
One of ABC’s most successful comedy series ever, “Modern Family”, is coming to an end with its 11th and final season that kicks-off in September. I recently chatted with one of its stars, Eric Stonestreet, who has won two Emmys for playing Cameron Tucker.
The season finale that aired earlier this month saw Haley (Sarah Hyland) give birth to twins – a boy and a girl who have not yet been named. The episode, titled “A Year of Birthdays”, was written and directed by show co-creator Steven Levitan. And he structured it differently than every other episode to date.
We get snippets of each character’s birthday over the past year, leading up to the birth of the twins. For those who watched the show this past season, some storylines are fully flushed out as we move along through the year.
As someone who’s watched “Modern Family” for a long time, I was pleased with this refreshing format. I asked Stonestreet for his take on it:
“People were kinda out on the fence with it when we first read it. We didn’t know how it was gonna go. There were people that weren’t sure, and there were people that were really confident. And then there were people that didn’t like it. But I thought it turned out great. I thought it came together really really well. I think when you’re on the air for 10 years, you gotta keep trying new things. And you gotta branch out and do different… non-linear storytelling.”
As for a preview of the final season, Stonestreet offered me this tease: “I wish I could share the one little tidbit that I do know. I know that they’re committed to going out strong and doing a good job and taking care of all of the characters. Steve and Chris [Lloyd] are talented guys. I think people will be satisfied. In this world now where people are demanding final seasons be re-written, which is absurd, I don’t think we’ll disappoint people.”