Modern Family is a hilarious mockumentary sitcom that has aired for 11 seasons on ABC, with the currently airing 11th season set to be its last.
The show follows the main characters around as they seemingly talk to a cameraperson who’s filming a story about their lives. For what reason? We don’t know. The “modern family” includes Claire, her husband Phil and their three kids Haley, Alex, and Luke, Claire’s brother Mitch, his husband Cam and their adopted daughter Lily, and Claire and Mitch’s father Jay, his much younger second wife Gloria, their son Joe and her son from a previous marriage, Manny.
With funny storylines, intertwining plots, and lots of laughs, the show will be sorely missed. Which is why we’ve thought up some ideas for characters who deserve spin-offs, and then some who don’t.
Phil Dunphy: Yes
Phil is one of the funniest characters on the series as the goofy dad who takes his job as a realtor too seriously, and he then takes his passion for magic even more seriously.
He likes to be considered the “cool” dad, but is often embarrassing to his kids. He’s full of dad jokes so we could totally see a show that follows Phil in his new pursuits as the owner of a magic shop. Maybe he ditches real estate and tries to get a career in magic off the ground and become a respected and famous magician.
Claire Dunphy: No
Claire is the stressed-out mom of three who, now that her children are all grown, has gone back to work to run her father’s successful closet organizing and design business.
Claire’s funniest moments happen around her family, so we can’t see a series that centers on her career and struggle to become the respected boss. She’s a great character, don’t get us wrong. But a show all about Claire? It wouldn’t work without the other characters in it.
Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker: Yes
Mitch and Cam are the dynamic duo and polar opposites: Mitch is an uptight lawyer while Cam is an animated man who loves football and has a flair for the dramatics.
With the latest season hinting that the pair might uproot their lives and move to Missouri where Cam is from to start anew, we could totally see a fish-out-of-water-type series that looks at how Mitch adjusts to the drastic change. How will Cameron act once he’s back in his hometown where the wine, extravagant parties, and button-up shirts he has become accustomed to are replaced by the beer, tending to animals, and overalls of his past?
Jay Pritchett and Gloria Delgado-Pritchett: No
Jay and Gloria are a great couple, with Jay as the grumpy old man who loves to play golf, drink scotch, and lives by old traditions. As for Gloria, she's the modern-day, no-nonsense independent woman and bombshell who loves fashion, cooking, and taking care of her kids.
While Gloria is now pursuing a career in real estate with Phil’s help, which could present some interesting storylines, we just can’t see a show about these two. It would seem like a bad attempt at reinventing Married…With Children, the sitcom that starred Jay's actor (Ed O’Neil) as a much grumpier man, but also with an attractive wife.
Haley Dunphy and Dylan Marshall: Yes
The latest season begins a new chapter for Haley as she is now married to her long-time, on-again and off-again high school beau Dylan. And they have twin daughters. Could a show progress following their lives as they struggle to raise kids without holding down good jobs and having a good handle on their own lives?
Maybe they finally move out of the Dunphy household and try to make it on their own, with cameos from the various cast members. We could totally see it.
Alex Dunphy: No
Alex is the super-smart, sarcastic middle child who is often annoyed by her younger brother Luke and older sister Haley. Struggling to rectify her desire to do good in the world with a fantastic job offer that makes her feel as though she’d be “selling out” if she took it, a spin-off could follow her life as she moves to a big city and becomes a career woman.
But, we can’t see the character being compelling enough to carry a show on her own. There’s nothing particularly remarkable about her story now to justify it.
Luke Dunphy: Yes
In the latest episode, Luke declared his desire to quit school and pursue a business idea, alongside a potential investor and partner he met in a club. It seemed eyeroll-inducing given Luke’s track record until he revealed his idea to his parents and it was actually good.
Might a spin-off covering Luke’s journey to becoming the most successful sibling of the three be feasible? A Mark Zuckerberg type, perhaps? It would be funny to see, especially since Luke has long been considered the “dumb” child who wasn’t likely to amount to much.
Lily Tucker-Pritchett: No
Lily is the sarcastic, typical teenage daughter to Mitch and Cam who appears on screen every once in a while to deliver a funny one-liner, or show how much her fathers are embarrassing her.
She isn’t a popular nor significant enough character to carry a spin-off on her own, though she would be integral to a Mitch and Cam spin-off. Unless the character was played by a much-older actor and the story followed her life 10 years into the future. Lily went from a baby to a teen in just a few seasons anyway, so it would be totally believable.
Pepper Saltzman and Ronaldo: Yes
Pepper is a friend (more like frenemy) of Mitch and Cam who also Cam once dated; Ronaldo is his younger boyfriend. This couple is hilarious together. They throw extravagant parties every year that Mitch and Cam claim to hate going to but feel obligated to show up to. Pepper and Ronaldo even arranged Mitch and Cam’s wedding.
They are a hilariously over-the-top, somewhat mismatched couple that could make for tons of on-screen hijinks as they navigate life, parties, parenthood, and more. Plus, how can we pass up some Nathan Lane?
Manny Delgado: No
Manny, the son of Gloria and stepson of Jay, is always there to provide some comic relief. He’s acted like an old man in a young boy’s body for years and is now coming into his own by pursuing his dream of directing.
That in and of itself could make for a great spin-off idea. But we can’t see a show that would grab viewers’ attention centered on a twenty-something-year-old aspiring filmmaker. And for Manny to be compelling on screen, he needs to be interacting with the others.