Modern Family

For those still in withdrawal from the cancellation of Arrested Development, let me write you a prescription: Modern Family. The comparisons are obvious and with good reason. The postmodern comedy for the 21 century was ushered in by The Office(UK) and Arrested Development, but I, for one, doubted something could come along and satiate my longing for another truly, original comedy. Albeit, you may initially be wary to see yet another mockumentary-style show, but by the end of the pilot, you'll be smiling/laughing way too hard to stay cynical. Thus far, the plot lines have been really fresh and the characters are so, for lack of a better word, lovable. This show fulfills all my comedy needs, and I feel like I must resort to the listing of relevant adjectives: Witty, dry, smart, outlandish, silly, clever, cute, sarcastic, subtle, not-so subtle. HILARIOUS. I hate to say it, but the laugh tracks and raw goofyness of classic sitcoms like 'Seinfeld' and 'Friends' are obsolete and leave something to be desired. You will find that something in Modern Family. And who knows, maybe some of the more painfully funny and poignant scenarios will reveal insight into the changing dynamics of both the modern family and modern comedy. Great show. Period. And let's get it right this time around: don't cancel good TV shows. Pretty please?

The single most amazing thing about this series is that it never got tired or predictable, never got preachy, and has layers that can only be discovered if you watch it more than once. Okay, that is not a single thing. So sue me. But seriously, folks, the writing here is a study in mixing subtlety and the obvious. Every character is carefully developed and you will find yourself wondering which is actually your favorite after a few seasons. Even the guest stars shine, and the sprinkling of celebrities in later seasons must indicate that the show achieved a special status. It is probably not a surprise that Lloyd used to produce Frasier.

Modern Family is primarily a comedy that revolves around three families that are held together more by their virtue of acceptance and love than by the blood ties that connect them. Each character has been thoughtfully written out and played to perfection by a slew of actors who take your breath away. A family that is so imperfectly perfect that you draw the expectations for your own family - present or future - from their actions, morals, decisions and values.

It's a show where an old rich man marries a young woman of colour; where a white patriarchal figure accepts, not without his reservations, his openly gay son and his partner; where a gay couple gets its chance at parenting when they adopt an Asian girl; where we have a teenage pregnancy create the foundations of a loving family; where an old couple decides to give parenting a spin in the second innings of their life; where each child grows up emboldened with the confidence that his family is there to support him/her to become their own person.

What the show does impeccably well is throw societal expectations for a toss to underline only one thing - who we are and choose to be does not dictate the rightness or the wrongness of our being. The only this that does is the purity of our hearts. That is it. One episode after the other, we have the writers create interwoven and hilarious narratives into episodes that break stereotypes and societal conventions to showcase the meaningless of their existence.

Despite the seriousness of the central theme, the show is outright hilarious. It is witty - much too witty to understand every joke, every emotion, every retort in just one watch. The writing is spot on. It makes you live the characters and fall in love with each one of them - one episode at a time. It's made me pause the show because I had to laugh so bad. It has also made me pause to make way for a few tears which flowed without announcement, without purpose. The families, despite their eccentricities and unconventional way of being, are ever so relatable in how they love one another. The only way to truly love someone is to let them thrive in their own choices - that's what I learn from this show - every day.

It's unparalleled what this show has done for the people who were too scared to come out of their closets and the parents who were too scared to have a kid who did. I cannot recommend this show enough. You will feel a myriad of emotions when you truly embrace the depth of the stories and therein lies its beauty.

The only reason I'm giving 9 and not 10 stars for this brilliant show, is because I do agree with many other reviewers who are saying that it was dragged out too long.

With shows as good as this one we often never want them to end, and neither did the cast and crew it seems after watching the farewell doco... but keeping it going for 11 seasons unfortunately does mean things start to get a bit repetitive and stale.

But in general, I think this show is one of the best comedy sitcoms I've seen in my 38 years. It's easy to watch, hilariously relatable and a nice break from all the extremely graphic blood, gore and sex and that is taking over our screens!

I love the themes of diversity and acceptance that were largely absent in the shows of my childhood, it's great to see these ideas becoming mainstream :)

All in all it's just a wonderful show, great writing, great cast. Loved it :)

Modern Family is a documentary style sitcom that follows the lives of a family. There's a reason why this show and it's actors/actresses won so many awards over the years...because it's hilarious! The cast (Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen, Ariel Winter, Sarah Hyland, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, among others) is one of the best overall casts in sitcom history. There's really not a weak link among them, they're all pretty much equally funny! Of course everyone has their favorites and some are a little better than others but not by much. It's a testament to the writing and the actors that you're favorite character will probably change several times throughout the series.