The pandemic may have made it difficult for us to be visit our families but there’s the light-hearted series – Modern Family that will always have our back. 11 seasons worth of relentless giggles, we welcomed the sitcom’s extended family of dysfunctional individuals into our home as if they were our own relatives and we’ll be doing so for a long time now that the complete series is streaming on STARZPLAY!
Inspired by the creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan’s real life ‘modern’ tales about their families, the duo believed that the stories could be the basis for a show. They started working on the idea of a family being observed in a mockumentary-style show like that of The Office where the characters sometimes speak directly in the camera. They later decided that it could be a show about three families and their experiences.
The series boasts of an excellent star-cast all living in Los Angele who are interrelated through Jay Prichett (Ed O’Neill) and his children, Claire and Mitchell. Patriarch Jay is remarried to a much younger woman, Gloria (Sofia Vergara), a passionate Colombian with whom he has a baby son, Joe Pritchett; and a 10-year-old son from Gloria’s previous marriage, Manny; They also have a pet dog named Stella. Jay’s daughter Claire (Julie Bowen) is a homemaker married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), a real-estate agent and self-professed “cool dad”. They have three children: Haley (Sarah Hyland), the stereotypical giddy-headed teenage girl and now married to her boyfriend turned new husband Dylan ready to raise their new twin children – Poppy & George; Alex, a nerdy, smart middle child; and Luke, the offbeat only son. Jay’s lawyer son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) have an adopted Vietnamese daughter, Lily a New U.S. stepbrother & adoptive son, Cal.
The highlights of the show are undoubtedly Ty Burrell who plays Phil Dunphy, one of the greatest TV dads. He’s the cliched goofy and embarrassing father, that everyone has but wished they didn’t. Oblivious to reality sometimes, his friendly and open demeanour makes him one of the most endearing and comical characters in the show followed by everyone’s favourite Gloria Pritchett played by Sofia Vergara. Her thick Latina accent coupled with her undying love for her son Manny and her need to always chide her husband, Gloria’s loud banter is contagious!
Modern Family won accolades for its stellar script and performances including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times, twice each for Eric Stonestreet and Ty Burrell, as well as the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series twice for Julie Bowen. It won a total of 22 Emmy awards from 75 nominations. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2011.
An enduring classic that reinvented the genre of Family Comedy, Modern Family will go down for generations to come as the greatest show ever to be made.
Modern Family – Seasons 1-11 are streaming currently on STARZPLAY. Watch Now!
