Modern Family is well known for being one of the best sitcoms of all time, and it introduced us to perhaps the best TV family to ever grace our screens. Though the dynamics between the Pritchets, Delgados, and Dunphys were never perfect, they always came together to support one another. After 11 seasons playing a family unit, it’s no surprise the cast is all still very close with each other. Sofia Vergara, who played Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, says she misses one cast member in particular, and it’s partially because of his group chat habits.

Modern Family ran from 2009-2020 on ABC, and in many ways, it was a very unique filming environment. So very rarely do all the stars of a TV show get along, but Julie Bowen, who played mom Claire Dunphy, has previously said she could have happily stayed on the Modern Family set forever. Vergara shared similar sentiments when the show ended, and personally reunited the cast at her house in 2023.

Still, it’s not the same as seeing someone everyday, and the America’s Got Talent judge recently told People the reason why she misses her onscreen husband Ed O’Neill (Jay Pritchett) more than most:

Ed O’Neill must have been the perfect mentor for the Hot Pursuit actress, after helming another familial sitcom Married…With Children from 1987-1997. I have to say, Vergara must have made his job easy though. I remember her being a natural talent and favorite character on Modern Family from even the early episodes of Season 1, which are available to stream with a Hulu subscription.

It’s natural to miss someone after spending nearly every day with them for 11 years. In many ways, it was like a real marriage with kids, and I love that the Modern Family cast have kept up those roles with each other since the show’s departure. Though some like Ty Burrell have moved away from Hollywood, making it difficult to attend cast reunions, they really do try to show up for the big moments in each others’ lives.

Nearly all of them were in attendance for Sarah Hyland’s wedding to reality star Wells Adams, with her onscreen uncle Jesse Tyler Ferguson even officiating the nuptials. Burrell and Eric Stonestreet (Cam) recently went to support Ferguson in his off-Broadway show TRU as well.

Some cast members even live together, with Ariel Winter (Alex Dunphy) recently becoming roommates with her TV brother Nolan Gould, after ending her long-term relationship with former Disney actor Luke Benward.

However, for those not sharing a bathroom like they’re back in the Dunphy house, Vergara says they keep in touch via a family group chat. When asked whether or not the chat is still active, the Griselda actress confirmed everyone texts pretty frequently, except the one person she misses the most:

User error! I’m cracking up because this is so Jay Pritchett of O’Neill. A lot of the time, Jay was out of the loop when it came to modern tech or lingo, a side effect of being an older dad to young kids. So it makes sense that would still be the case when it comes to the Modern Family group chat, and I’m left wondering how much acting O’Neill had to do when it came to playing his character. At least the 80-year-old actor still responds…eventually.

Regardless, it makes my heart so happy to know the Modern Family cast all still talk on a regular basis, and I can’t wait for the next time they all get together.

Modern Family is one of the best sitcoms of all time, and it’s arguably because of the chemistry of the actors, who are basically like family, similar to their characters. At this point, it's been six years since the hit ABC series ended, and the cast is still close and holding occasional reunions, whether big or small. The latest meetup involved Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, and Eric Stonestreet and, after the fact, Stonestreet hilariously trolled his on-screen husband.

Burrell (who played Phil Dunphy) and Stonestreet (who portrayed Cameron Tucker) paid a visit to Mitchell Pritchett actor Ferguson in New York to see him lead the off-Broadway play TRU, centered on Truman Capote. I love that Stonestreet and Burrell could see the play before it closed, and it seems their co-star was pleased as well. Ferguson shared a fun photo of himself with his fellow Modern Family alums on Instagram, and the post also includes a number of other sweet snapshots:

It’s always so great seeing the Modern Family cast get together, and the fact that it happens pretty often is even better, no matter who reunites with whom. Of course, it's not uncommon for some form of hilarity to ensue during or after one of those reunions. With that, Stonestreet didn’t waste any time in poking fun at Ferguson via his own Instagram post, and it includes pictures that might have fans doing a double take:

As can be seen above, Stonestreet's photos humorously age Ferguson significantly and, to be quite honest, if someone had never seen the latter before, they might be convinced by it.

What's worth mentioning is that this post also comes after Stonestreet reunited with his and Ferguson’s on-screen daughter, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, in October. And, as was the case with that get-together, Ferguson later dropped funny response to Stonestreet’s latest bit of trolling, and I can just hear the exhaustion in his comment:

Even though Ferguson and Stonestreet love joking around with each other, they can still share sweet messages with one another at times. For example, in September, Stonestreet tied the knot with Lindsay Schweitzer, and Ferguson had a sweet response. It goes without saying that relationships amongst co-stars can vary by cast, but it's more than evident that there's a sincere level of love and respect between Stonestreet and Ferguson.

