Ensemblic Comedy: Zach's Thoughts on Modern Family

This post is not sponsored nor endorsed by ABC or any other business/organization. All views are the author's own.

I have spent many a posts on this abomination with many sitcoms from the late 2000s to early 2010s. Notable examples of shows covered include The Office, 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, and etc. But one has kept not being on my radar. Until just now.

I'm talking about Modern Family, the one sitcom that for whatever reason, I knew existed, but didn't think much of. But not anymore, as now I have watched a few seasons of it and am ready to give it the treatment that all sitcoms deserve, a college student's bumbling rant about it.

Now, let's get into Modern Family and the thoughts I had surrounding the show.

Modern Family was one of the most popular sitcoms in the early 2010s that aired on ABC. It portrayed the ficticious Pritchett family in three branches: Patriatch Jay Pritchett and his second wife Gloria and her son, Jay's daughter and her traditional "nuclear" family, and his son, partner, and adopted daughter, and their interactions and day-to-day adventures through life.

I thought the show was… fine. I see how people thought it was funny, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get into it. It was more of a chore than others to get into. The characters all had their quirks that were amusing. Mitchell and Cameron's relationship was cool to look at, alongside seeing all of the kids grow up.

But there's two things that I do have to say about the show that is definitive from my perspective:

Many sitcoms do have stereotypical characters, but it isn't as blatant and caricaturish as the show. Maybe that's why people like it? Because the stereotypes are amusing to see? But I didn't get the appeal.

There are some funny stereotypes that are played into, like the neurotic gay and the know-it-all middle daughter. But there are others that I just find painful to watch, and I would rather not go into the details at that.

Perhaps the show can be seen as relatable with those with larger close families, and live closer to each other, because many people swear to the fact that Modern Family is relatable in terms of domestic life.

I'm not denying that it isn't relatable… to some people. But my family is rather secretive and elusive, and we leave to our own devices. As such, I see the show and I just go "Huh?"

Again, not denying that it's bad. But I couldn't find the show relatable, which made it difficult to get into and be in their shoes.

Modern Family is a fine binge-watch. I see how people like it, but I'm not surprised that it took me so long to watch it, and likely won't be rewatching it save for the clips that show up on my social media.

If you like feel-good sitcoms with a large ensemble, then you would easily like Modern Family. But if you don't like seeing walking families in a stereotypical soup, then I would go elsewhere.

In case you couldn't tell: this post was a pain to write, because I really had nothing to say about the show. But I was determined to publish it this week. So here we are.

As we move closer towards the Anniversary, special posts will begin to be released. You can view the tentative schedule of posts for the summer at zachsthoughts.com/5-years! Which I finally have updated.

Thanks for reading, see you soon!