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Modern Family

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Modern Family
File:Modernfamily.PNG
Opening screen
GenreSitcom
Mockumentary
Created byChristopher Lloyd
Steven Levitan
StarringEd O'Neill
Sofía Vergara
Julie Bowen
Ty Burrell
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Eric Stonestreet
Sarah Hyland
Ariel Winter
Nolan Gould
Rico Rodriguez II
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersSteven Levitan
Christopher Lloyd
Production locationLos Angeles
Camera setupFilm; Single camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesLloyd-Levitan Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 23, 2009 –
present

Modern Family is an American mockumentary comedy TV series. The half-hour series, which was created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, is produced by Fox Television Studios. The mockumentary follows the families of Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill), his daughter Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), and his son Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) who live in Los Angeles. Claire is a homemaker mom married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell); they have three children. Jay is married to a much younger Colombian woman, Gloria (Sofía Vergara), and is helping her raise her pre-teen son. Mitchell and his partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) have adopted a Vietnamese baby, Lily. The show premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009 to critical acclaim.[1] It has even been named as a big contender for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards.[2]

On January 12, 2010, Modern Family was renewed for a second season by ABC.[3]

Cast and characters

Main article: Characters of Modern Family

The show revolves around three families that are interrelated through Jay Pritchett and his children, Claire Dunphy and Mitchell Pritchett. The families meet for family functions, around the neighborhood, and cross-family bonding.

Family tree

The characters in green have regular roles on the show.

Javier DelgadoGloria Delgado PritchettJay PritchettDeDe PritchettUnnamed MotherFrank Dunphy
Manny DelgadoCameron TuckerMitchell PritchettClaire Pritchett DunphyPhil Dunphy
Lily Pritchett-Tucker
(b.2009)		Haley DunphyAlex DunphyLuke Dunphy
Key:
Adopted
Divorced

Episodes

Main article: List of Modern Family episodes

Some episodes begin with members of the family being asked a specific question, which forms the wraparound for the entire episode. The show then follows the antics, adventures, and mishaps of the three families as they deal with events of a particular day. Episodes may focus on the role of a father, how the children in each family are doing, etc. Episodes typically close out with a voice-over, where one of the members of the extended family provides their opinions as an answer.

Other episodes don't have a wraparound but may follow an event that links all three families, such as the Ohio State-Illinois game in "Coal Digger" or Luke's birthday party.

There has been one Christmas special, one Thanksgiving special, and one Valentine's Day special.

Production

The series quickly became a priority for ABC after the pilot episode tested high with focus groups, resulting in the network ordering 13 episodes and adding it to the 2009–2010 fall lineup days ahead of ABC's official schedule announcement.[4][5][6] The series was given a full season pickup on October 8, 2009.[7][8]

On January 12, 2010, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that Modern Family had been renewed for a second season.[9]

Special guest stars

Former Cheers comedian Shelley Long appeared in episode 4, "The Incident", as Jay's ex-wife. Edward Norton and Elizabeth Banks appeared on the November 18, 2009, episode, "Great Expectations".[10] Norton played Izzy LaFontaine, the fictional bassist of Spandau Ballet, whom Claire believed to be Phil's favorite band; Banks portrayed Sal, Mitchell and Cameron's old friend and reputed party girl, who they meet for a night on the town. Fred Willard made a brief cameo in a scene from "Undeck the Halls", followed by an appearance in episode 21 (Travels with Scout) when he travels cross country without Phils' mother and shows up with a dog, Scout. Comedian Mo Collins guest starred as Denise the nurse, who is the caretaker of Caroline, a little girl Manny defeated in a fencing match, in the episode "En Garde." Chazz Palminteri guest starred as Shorty, a friend of Jay's who may or may not be gay, in the episode "Fifteen Percent". Kristen Schaal guest starred as Whitney, a woman Manny met online and believes he will take out on a date. Minnie Driver appeared as a friend and former co-worker of Claire's in "Moon Landing". David Brenner appeared as himself in "My Funky Valentine".[11] Judy Greer appeared as an ex-girlfriend of Phil’s.[12] Justin Kirk appeared as an owner of a clothing line, which Mitchell starts to work at.[12] Eric Lange appeared as a basketball coach.[13]

Reception

Critical reception

The first season has been met with mostly positive reviews. It received a 'critically acclaimed' Metacritic score of 86 out of 100.[14] Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-, calling it "...immediately recognizable as the best new sitcom of the fall...".[15] In Time's review the show was named "the funniest new family comedy of the year."[16] It has also been compared to the 1970s series Soap, in regards to the multiple family aspect, as well as Arrested Development. Some have made comparisons to The Office and Parks and Recreation, due to their mockumentary formats.[17]

