Modern Family is coming to an end with Season 11 in 2019 and 2020. To an extent, this is understandable because the sitcom has been running so long. However, it is nonetheless sad news for Modern Family fans, particularly since it has been revealed that a significant character will die in the series. As a result, now is a good time to reminisce about some of the best characters, best relationships, best moments, and other elements that we will miss about the show. Here are 20 things that we will miss about Modern Family:
1. Reflects Real Life Experiences
It is natural for media to reflect the experiences of media creators. As such, shows like Modern Family can serve as a mirror for their times, thus providing viewers with some interesting insights along the way. In any case, Modern Family has plenty of moments that were inspired by the real life experiences of the people involved in its making. One excellent example as noted by Factinate would be how Mitchell having to come out to his father multiple times before being believed was inspired by the actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s own experiences in this regard.
2. Fizbo Is Real
Speaking of real life experiences, it is amusing to note that Fizbo is real. To be exact, Eric Stonestreet was dressing up as a clown called Fizbo when he was still at the age of nine, with the result that he was starting to performing in said role when he was still at the age of eleven. In fact, Stonestreet created the character so long ago that he isn’t even sure about how his name was chosen.
3. The Cast Members Get Along Well
There are a lot of shows that come to a conclusion because their cast members can’t get along very well. As a result, it is refreshing when the opposite is true, particularly when the cast members are as numerous as they are on Modern Family. For those who are unaware, it is interesting to note that the Modern Family cast members submit themselves to the awards as supporting actors and actresses, which was something that they all agreed upon so that none of them would come to see themselves as being more important than the others. For that matter, it is interesting to note that they have been pretty united when it comes to negotiating their earnings with the studio as well.
4. Eric Stonestreet Contributes to the Small Town Jokes
Eric Stonestreet comes from Kansas City, which isn’t quite what most people would call a small town but is nonetheless much closer to said status than, say, either New York or Los Angeles or any other city that is home to millions. As such, it is amusing to note that the writers for Modern Family have actually consulted Stonestreet on a number of occasions when coming up with small town jokes, which are meant to give them an increased sense of authenticity.
5. Ed O’Neill Has Been Using the Same Newspaper Prop for Decades
Certain keen-eyed individuals noticed that Ed O’Neill has been using the same newspaper prop on Modern Family that he used on Married . . . with Children, meaning that it has been use for more than three decades. This seems remarkable, but it isn’t as unusual as it sounds. Instead, one could say that it is just good sense, seeing as how the photos and text on a newspaper prop need to be cleared by legal teams before seeing use. As a result, reusing one that has already been cleared saves everyone both time and effort.
6. Luke and Manny Relationship
Over time, Luke and Manny have formed a strong relationship in spite of their significant personality differences. Moreover, said relationship has a number of quirks that have been used to kickstart various storylines involving the two in various roles, which explains why some people see them as one of the stronger candidates for an eventual Modern Family spinoff down the road.
7. Cam and Lily’s Relationship
Cam and Lily’s relationship is one of the more entertaining parent-child relationships that can be found on the show. The two love one another no less than the other parents and children on Modern Family. However, Cam’s more colorful character has resulted in a number of memorable moments, with an excellent example being him introducing her to the family by holding her up while playing The Lion King’s “Circle of Life.”
8. Cam, Phil, and Gloria Relationship
Speaking of which, the Cam, Phil, and Gloria relationship is a pretty entertaining one as well. In this case, the trio tends to be centered on their single most prominent shared characteristic, which would be that each of them is married to a member of the Pritchett family. Due to this, the trio serve as the more colorful member of their respective couples, which puts them in an excellent position to joke about the Pritchetts’ common faults.
9. Claire and Mitchell Relationship
In contrast to the aforementioned examples, Claire and Mitchell’s relationship is one of the more grounded relationships that can be found in the show, so much so that it would be perfectly believable if placed in some other context. However, that isn’t to say that the sibling relationship isn’t without its points of interest. For instance, it is clear that Claire was their father’s favorite while Mitchell was their mother’s favorite, which resulted in some funny moments as well as a fair amount of drama between the two over the course of the show.
10. Claire and Hayley Relationship
Likewise, Claire and Hayley’s relationship can be counted among the more grounded examples as well. After all, much of it is focused on Claire’s concern for Hayley’s future, which is very much rooted in Claire’s fear that her daughter will make some of the mistakes that she made at the same age as well as Hayley being upset by the rules with origins that she doesn’t exactly understand. On the whole, Claire and Hayley’s relationship lacks a lot of the fun that can be found in other dynamics that can be found in Modern Family, but it serves to contrast with those so that each can stand out that much better through said element.
