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2009 Fall Season
2009 Summer Season
2008-09 Midseason
2008 Fall Season
2008 Summer Season
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005

Recent/Upcoming
Movies & Specials

46 The Prisoner
AMC, 11/15

73 Collision
PBS, 11/15

70 Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags
HBO, 10/19

84 Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
IFC, 10/18

80 Occupation
BBC America, 10/18

Recent/Upcoming
Series Premieres

47 The Wanda Sykes Show
Fox, Saturday

67 V
ABC, Tuesday

54 The League
FX, Thursday

81 Friday Night Lights Season Four
DirecTV 101, Wednesday

77 Endgame
PBS, Sunday

78 White Collar
USA, Friday

20 The Jeff Dunham Show
Comedy Central, Thursday

47 Lock 'n Load
Showtime, Wednesday

74 30 Rock Season Four
NBC, Thursday

65 Nip/Tuck Season Six
FX, Wednesday

49 Secret Girlfriend
Comedy Central, Wednesday

62 Sherri
Lifetime, Monday

48 Three Rivers
CBS, Sunday

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.

Modern Family

EMAILPRINTSERIES: ABC, Wednesday 9:00p (30 minutes)

Modern Family
86
8.6 User Score:

Show Info

Genre(s): Comedy

Created By: Christopher Lloyd
Steven Levitan

First Air Date: September 23, 2009

Summary

Starring Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter, and Rico Rodriguez

The comedy explores the idea of what is the modern idea of a family.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Chicago Sun-TimesPaige Wiser

This fast-paced mockumentary perfectly captures the experience of parenthood.

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100

Chicago TribuneMaureen Ryan

Modern Family has the finest cast of any new fall show and, thank goodness, this excellent comedy gives these talented performers the kind of sharp material they deserve.

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100

San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman

In a fall season surprisingly flush with good sitcoms, the best new comedy by far--and it's not that close of a race - is Modern Family on ABC.

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91

Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker

Modern Family works because it does something the network sitcom hasn't managed in years: It offers a comic equation for almost every audience segment, while never blanding out the characters for mass consumption.

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90

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen

The family comedy gets a welcome and winning update in ABC's Modern Family, the fall's best new sitcom.

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90

TV GuideMatt Roush

This show earns its laughter with sharp writing, brilliant casting and characters that hit very close to home while often striking a nerve (mostly the funny bone).

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90

The New York TimesGinia Bellafante

Tthe best new half-hour of funny television in a season rife with half-hours of funny television.

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90

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

Long on heart, brimming with great characters, smartly cast, expertly written and funny from start to finish, Family is the obvious choice for best new fall comedy--and possibly best series.

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90

TimeJames Poniewozik

This is the funniest sitcom pilot of the fall.

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90

SalonHeather Havrilesky

Instead of the usual family sitcom curse of clichés and bad "Full House" jokes, Modern Family captures the absurdities, quirks and freakish flaws of today's extended family in ways that feel lively, unique and just dark and mean-spirited enough to be...well, accurate.

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88

New York PostLinda Stasi

It's funny, it's vicious, it's politically incorrect--in other words, everything that "Community" wants to be and isn't.

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88

USA TodayRobert Bianco

The best of the bunch, and the best new series of the fall, comes first.

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88

Slant MagazinePeter Swanson

Most of the episodes so far have ended with a simulacrum of a group hug, an acknowledgement that, even though they don't always get along, this family loves one another. So far, these moments have worked on the show, but the formula could get tired.

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83

NewsdayVerne Gay

Modern Family is good. Better than good. Really good. O'Neil--dry and wonderful as ever--and Vergara (considerably less dry) are a winning combination.

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80

VarietyBrian Lowry

Flitting among three storylines, it's smart, nimble and best of all, funny, while actually making a point about the evolving nature of what constitutes "family."

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80

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

It’s not too early, however, to heap praise onto this astute, well-written show and its many specific wonders.

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80

Los Angeles TimesMary McNamara

Modern Family is sharp, timely and fresh, complicated enough to be interesting but with a soft, sweet center because, and I'm speaking loudly so even cable channels can hear, there is nothing wrong with that.

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80

Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall

Though I enjoyed NBC’s pilot for Community a little bit more, "Modern Family" has as assured and entertaining a start as you could hope for.

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80

Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray

ABC is taking it one step at a time as it uses its biggest hit, "Dancing with the Stars," to give three of those shows a fighting chance. At least one of them actually deserves it. That would be Modern Family.

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80

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Any one of these families has the potential to power a decent sitcom, but Modern Family manages to juggle all three in a balancing act that is not just funny, but heartwarming, and when was the last time you saw that on TV?

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80

Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin

For the first time since Married...With Children stood the genre on its head two decades ago, somebody has come up with a new take on the family sitcom, and the results are riotously funny.

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80

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

It's like three, maybe four sitcoms all squeezed into one, and quite an enjoyable one.

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80

Washington PostTom Shales

[The mockumentary style is] used not to excess but to success, which is just what this wise, clever and bighearted comedy ought to be.

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80

Wall Street JournalDorothy Rabinowitz

For their part, Messrs. Levitan and Lloyd set their ambitious sights on a rare kind of comedy, and they have, it appears, found the gold.

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80

SlateTroy Patterson

The pacing of the show's jokes, which heralds a welcome respect for the quickness of the audience, helps all the humor pop. Of course, good-old dumb physical juxtapositions don't hurt, either.

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70

PopMattersLeigh H. Edwards

With its deft writing and sharp performances, the show is a telling snapshot of how families live now.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this show is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 88 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

zac h gave it a10:
The funniest new show of the fall possibly the year.

Tom B gave it an8:
This show is freaking hilarious... one of the sharpest comedies I've seen in a while and I've never been a fan of "The Office" type of docu-comedy genre.

JD gave it a9:
I don't know how people could possibly give this show a 1...that's just being ridiculous. This is the funniest show I've seen in a long while. The jokes are smart and everything comes together in an enjoyable way. It's awesome.

Darrin T gave it a7:
Pretty good but not nearly as funny as The Middle.

Alex o gave it a10:
I NEVER watch sitcoms but a friend recommended this and I have to say I am hooked! This isn't just the best sitcom, it is one of the best shows on tv right now.

Deneb k gave it a10:
Fantastic, captures the absurdity of modern family life.

Tom gave it a9:
I hated the first episode - thought what is all the fuss about, then watched second episode loved it laughed more than I had in ages at t v comedy - for those who didn't like it first viewing try again - Along with The Middle the two best new comedies.

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