Modern Family 

Three different, but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.

Creators:

Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd

Stars:

Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen

Top Rated TV #210 | Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 116 wins & 344 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Ed O'Neill	...	Jay Pritchett 212 episodes, 2009-2019
Sofía Vergara	...	Gloria Delgado-Pritchett 212 episodes, 2009-2019
Julie Bowen	...	Claire Dunphy 212 episodes, 2009-2019
Ty Burrell	...	Phil Dunphy 212 episodes, 2009-2019
Jesse Tyler Ferguson	...	Mitchell Pritchett 212 episodes, 2009-2019
Eric Stonestreet	...	Cameron Tucker 212 episodes, 2009-2019
Rico Rodriguez	...	Manny Delgado 210 episodes, 2009-2019
Nolan Gould	...	Luke Dunphy 209 episodes, 2009-2019
Sarah Hyland	...	Haley Dunphy 207 episodes, 2009-2019
Ariel Winter	...	Alex Dunphy 204 episodes, 2009-2019
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons	...	Lily Tucker-Pritchett 162 episodes, 2011-2019

Storyline

Told from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, the series offers an honest, often-hilarious perspective of family life. Parents Phil and Claire yearn for an honest, open relationship with their three kids. But a daughter who is trying to grow up too fast, another who is too smart for her own good, and a rambunctious young son make it challenging. Claire's dad, Jay, and his Latina wife, Gloria, are raising two sons together, but people sometimes believe Jay to be Gloria's father. Jay's gay son, Mitchell, and his partner, Cameron, have adopted a little Asian girl, completing one big -- straight, gay, multicultural, traditional -- happy family.

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Plot Keywords:

ensemble cast | gay relationship | blended family | older man younger woman relationship | mockumentary | 

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Taglines:

One big (straight, gay, multi-cultural, traditional) happy family.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

An American Family

Filming Locations:

2211 Fox Hills Dr, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Levitan / Lloyd, 20th Century Fox Television, Steven Levitan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min 490 min (Season average)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was a very lengthy process getting Ty Burrell cast as Phil. The ABC network had its reservations, as Ty had previously starred in Back to You (2007) as a dull character, and they were looking for a well-known actor. The network then thought that Ty didn't have the ability to play a main character, but the creators insisted. Creator Steve Levitan then had an idea to film Ty and Sarah at his own home, just to give a preview of what the show could be like. Eventually, this won the network over and Ty was cast.

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Goofs

Mitchell and Cameron adopted a child from Vietnam. This is legally impossible as Vietnam's laws forbid a child to be adopted by single parents or same sex couples. They could still adopt the child illegally but then it would be impossible to bring it back to the States.

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Quotes

Jay Pritchett: Isn't it enough this family spends a lot of time together? Now we have to inbreed.

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Crazy Credits

At the beginning of each episode, the actors' names appear on screen in order of their character's ages. (Oldest to youngest)

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.26 (2010)

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Soundtracks

We're All In This Together
(uncredited)
Written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil
Performed by Ty Burrell

User Reviews

Smart and Funny

Modern Family is one of the best shows on TV in 2009.

It's written by smart and funny people. It shares some DNA with Arrested Development and Fraiser, but has a little bit more heart.

6 episodes in and I am still impressed and still laugh out loud.

I usually avoid ABC because their programming in years past has been terrible and vanilla. Happy to see they have taken some chances on this show and hooray for them, it seems to be finding an audience and critics love it too.

I usually hate shows with little kids in the cast... they usually end up getting used as cute crutches when writers run out of ideas, but Modern Family has been giving the kids sharp dialogue to match the grown ups.

The gay Mitchell and Cameron couple are portrayed honestly and they are hilarious.

The very underrated Ed O'Neill is pitch perfect as the grouchy but soft family patriarch. Sofía Vergara who plays his Colombian trophy wife is excellent and very funny in what could have been written as a terrible bimbo role.

I wasn't sold on Ty Burrell as the dad who tries too hard to be cool after the pilot... but he's a slow burn, and now it works.

Julie Bowen as the slightly off kilter mom adds an anchoring charm to the mix.

Every person on this show gets good lines, and the quality is holding up... I hope they win a boatload of Emmys.