11. Jay and Gloria Relationship
Sometimes, Modern Family has been known to play with traditional tropes. This can be seen in Jay and Gloria’s relationship, which on initial glance, can seem like the classic story of an older, wealthier man getting married to a younger trophy wife. However, Modern Family makes it clear that the two are actually in love with one another in spite of their occasional clashes over their differences, which is very nice.
12. Cam and Mitchell Relationship
Similarly, the fact that Cam and Mitchell make up one of the three most important couples on the show is great for Modern Family as well. Granted, homosexual relationships are not as stigmatized in the present as in the not so distant past. However, it is still very much a serious issue, meaning that positive, prominent representations of homosexual characters are still very much a plus.
13. The Extended Family
Of course, the titular family are the most important characters on the show. However, plenty of the members of the extended family have shown up in one way or another, with examples ranging from Phil’s parents to Gloria’s mother and Cam’s sister. None of these side characters have been detailed in the same way as their main cast counterparts, but they have nonetheless provided material for plenty of funny moments.
14. Character Development
The characters on Modern Family have definitely shown signs of character development over time, which are often delightful to see. For example, Mitchell harbored a fair amount of resentment because of Jay’s parenting, but has since managed to move on, thus resulting in a much healthier relationship as adults. Likewise, while Alex and Hayley’s relationship is still contentious at times, it is clear that the two do have a fair degree of affection for one another. Something that is particularly neat because there are plenty of cases of sibling rivalries that are never resolved, thus resulting in the relationships festering with lifelong consequences.
15. Love Overcomes
Speaking of which, there are various moments in Modern Family that show that love can help people overcome their own failings to become better for not just their own sake but also the sake of their loved ones. As mentioned earlier, the fact that Alex and Hayley do love each other in spite of their serious differences is a great example. However, an even better example can be found in the case of Jay, who struggled with the fact that his son Mitchell is gay but nonetheless came to accept him as well as his partner Cam. This can be seen in Jay’s willingness to walk Mitchell down the aisle at his wedding, which was a brilliant reminder of how things can turn out for the best in a world in which such family disputes often don’t turn out well.
16. Manny Has a Full Name
This doesn’t come up much, but Manny’s full name is actually Manuel Alberto Javier Alejandro Delgado. At this point, some people might be curious about why Manny’s full name is so long. If so, they should know that the naming custom of Spanish-speaking countries aren’t the same as those of English-speaking countries. As such, Spanish speakers get the surnames of both their parents. Moreover, it isn’t uncommon for Spanish speakers to have more than one first name as well as combined surnames, both of which can make their full name longer.
17. The Neat Balance Between Support and Overdoing It
Speaking of Manny, Gloria’s parenting has always been one of the more interesting topics on Modern Family, not least because it is something that is relevant to a lot of parents out there. Simply put, Gloria is very supportive of her son no matter what his interests might be, which is a good thing. However, Gloria can be a bit smothering at times, which is not. Unfortunately, figuring out the exact line between offering support and offering too much support is much harder than it sounds, which is one of the things that made Gloria relatable to the viewers.
18. Phil’s Positivity
As noted by The Things, Phil’s positivity is one of the best things about the character. It sometimes leads him in the wrong direction and it sometimes misleads him as to what is actually going on. However, the fact that Phil manages to remain positive almost all of the time is one of the things that make him a fun character to watch.
19. When Phil Gets Intense About Something
On a related note, the scenes in which Phil gets intense about something can be pretty memorable as well. They don’t necessarily mean that Phil is going to perform some kind of awesome action, but they do make for a very neat contrast to the standard way of things on the show, which can be very refreshing to see at times. Such moments are particularly amusing when Phil overdoes things with even more hilarious results than otherwise possible.
20. The Documentary Style
Initially, Modern Family was supposed to have a character who was a filmmaker making a documentary about the titular family with which he had stayed for a time. However, it was eventually decided that the character was unnecessary, though the documentary framing managed to hold on. Although it isn’t exactly the beating heart of the show, it is nonetheless something that contributes to its characteristic flair, not least because it allows additional storytelling options that wouldn’t be possible on other shows without it. In particular, it can be very entertaining to see moments in which characters do one thing in “real life” before proceeding to put a better face on it when “speaking for the camera.”
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