Modern Family may have ended a couple of years ago, but fans are still coming back to it — either to catch up on missed episodes or because the mockumentary sitcom is just that heartwarming. The Dunphys, Tucker-Pritchetts, and Delgado-Pritchetts were all unique, but they had one thing in common: love for each other.
After 11 seasons, some viewers felt the storylines were overdone and it was good the show wrapped. Diehard fans, on the other hand, have embraced rewatching the series and keeping an eye out for small details or Easter eggs they missed the first time around.
Phil Dunphy's Water Bottles
As a realtor, Phil Dunphy has some funny "Phil'sosophies" on Modern Family. But as goofy as he is, he's also one of the best realtors in the area because of the work he puts in to promote his image.
Reddit u/Cheesewwhiz spotted an awesome detail that showed the lengths Phil went to put his image on just about anything. "Behold… the Phil Dunphy water bottle! (He has them at open houses...)," they wrote. This small detail was loved by Redditors because it was a classic Phil Dunphy thing to do.
Married With Children Easter Eggs
Some fans Married... With Children. The late '80s sitcom made O'Neill's career and rivaled Modern Family in of another sitcom about family life.
Because of his time on the show, Redditors noticed a few Married... With Children Easter eggs sprinkled throughout Modern Family. JustJoshhhh wrote, "I know there's the episode where Jay has to get glasses and that's directly parodied from MWC." Vasilcin also pointed out, "Ed O'Neil reads the same issue of the newspaper he did in Married... With Children."
Lily's Former Comercial
Lily Tucker-Pritchett transformed throughout Modern Family, from an adorable baby to a blossomed teenager. As a child, Cameron wanted Lily to be in show business so he could live vicariously through her excitement.
The problem was that the commercial he allowed her to be in as a child was wildly racist. It took Mitchell coming to set to bring Cam back to reality and get Lily out of there. Interstinglyy enough, TesslaModelE spotted the commercial in the background of a scene. "Just noticed this Easter egg. Lilly’s Savezilla commercial playing in the background for the season 2 finale."
The Fascinating Details In "Connection Lost"
"Connection Lost" was one of the most visually creative episodes in recent sitcom history. With Claire stuck at an airport unable to reach Haley, the entire episode is seen through the Dunphy matriarch's eyes on her MacBook computer. Aside from the Apple product placement, Redditors found a few small details worth noting in this episode.
Nemanirjun noticed that one of the people Claire texted is a writer for the show. Reflectiveruse saw "Zach Barbie is Facebook friends with Haley." If fans can , Haley had a crush on Zach when their parents tried selling him their flipped project. The Redditor also noticed, "At the end of the episode, Alex writes 'Mom, I know you're not reading this' in the middle of her essay."
Phil's Mysterious Friend's Helicopter
Phil Dunphy is known for his fun greetings but he's also known for his humorous stories from his time in college. He talks about his friendship with his college buddy Ling a lot, but he briefly noted that Ling died in a helicopter crash.
The memory is a small one but xCrimsonRazee noticed that when the Dunphys are listening to Phil and Claire's old answering machine, Ling appeared. "One of the messages said 'Yo it’s me Ling' and then some other things but the last line was 'today is the day I fly my new helicopter,'" they wrote. They continued saying, "Then, I suddenly ed the episode (I forget which one) where Phil mentions his friend Ling who died in a helicopter accident!"
The Gutter-Done Was A Dream Of Phil's
In an unexpected thing that most Modern Family fans didn't see happening, SecureChocolate noted "In an episode in season 1, Phil and Luke are talking about the things they would buy, and Phil mentions a robotic gutter cleaner. In season 5, he now has a robotic gutter cleaner."
The callback to the Gutter-Done is an unbelievable detail that could have easily been missed. Sadly for Phil, his robotic gutter cleaner ended up killing a nest full of baby birds, scarring him in the process.
A Long List Of Details That Came To Fruition
There were a few continuity errors sprinkled throughout Modern Family, but this scene wasn't one of them. Ribzee noticed in season 3's 'Baby on Board,' Phil is going through his mail and naming off everything he sees. Funny enough, everything he reads connects to later episodes.
As the Redditor said, "...Here's a coupon for a gun range for mom. I don't know what that's about... Notice from the city to take down the treehouse or be fined $25 a day... Report card. Red light ticket from when me and Manny stole that... As fans know, it's revealed Claire secretly goes to the gun range when she's stressed and Phil spent days building a treehouse for Luke, even though it was never approved by their HOA.
An Accidental Cameraman Spotted
As a mockumentary, the characters all have interviews with the camera crew and are followed through school, work, and life. Although viewers never find out why the three families were being followed, there were a few theories.
Knowing there were cameramen following the characters, it shouldn't be too surprising to see one or two in a few scenes, but it caught fans off guard. CBAFCMV wrote, "Spotted a cameraman in Modern Family S01E06 'Run for Your Wife' clearly in view."
Was The Woman At Disney Always Supposed To Be Earl Chambers' Daughter?
Claire had one of the better character arcs in Modern Family because she went from a stay-at-home mom who lived through her kids to the owner of a leading business in the closet industry. Claire also learned to trust more, as was the case with Shirl Chambers.
Shirl Chambers was the daughter of Jay's nemesis, Earl Chambers. Shirl and Claire put their families' differences aside and worked on creating a friendship, which was huge for Claire. Funny enough Shirl Chambers makes a cameo in season 3. Arophobiam wrote, "Just noticed she is the actress who also plays Earl Chamber’s daughter later in the series." This could mean that Cam had a full conversation with Shirl before ever knowing who she was.
Claire's Facebook Friends
Another thing noticed in "Connection Lost" were the details on Claire's Facebook page. Pibbsycola wrote "Easter Egg in season 6 episode 16 - Shoutout to the crew!" Apparently, the top friends shown on Claire's page were the crew who worked on Modern Family.
Even funnier, there's a photo floating around of Claire's fake Facebook profile for Brody Kendall. Since Brody is friends with Haley and Alex, Claire made Brody's Facebook post say "Just told mom what I did when I went out last weekend. It's really cool to share your life with the parents." That status screams Claire and is hilariously why she's one of the show's most liked characters.