Modern Family

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.

'Modern Family' more than deserves to be recongised as not only one of the best comedies of the 2000's, but also amongst the best ever.

Sharply written (by several 'Frasier' alum no less) and wonderfully performed by a fantastic cast, this show was near perfection for its first 7 years.

Like all good shows though it did decline in later years, while of course still being able to come up with exceptional episodes along the way, but the writers did seem to run out of logical new stories and ways of developing the kids when they grew up.

Overall though, this was a fantastic show, and one I will revisit regularly.

Modern Family is one of the funniest sitcoms of the last decade. The entire cast is hilarious. It has one of the best ensemble casts of any show I can remember. Every single character shines and all the actors and actresses were perfectly cast for their roles. This went on for 11 amazing seasons, each one just as funny as the others. It never felt like the show was going stale or over staying it's welcome. Even watching the reruns will make you laugh like it's your first time seeing it. This show has won so many awards over the years and each one was earned. What makes this show so funny is that every family can relate to someone on the show, sometimes all of them. I would definitely recommend this show for anyone looking for a new sitcom.

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?

Modern Family is my all time favorite comedy show, it's so comforting and entertaining to watch. I love all the characters and the hilarious and creative storyline. Definitely one of the best comfort shows.