Modern Family, popular American television sitcom that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network from 2009 to 2020. The show was an immediate popular and critical hit. It was nominated for 85 Emmy Awards over its 11 seasons (250 episodes), winning 22 times, including 5 Emmys for outstanding comedy series (2010–14). Modern Family received a Peabody Award in 2009 for “its sharp humor, old-fashioned heart and for recognizing the ongoing evolution of kinship.” The series was named one of the American Film Institute’s top 10 television shows for each of the years 2009–12.
Modern Family, created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, is about a multigenerational family experiencing the joys and challenges of family life. The series is a mock documentary, or “mockumentary,” represented as being filmed by an unseen documentarian. It is a single-camera show with no laugh track. Characters often look directly at the camera and speak as though they are being interviewed. Modern Family features an ensemble cast and is known for its intelligent writing and earnest—never cynical—tone that finds affection, as well as comedy, in the struggles of family life.
The series begins with the introduction of three different, but related, families. Grumpy, no-nonsense middle-aged business executive Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) is married to Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofía Vergara), his beautiful, much-younger, second wife, who is an outspoken Colombian immigrant. They are raising Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez), Gloria’s good-hearted, sensitive, preteen son from her first marriage. Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), Jay’s son from his first marriage, lives with his partner, Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet). Mitchell is an anxious, tightly wound lawyer, while Cameron is an outgoing music teacher. The couple adopts a Vietnamese baby, Lily Tucker-Pritchett (played in later seasons by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons), and Cameron decides to become a stay-at-home father. Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), Jay’s daughter from his first marriage, is married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell). Claire is a stay-at-home mother who, like her brother Mitchell, is somewhat uptight, while Phil is a goofy real estate agent and amateur magician who thinks he’s a “cool dad.” Claire and Phil are raising their three children together: Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland), the eldest, is a silly rebellious teenager, while middle-child Alex Dunphy (Ariel Winter) is smart, responsible, and nerdy. Their youngest child, Luke Dunphy (Nolan Gould), is an affable and offbeat preteen.
Modern Family addresses situations that many real-life families encounter, such as sibling rivalry, the growing pains of adolescence, the ups and down of parenting, conflicts between spouses (and former spouses), and career successes and failures. One significant storyline that extends across the series concerns Jay’s struggle to accept that Mitchell is gay. Jay works to overcome his homophobia, ultimately becoming accepting and proud of his son. The characters evolve personally and professionally throughout the series. Claire decides to enter the business world, working at the company that Jay founded and then becoming its chief executive officer. Gloria becomes a U.S. citizen, and she and Jay have a child, Joe Pritchett (played in later seasons by Jeremy Maguire). Cameron and Mitchell get married, and, in the series finale, they adopt another child. Former high-school football player Cameron becomes a successful football coach. Haley gives birth to twins and marries her on-again, off-again boyfriend Dylan Marshall (Reid Ewing).
Stonestreet won the Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series in 2010 and 2012; Burrell won in 2011 and 2014. Bowen won the Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series in 2011 and 2012. Modern Family also won four Emmys for outstanding directing for a comedy series and two Emmys for outstanding writing for a comedy series. The series remained popular throughout its 11 seasons, with approximately 14 million viewers per episode at the height of its popularity. The Modern Family series finale was watched by 7.4 million viewers.