5 best Modern Family episodes that are too good to be missed
Modern Family was undoubtedly one of the most popular and favorite family sitcoms to have ever aired on the American network television. It premiered on ABC in 2009 and aired a total of 11 seasons, before wrapping up the story in 2020. Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan reportedly created the mockumentary style sitcom with inspiration from the nuances and idiosyncrasies of their own families.
The series was originally pitched to multiple networks like CBS, NBC, and ABC, but only the latter apparently picked up the pilot. With a strong reception of the pilot episode, they initially green-lit 13 episodes, but ultimately went for a full season once the series started airing.
Modern Family pulled a lot of viewership, and quickly climbed the charts to stand among the highest rated comedy shows on TV. It also received positive feedback from critics and audiences for its characters, scripts, and its humor-lined approach to contemporary issues. It has also won several prestigious awards and accolades, including a Golden Globe and multiple Primetime Emmy Awards.
Modern Family revolves around three different families who are all part of the extended Pritchett family. Jay, Gloria, and Manny make up the main family, with Jay's adult children from his first marriage having their own families.
His daughter Claire has her Dunphy household, with her husband Phil, and three children -- Luke, Alex, and Haley. Jay's gay son, Mitchell, is married to Cam and they adopt a baby daughter, Lily. Modern Family explores the hilarious situations and the dynamics of the three families as they navigate their lives interacting with each other.
The series has an ensemble cast who have been the heart and soul of the show since its premiere. The lead cast members include Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.
In this article, we explore some of the best episodes that Modern Family aired during its 11 years of running. If you loved the family, you will definitely know some of these iconic moments on the show.
5 best Modern Family episodes that are a total laugh-fest
1) Connection Lost (S6E16)
Episode 16 of Modern Family season 6 was one of the funniest episodes from the entire series. Along with getting one of the highest ratings on IMDb, Connection Lost was also hailed for its originality and unique approach to storytelling. The episode even won an Emmy in 2015 in the category of 'Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series and Animation.'
The episode had Claire waiting for her flight back from Chicago, when she tried to get in touch with Haley, which in turn set off a chain of events that ultimately led to a huge misunderstanding. Claire wanted to make up with Haley after a huge fight they had, but could not get a hold of her.
She got in touch with her family one by one, but still couldn't locate where Haley was. However, a series of social media posts and a consecutive checking of Haley's iCloud account convinced Claire that she ran off from home and got married in Vegas. Among all the hullabaloo of the misunderstanding, Haley was found sleeping in her room all along.
2) Caught in the Act (S2E13)
We can all accept that catching our parents "doing the deed" is easily one of the most uncomfortable situations, for both the parents as well as the children. Modern Family's episode 13 of the second season covered a similar situation at the Dunphy household.
On Claire and Phil's anniversary, their children decided to surprise them with breakfast in bed, but instead, walked in on them getting intimate with each other. While this put the children in a very awkward situation, it also reminded Claire of how a similar incident in her childhood had traumatized her. Hence, later, she decided to confront the situation head on, and talk it out with her children.
3) Fizbo (S1E09)
Fizbo had the Dunphy family organize a spur-of-the-moment birthday party for Luke. When Phil and Claire felt bad for Luke for being content with the most minuscule things and not expecting a lot, they decided to throw him a huge birthday party, filled with the coolest things.
While Claire set up an arts and craft station for making comb-sheaths, Phil got a bounce house, a zipline, a rock-climbing wall, and a reptilian show among other things. Cam decided to go as Fizbo, the Auguste clown, not knowing of Phil's fear of them.
During the reptile show, when Haley got jealous of Dylan's closeness to the reptile handler, she let out a poisonous scorpion, which ultimately led to a huge commotion in the household. Although Luke got hospitalized at the end, it was still his favorite bithday, all because he got a cast on his injured hand.
4) Fulgencio (S4E13)
Fulgencio is Modern Family season 4's episode 13, which had Jay and Gloria christening their newborn child, while the Dunphy household children dealt with different problems they were having. Jay named their new born child Fulgencio to please his mother-in-law, but just decided to call him Joe instead.
On the other hand, Phil was stuck at his house with a handful of problems that were making the Dunphy's lives difficult. When his good-natured approach did not bear results, Phil decided to do things the hard way.
He sent Luke and Dylan to deal with the issues at hand - releasing rats at Alex's classmate's party, shoot down balloons covering up Phil's poster, crashing a car into a lemon tree, and leaving a half-torn Zebra head in Luke's friend's bed. The episode turned out to be a humorous homage to The Godfather.
5) American Skyper (S6E24)
American Skyper is the season finale of the Modern Family's season six. The installment had the Pritchetts celebrating Alex graduating from high school, while Phil tuned in from Seattle through a telepresence robot.
While Claire was disappointed for not being able to give Alex her perfect gift, the latter told her that she had already given her everything she needed and she would just like her mother to join her on her European trip. Mitchell had lost his job, but was fretting on how to break the news to Cam, who had a penchant to be dramatic.
However, the highlight of the episode was definitely robot Phil, who listened to Andy's girl problems, and also gave him advice on it. But when he realized that Andy's other girl was Haley, and the two love each other, he tried to stop Andy from proposing to his long-time on-off girlfriend, but failed as a malfunction happened.
These were some of Modern Family's best episodes. The series' focus on the complex yet relatable familial relationships and interactions touched the hearts and tickled the funny bones of millions of fans. If you are looking to catch a hilarious family sitcom with your own family, Modern Family is definitely the title to go for. It is undoutedly one of the best family sitcoms out there.
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Abhipsa Choudhury