues business ventures.
Rico Rodriguez as Manuel Alberto Javier Alejandro "Manny" Delgado: Gloria and Javier's son; Jay's stepson; and Joe's half-brother. He is mature for his age, with interests in poetry, film, and the arts, and later attends the California Institute of the Arts.
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett: Mitchell and Cameron's adopted daughter, born in Vietnam. She is known for her dry wit and blunt personality.
Portrayed by twins Jaden and Ella Hiller in seasons 1–2.
Jeremy Maguire as Fulgencio Joseph "Joe" Pritchett: Jay and Gloria's son.
Portrayed by Rebecca and Sierra Mark in season 4 and Pierce Wallace in seasons 5–6.
Reid Ewing as Dylan Stardust Marshall: Haley's on-again, off-again boyfriend who later becomes her husband and the father of their twins, Poppy and George. Though often portrayed as dim-witted, he eventually becomes a nurse.
Recurring
Fred Willard as Franklin Bernard "Frank" Dunphy: Phil's father. He is fun, cheerful and marries Phil's old babysitter in season 8 and dies in season 11. Willard was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to Neil Patrick Harris's performance on Glee. Willard also received a posthumous nomination in the same category at the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2020 (seasons 1, 4–6, 8–11)
Shelley Long as Lillian Diana "DeDe" Pritchett: Jay's ex-wife; Claire and Mitchell's mother. She is spiritual and a vegan Buddhist. Dede is insecure of Gloria and hates her. She dies in season ten (seasons 1–10)
Justin Kirk as Charles "Charlie" Bingham Jr..: Mitch's boss who owns a sportswear company and invests in environmental issues (seasons 1–3, 5, 7)
Chazz Palminteri as Vincent aka Shorty: Jay's best friend, in honor of whom Mitchell was given his middle name (seasons 1, 3–5, 9–10)
Benjamin Bratt as Javier Alberto Alejandro Delgado: Manny's father and Gloria's ex-husband, he is a thrill seeker and is known for his wild and irresponsible behavior (seasons 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11)
Elizabeth Banks as Sal: Mitch and Cam's fun-loving party animal friend who officiates their wedding and hates Lily. Banks was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 67th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2015 (seasons 1, 4–6, 8, 11)
Nathan Lane as Pepper Paul Saltzman: Mitch and Cam's close friend and wedding planner, who plans their wedding. Ronaldo's partner and Lionel's dad. (seasons 2, 4–7, 9–10)
Kevin Daniels as Longinus: Mitch and Cam's friend who owns a local boutique and gets attacked by Phil with cologne in season 2 (seasons 2–7, 9–11)
Celia Weston as Barbara Jessica "Barb" Tucker: Cam and Pam's mother, Mitch's mother-in-law, and Lily, Rexford, and Cal's grandmother from Missouri (seasons 2, 5, 8)
Colin Hanlon as Steven: Cam and Mitch's friend and Stefan's partner (seasons 3–4, 5, 9)
Rodrigo Rojas as Stefan: Cam and Mitch's friends, and Steven's partner (season 3–4, 5, 11)
Spenser McNeild as Reuben: Manny, and Luke's friend from school, who is in love with Alex and has a short relationship with her, much to her embarrassment (seasons 4, 5, 7–9)
Stephanie Beatriz as Sonia Pilar Ramirez: Gloria's sister and Manny and Joe's aunt. She and Gloria have an ongoing feud throughout the series
Rob Riggle as Gilbert Paul "Gil" Thorpe: Phil's realtor rival, who later comes out as gay (seasons 4–6, 8–11)
Adam DeVine as Andrew "Andy" Bailey Jr.: Jay and Gloria's "manny" (male nanny) from Utah, Phil's assistant and Haley's boyfriend (seasons 5–8 and 10)
Andy Daly as Principal Brown: the principal at Alex, Luke and Manny's high school, and Cam's boss, who is chronically single (seasons 5–6, 8, 10)
Matthew Risch as Jotham: Mitch and Cam's friend (seasons 5–7, 9–11)
Dana Powell as Pameron Jessica Tucker: Cam's sister, Mitchells sister-in-law and Lily's aunt (seasons 5, 7–10)
Marsha Kramer as Margaret: Jay's assistant for 40 years at Pritchett's Closets. She works for Alex temporarily until she is fired/retires (seasons 5, 7–9, 11)
Christian Barillas as Ronaldo: Pepper's party planning assistant and later partner; parent of Lionel (seasons 5–11)
Joe Mande as Ben: a marketing executive at Pritchett's Closets and later Alex's boyfriend (seasons 6–9)
Laura Ashley Samuels as Beth: Andy's girlfriend, fiancée and later ex-fiancée who works in the coast guard. She hates Haley with a burning passion.
Steve Zahn as Ronnie LaFontaine and Andrea Anders as Amber LaFontaine: Phil and Claire's annoying and obnoxious neighbors (season 6)
Kasey Mahaffy as Dom: a designer at Pritchett's Closets (seasons 7–9, 11)
Nathan Fillion as Rainer Shine: a weather forecaster, Phil's friend and later Haley's 25-year-older boyfriend. He and Haley get engaged in a restaurant before suddenly breaking up (seasons 8–9)
Mira Sorvino as Nicole Rosemary Page: Haley's boss, founder of NERP; parody of Gwyneth Paltrow and her company Goop (seasons 9–10)
Chris Geere as Arvin Fennerman: a British physics lecturer at CalTech who dates Haley and later Alex. He starts a research project in Switzerland that Alex joins at the end of season 11 (seasons 9–11)
Marcello Reyes as Cal Tucker: Pam's son; Mitch and Cam's nephew who lives with them when Pam is in prison (season 10)
Jimmy Tatro as Bill: Alex's fire-fighter boyfriend who isn't very smart but is known for his muscle and attractiveness (seasons 9–11)
Family tree
The characters in green have regular roles on the show. Dotted lines indicate a parental relationship through adoption or marriage, and dashed lines indicate a divorce between characters. † indicates a deceased character.
Production
Initial development
As creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan retold stories about their families, they realized that the stories could be the basis for a show. They started working on the idea of a family being observed in a mockumentary-style show. They later decided that it could be a show about three families and their experiences. It was originally called My American Family, and the camera crew was originally supposed to have been run by a fictitious Dutch filmmaker named Geert Floortje, who had lived as a teenaged exchange student with the Pritchetts and had developed a crush on Claire (while Mitchell had developed a crush on him). The producers later felt that this component was unnecessary, and it was scrapped. Lloyd preferred to look at the show as "a family show done documentary-style".