Eleven years, 11 seasons, 250 episodes and 22 Emmys later, Modern Family aired its finale on April 8 (April 9 in India) in an hour-long episode that saw the Pritchett-Delgado-Dunphy-Tucker clan bidding farewell to us and to each other. Since 2009, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) sitcom has been redefining the family-comedy genre with its unique treatment of stereotypes and making inclusivity fashionable, much before it became an aspirational box to tick. Seldom are TV shows popular and critically acclaimed in tandem but Modern Family, having bagged all the big telly awards and having had a successful run on the same network for years, has achieved that feat. With all the other new series coming and going, Modern Family-loyalists have remained, year after year. And while we keep our fingers crossed for spin-offs, here’s why we still love the series:
Themes: Homosexuality, racism, age differences, family values, gender — you name it and it has been dealt with in Modern Family. But what sets it apart is its treatment within the comedic purview of the show. So when the traditional old white American Jay Pritchett struggles to grasp the basis of his gay son Mitchell’s marriage with Cameron (Cam), it is oddly relatable and when he is encouraged and helped in every step of this process of modernisation by his much-younger Colombian wife Gloria, it is not just endearing but also a process of normalisation of their own marriage. Similarly, even amongst the younger cast members, Gloria’s son Manny’s varied interests in the arts and Claire and Phil’s three children’s diverse list of accomplishments and interests, coupled with adopted daughter Lily’s Vietnamese heritage ensured that the theme of inclusivity ran through the series.
Cast members of Modern Family 11 years ago and now Sourced by the Telegraph
Cast: With cast members such as Edward Leonard O’Neill, Sofia Margarita Vergara, Julie Bowen, Tyler Burrell, Jesse Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, the series boasted big names who, at the end of the 11 seasons, have now become synonymous with their Modern Family characters, despite all of them having already had successful roles before this. But the popularity of the show is also evident in how famous even the younger cast members like Sarah Hyland and Ariel Winter became due to the characters they played.
Characterisation: From feisty Colombian Gloria to proud farm-boy Cam, Modern Family is a lesson in characterisation for modern times. While I cannot imagine the series without Gloria’s accent (there are entire episodes based on this) or even Lily’s deadpan expressions on the face of her gay dads’ tendency towards extravaganza, even Cam’s clown alter-ego Fizbo and Jay’s pet dog Stella were given their own character arcs and stories. The critically acclaimed and award-winning writing of the show was famous for tying up all the characters neatly and that is a commendable feat, considering how everyone is uniquely inter-connected.
Humour: While it doesn’t take much for an intended comedy to slip into the genre of tedious, Modern Family has been a winner in this department with not just an overall funny plot but also succeeding in keeping the humour intact even while dealing with serious topics. Gloria’s immigration woes were couched in scenes such as when she is learning the history of America for her green card interview and yet said things such as “Baby Cheeses” (she meant “Baby Jesus”) and referred to a helicopter as “taka taka taka taka”. Claire and Phil are shown often struggling with keeping the romance alive after three kids and almost 25 years together through their adorable alter-egos Clive Bixby and Juliana who are a riot due to their failed overtures of romance. The constant ribbing between Haley, Alex, Luke and Manny and later Joe and Manny are a delight to watch, even if they have tackled everything from boy-trouble to bullying.
