The Enduring Legacy of “Modern Family”
After 11 seasons and 250 episodes, the beloved, groundbreaking, and 22-time Emmy winning series came to an end with a chaotic and bittersweet finale on Wednesday. The show’s critical and commercial peak may have passed a few years back, but the astonishing legacy of the show remains intact.
[Author’s Note: The following article contains spoilers regarding the final season and series finale of Modern Family. If you have yet to watch it and intend to, I recommend that you bookmark this article and return to it once you are done watching.]
The Heyday of Modern Family
Modern Family was an out-of-the-box critical and commercial hit when it premiered on September 23, 2009. It performed strongly in the ratings, commanded the attention of critics, and generated big buzz among industry insiders and the viewing public. I still remember watching the show’s first few episodes as they premiered and being astounded by how a show could balance the heartwarming, character-driven humor of traditional multi-camera family sitcoms like The Cosby Show and Family Ties with the madcap energy and densely packed scripts full of rapid-fire one-liners that characterized modern cult hits like Arrested Development and 30 Rock. It was a remarkably tricky balance that arguably no show had ever struck as successfully.
