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AMC, 11/15
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed shows.
Modern Family
EMAILPRINTSERIES: ABC, Wednesday 9:00p (30 minutes)

Universal acclaim
Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 88 votes
Read user comments
Rate this show >
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.
Episode Guide & More Info: More about this show at TV.com
Also On The Web: Official Show Site
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...
Chicago Sun-TimesPaige Wiser
This fast-paced mockumentary perfectly captures the experience of parenthood.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
The family comedy gets a welcome and winning update in ABC's Modern Family, the fall's best new sitcom.
Read Full Review >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).
Read Full Review >The New York TimesGinia Bellafante
Tthe best new half-hour of funny television in a season rife with half-hours of funny television.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >USA TodayRobert Bianco
The best of the bunch, and the best new series of the fall, comes first.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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."
Read Full Review >Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
It’s not too early, however, to heap praise onto this astute, well-written show and its many specific wonders.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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?
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
It's like three, maybe four sitcoms all squeezed into one, and quite an enjoyable one.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >PopMattersLeigh H. Edwards
With its deft writing and sharp performances, the show is a telling snapshot of how families live now.
Read Full Review >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.
