Ahead of their final season, the cast of ABC's Modern Family gathered for their first table read and took a photo to how far they've come. Modern Family premiered on ABC in 2009 and tells the story of three different families who are all related. It uses a mockumentary film style, where the characters speak directly to the camera as well as to each other. The series has been both a commercial and critical success. Season three, its highest rated, averaged 12.9 million viewers, and the show has been nominated for numerous Emmys, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Modern Family will end next year with its 11th season, though its eventual conclusion has been discussed for a while now. At one time, it seemed that the show might finish with season 10, before co-creator and showrunner ABC renewed the series and also announced that it would be the final season.
A lot has happened to the characters in the ten years since the show premiered, evidenced by a side-by-side photo Levitan shared on Instagram. In his caption, Levitan explained that the first photo was taken a decade before, outside of the first ever table read for the series. The second was taken in the same spot today, outside of the table read for the first episode of the final season. Check out the comparison photo below:
When Modern Family began, Claire and Phil's kids were young, Jay and Gloria just had Manny, and Cam and Mitchell had just adopted Lily from Vietnam. In the seasons since, Claire and Phil's kids all graduated high school, Jay and Gloria had Joe, and Lily grew up into one of the show's sassiest characters. Claire also ended up taking over Jay's closet company, while Cam became a football coach at Luke and Manny's high school. The 10th season saw one of the biggest changes the show's had, with Haley marrying high school sweetheart Dylan and giving birth to twins in the season finale.
Despite Modern Family's continued popularity, it makes sense that the show is ending now. Since all of the kids are getting older, it's been harder to justify keeping their characters around. Alex especially hasn't been around as much in the last few seasons, as she was away at college. It's also something the show had to work around last season when Luke and Manny graduated high school. The birth of Haley's twins, and with it a new generation of Pritchetts, signals a natural stopping point for the show. However, if the above photos are any indication, fans can look forward to a lot more nostalgia before saying goodbye to Modern Family.
Source: Steve Levitan