I love Modern Family as much as anybody else, but that doesn’t mean that a revival or a reboot is a good idea. Since the long-running documentary-style sitcom following the trials and tribulations of the Prichett-Dunphy-Tucker family ended, rumors have started up again about the show returning. As they are just rumors, it is not clear what a Modern Family revival would entail: A spinoff focusing on a few of the original characters, a continuation with all of them, or a reboot with a fresh cast.

A Modern Family-related project featuring some, if not all, of the original characters seems like a possibility, as Jesse Tyler Ferguson has teased a new Modern Family project, while Sofía Vergara has expressed interest in a Modern Family revival. However, forcing the story to continue when the characters have already received their happy endings may not be for the best. I came to the Modern Family fandom a little late and watched the show with a retrospective knowledge of the impact it had at the time. Yet recreating that impact would be difficult when pop culture is now in a completely different place.

6

The Final Seasons Of Modern Family Lacked Laughs

Modern Family was starting to get boring in its last seasons.

Seasons 9, 10, and 11 are considered the worst seasons of Modern Family, in part because some of the recurring gags had been long worn out. It is questionable how well the mockumentary format works nowadays, with both Modern Family and The Office seeing a decline in their final seasons. Yet Modern Family’s specific characteristic humor was being stretched too thin, especially concerning some real relationship issues (both with marriages and other familial relationships) being treated as comedy fodder. A lot of the funniest moments in Modern Family are from the earlier seasons.

The whole point of a spinoff, revival, remake, etc. is for it to be more of a good thing. However, if even the humor Modern Family is known for wasn’t working anymore, we are left wondering how well a new show would fare. The writers might try to establish new running gags for both returning and new characters. Yet the overall tone of the show has been used for more than 10 years, and may not be cut out to sustain a successful franchise.

5

Claire & Jay’s Career Storylines Were Repeating Themselves

Both Claire and Jay make some confusing career decisions in the later seasons.

One of the most hated storylines on Modern Family is when Claire (Julie Bowen) quits her job as the CEO of her dad Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) company despite having worked tirelessly to win the position and excel at it. She gets a new job as the Senior VP of Organize ‘Em by the end of the series. Even though Claire can plausibly have realized over several years she wanted a new job, it still felt like this was doing a disservice to her earlier storyline. More frustratingly, the subplots focusing on Jay’s career suffer from similar redundancies.

Jay makes Claire CEO because he wants to retire — and soon after, says he is bored and wants to come back to work. He then leaves Prichett’s Closets to start a new dog bed company and tries to get Claire to be the CEO. The fact that these storylines were loosely repeating themselves shows that Modern Family was running out of ideas and grasping at straws to create drama. I know I would be really frustrated if either one of them made another massive career change in the future, suggesting that neither will ever be happy with what they have.

4

Modern Family Got Lucky With The Child Actors The First Time Around

Modern Family may not find child actors who are as good as the original cast.

Modern Family was very fortunate with its younger actors, who not only gave great performances when they were children but grew up with their roles, making the characters just as real, funny, and compelling when they were young adults. Sarah Hyland was the only adult playing one of the underage characters at the beginning of the series but was cast anyway as it was deemed she looked young enough to play a 15-year-old. Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, and Rico Rodriguez obviously all auditioned for their roles but still delivered amazingly consistent performances for 10 to 11-year-olds.

As I am sure many people were, I was especially blown away by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons’ performance from the time she was a toddler, and I suspect her strengths as an actress influenced Lily’s character as she grew up. The writing played a part in Lily’s sassy attitude, but Anderson-Emmons was born for this kind of role. Lily only gets funnier and more sarcastic as she grows up. To a lesser extent, Modern Family had the same luck with Jeremy Maguire, who did not play Joe as long as Anderson-Emmons played Lily.

These actors were all children or even toddlers when they were cast, but ended up being just as talented as young adults. Presumably, a Modern Family revival would involve casting more child actors to play Poppy, George, Rexford, or any new child characters. I just don’t know if they will have the same kind of luck again — I’m amazed they got such a great cast the first time around. Additionally, the new actors would face the challenge of living up to these performances, when the original cast members were so good.

3

Finding New Lead Actors For Modern Family Would Be A Disaster

Modern Family’s whole cast is too iconic to replace or add to.

In general, adding to the Modern Family cast would be extremely difficult when the original cast is so iconic. Many of the possible Modern Family spinoff ideas focus on one or two of the characters from the original series. Presumably, this means that new characters would be cast to give the spinoff a full lineup. If a series were to be made about Mitch and Cam’s life in Missouri, members of Cam’s family may become regulars, while their neighbors or co-workers could also become major characters. A prequel about Gloria (Sofía Vergara) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) would likely feature Gloria’s family.

Admittedly, there are some exciting possibilities here. A Modern Family spinoff with Gloria’s sister Sonia (Stephanie Beatriz) and Manny’s father Javier (Benjamin Bratt) as regulars has potential. However, the Modern Family cast has been cemented as an ensemble, and adding new people is difficult, as it was with Dylan (Reid Ewing) in the later seasons. The audience’s attention would be naturally drawn to the legacy characters in any spinoff, while others may come across as lacking in development, setting an impossible task for the actors playing them.

The concept of a Modern Family spinoff focusing on Mitch and Cam/Gloria and Manny or another character is inherently flawed because it is essentially only a piece of the whole that made Modern Family a success. Then finding new characters and actors who can live up to the old ones is a huge obstacle. On the other hand, if Modern Family were completely rebooted, recasting the characters would be a completely different nightmare. I, for one, cannot imagine anyone other than Ty Burrell delivering Phil’s wacky one-liners and advice.

2

Haley’s Final Modern Family Storylines Tarnished A Great Character

Haley’s arc in the later seasons of Modern Family undermined her character development.

Haley’s (Sarah Hyland) later arcs in Modern Family are very divisive, undermining some of her earlier character development. Throughout the series, Haley matures a lot, building a career for herself and putting more effort into her relationships; she comes a long way from being the Dunphys’ shallow daughter, positioned as a foil to her academic sister. A huge storyline for her is her relationship with Andy (Adam DeVine), an awkward nanny who is not at all like the guys Haley usually dates, but whom she falls in love with anyway.

However, Haley’s deeper, more complicated relationships with Andy and Arvin (Chris Geere) are written out in favor of her getting back together with Dylan, her high school boyfriend. A lot of people felt like making Haley and Dylan the endgame was a mark against her character, reverting her to who she was as a teenager. Messing this up is also indicative of how Modern Family went on for too long and trying to continue Haley and Dylan’s arc would just be dragging out something that was already unpopular.

1

Interest Was Waning in Modern Family When It Ended

Modern Family was no longer in its heyday when the series came to an end.

Any time any member of the Modern Family cast hints at the mere possibility of a revival, the internet is set ablaze. However, this does not reflect how general interest in Modern Family was decreasing by the time the show ended. Most of the major multi-season storylines had been wrapped up: Mitch and Cam’s marriage, who Haley would end up with, all the kids graduating from high school and making plans for after, etc. It is also just a common occurrence for long-running sitcoms to lose some of their magic if things carry on for too long.

All in all, Modern Family ended when it needed to. The members of the Prichett-Dunphy-Tucker were sent in different directions with new career and personal opportunities coming up, scattering the main cast just as the show was no longer dependent on them being together. Everyone was given a mostly satisfying ending that promised they would continue to pursue their dreams while supporting each other in the years to come, despite complaints about the final season. With the last season getting a middling reception, continuing the show is risking ruining its legacy.