Modern Family is an American television comedy created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label. Depicted in mockumentarystyle, the fictional characters talk directly into the cameras during many situations that arise throughout the series.
The story follows the families of Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill), his daughter Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), and his son Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), who live in a suburban community of Los Angeles, California. Claire is a homemaker mother married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell); they have three children—Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter), and Luke (Nolan Gould). After splitting with his longtime wife (Shelley Long), Jay has re-married with a much younger Colombian woman, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofía Vergara), and is helping her raise her pre-teen son,Manny (Rico Rodriguez). Mitchell and his partner Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) have adopted a Vietnamese baby, Lily Tucker-Pritchett (Ella Hiller, Jaden Hiller).
Lloyd and Levitan conceptualized the series while sharing stories of their own "modern families." The series premiered to critical acclaim and was watched by 12.61 million viewers. Early on, it was named as a big contender for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards. Soon after, the series was picked up for a full season on October 8, 2009. On January 12, 2010, Modern Family was renewed for a second season by ABC.
The series has received mostly positive reviews from critics and received multiple award nominations. In 2010, following its first season, it won theEmmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, as well as two other Emmy Awards, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Eric Stonestreet, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd. The syndication rights to the show have also been sold to USA Network and 10 Fox affiliates for a fall 2013 premiere. The success of the show has also led it to being the sixteenth highest revenue earning show for 2010, earning $1.6 million an episode. On January 10, 2011, Modern Family was renewed for a third season, which will premiere with an hour special on September 21, 2011.