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Modern Family
Year Result Award Category Recipient(s)
2009 Nominated Golden Globe Awards Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy[18]
Nominated Satellite Awards Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Julie Bowen
2010 Winner Directors Guild of America Awards Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series[19] Jason Winer
Nominated Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Nominated Writers Guild of America Awards Best Comedy Series
Winner New Series[20]
Winner Episodic Comedy[20] Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan
Winner Peabody Award [21]
Nominated GLAAD Media Awards Best Comedy Series[22]
Winner Young Artist Awards Outstanding Young Performers In A TV Series [23] Rico Rodriguez II, Nolan Gould and Ariel Winter

Seasonal ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Modern Family on ABC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Season Timeslot Original Airing Rank Viewers
(in millions) 		18-49 Nielsen Rating
Season Premiere Season Finale TV Season
1 Wednesday 9/8c September 23, 2009 May 19, 2010 2009–2010 TBA 9.33* 3.1*[24]
2 TBA September 2010 May 2011 2010–2011 TBA TBA TBA

International broadcasters

Country Broadcaster Season Premiere
 Argentina Cityfamily 1 2009 (2009)
 Australia Network Ten 1 May 18, 2010 (2010-05-18)
 Belgium Prime 1 January 13, 2010 (2010-01-13)
 France Paris Première 1 2010 (2010)
M6
 Canada CityTV 1 September 23, 2009 (2009-09-23)
 Finland MTV3 1 January 5, 2010 (2010-01-05)
(only the pilot episode was aired)
 Turkey MTV3 1 January 21, 2010 (2010-01-21)
 Greece Fox Life Greece 1 April 23, 2010 (2010-04-23)
 Iceland Stöð 2 1 February 2, 2010 (2010-02-02)
 United Kingdom Sky1 1 October 15, 2009 (2009-10-15)
 Ireland
TV3 October 22, 2009 (2009-10-22)
 Israel yes stars Comedy 1 March 13, 2010 (2010-03-13)
 Mexico Cityfamily 1 2009 (2009)
 Venezuela
 Brazil
 United States (Alternative) FOX 1 2010 (2010)
 New Zealand TV3 1 January 24, 2010 (2010-01-24)
 Sweden TV4 1 April 16, 2010 (2010-04-16)
 Romania HBO Comedy 1 April 25, 2010 (2010-04-25)
 Thailand True Series[25] 1 February 2, 2010 (2010-02-02)

References

  1. ^ From Metacritic (September 23, 2009)
  2. ^ March 18, 2010  (March 18, 2010). "Can 'Glee' or 'Modern Family' beat '30 Rock' at the Emmys? | Gold Derby | Los Angeles Times". Goldderby.latimes.com. Retrieved April 27, 2010. {{cite web}}: Text "  2:54 pm" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Modern Family", "Cougar Town", "The Middle" Picked Up, Zap2It.com, January 12, 2010
  4. ^ From Variety (May 8, 2009)
  5. ^ From TV Guide (May 8, 2009)
  6. ^ "ABC picks up its first series for fall (updated)" From Los Angeles Times (May 8, 2009)
  7. ^ "ABC gives full season pickups to “Modern Family“, “Cougar Town,” and “The Middle“")
  8. ^ Isis Abrams. "ABC Picks Up Cougar Town, Modern Family and The Middle". TVGuide.com.
  9. ^ Jan 12, 2010 10:11 AM (January 12, 2010). "ABC bringing back 'Modern Family,' 'Cougar Town' - The Live Feed | THR". Thrfeed.com. Retrieved April 27, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Robert Seidman (October 30, 2009). ""ABC's November Sweeps Programming to Include 'Hank', 'The Forgotten', and 'Eastwick'"". TVbytheNumbers.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
  11. ^ ""Modern Family Fansite'"".
  12. ^ a b ""Modern Family Fansite'"".
  13. ^ ""Modern Family Fansite'"".
  14. ^ Modern Family metacritic.com
  15. ^ TV Review – Modern Family (2009) Entertainment Weekly
  16. ^ Yes, We Kin Time Magazine, September 28, 2009
  17. ^ Fall TV Preview 2009: Modern Family E! Online
  18. ^ "Modern Family ABC | Modern Family – Golden Globes Nomination!". Modern-family-tv.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  19. ^ "Modern Family ABC | Modern Family Win!". Modern-family-tv.com. January 31, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  20. ^ a b "'Hurt Locker,' 'Up in the Air' win Writers Guild awards - Los Angeles Times". Latimes.com. February 21, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  21. ^ "69th Annual Peabody Award Winners Include "Glee," "Modern Family" - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. March 31, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  22. ^ "21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards – English Language Nominees". Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  23. ^ "Young Artist Awards Nominations – Modern Family". 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  24. ^ "Wednesday Night 2009-10: So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show, Glee, Mercy, Law & Order: SVU, America's Next Top Model, The Beautiful Life, New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, CSI:NY, Hank, The Middle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Eastwick - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. April 3, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  25. ^ "TrueVisions Worlds". Truevisionstv.com. February 20, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2010.

Press releases

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