That aside, Ferguson was not the only Modern Family cast member who recently starred in a show in New York. Sarah Hyland’s been killing it on Broadway, including her performance as Connie Francis in Just in Time last fall. Her on-screen mom, Julie Bowen, paid her a visit and even hilariously (and maybe accidentally) took shots at her other on-screen daughter, Ariel Winter, by telling Hyland she’s the best fake daughter she could hope for.

Here's hoping that the bonds between the Modern Family stars -- including Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet and Ty Burrell -- remain intact for years to come. Fans can also stream all 11 seasons of the series using a Hulu subscription.

In the age of reboots, revivals, prequels, sequels, and spinoffs, you never know what film or show will be next to get the treatment. While some definitely don’t need it, it’s also fun to see what some fan-favorite characters are up to, and that almost happened with Modern Family. While the Emmy-winning sitcom ended in 2020, it nearly got a spinoff following Mitch, Cam, Lily, and little Rex. However, now Jesse Tyler Ferguson is opening up about it, and he did not mince words while sharing his take.

The potential spinoff would have centered on Mitch (Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and their new life in Missouri with their daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons), and their recently adopted baby son, Rex. Ferguson recalled finding out about the spinoff while speaking with guest Wendi McLendon-Covey on his podcast Dinner’s on Me and how he was looking forward to moving on with his life after Modern Family ended. So he was feeling a bit conflicted about the initial news:

Considering Modern Family ran for 11 seasons, it makes sense that Ferguson was feeling a bit hesitant to do the spinoff. However, at the same time, he was interested in doing a spinoff and exploring more about these characters. It probably didn’t help that he had already booked another role, and it sounds like it was a pretty difficult decision, especially since all signs were pointing to ABC moving forward:

I understand where Ferguson is coming from. Obviously, he sounded interested in doing the spinoff, but he also wanted to move forward and not have to stick to doing just one thing. Unfortunately, ABC ended up not moving forward with the spinoff, and Ferguson shared his thoughts on that matter:

Stonestreet, meanwhile, previously got candid about the spinoff, admitting how hurt he and Ferguson were when it didn’t get ordered. He also noted how much the show and these characters mean to him and his co-star, and how he thought the spinoff could be successful. It’s still unclear exactly why ABC didn’t want to do the spinoff, especially since Modern Family was successful, and even six years later, it still hurts.

As a Modern Family fan, I would have loved nothing more than to have a Cam and Mitch spinoff, and I’m still sad that it didn’t happen. At the very least, there are frequent Modern Family reunions, both big and small. And Ferguson and Stonestreet have reunited with Anderson-Emmons on numerous occasions, so that family will always be around, albeit in different ways. It’s possible we could still get some type of Modern Family spinoff in the future. The series is still one of the best sitcoms of all time, so you never know what could happen.

Throughout Modern Family’s 11-season run, the cast had been through a lot together, both personally and professionally. Even five years after the sitcom ended, they are all still close and holding Modern Family reunions from time to time. While it's clear they all look back on this experience fondly, not everything they went through on set was great, which was made clear as Jesse Tyler Ferguson reflected on the Modern Family cast being with Nathan Lane when news of Robin Williams’ death broke.

Ferguson’s latest guest on his Dinner’s On Me podcast was Josh Hutcherson, and at one point, the two got to talking about Robin Williams, whom The Hunger Games actor worked with on RV. Williams’ death in 2014 took the world by surprise, and Ferguson explained that he found out about it during one of Nathan Lane’s many appearances on Modern Family as Pepper Saltzman. Now, famously, Lane had worked with Williams on an iconic movie; however, the Mitchell actor completely forgot about it when they learned of his death:

Being on the set of a sitcom where everyone is happy and laughing and then getting news like that is not easy, especially since there’s a big shift in the environment. Plus, while Williams' death hit hard for a lot of people, those who personally knew him, like Lane, were likely hit hardest. However, I'd imagine that the Modern Family star forgetting about The Birdcage actually helped lighten the mood when the tragic news broke.

As I said, Lane had worked with Williams on The Birdcage, which was released in 1996. The film, an adaptation of the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles, which is an adaptation of a 1973 play. It follows Albert and Armand Goldman, a gay couple whose son is set to marry the daughter of a conservative senator. Not only was it a box office success, but it was also one of the few films from a major studio to feature LGBT characters at its center during that time. So I can only imagine the type of impact it and its success had on Lane and Williams' lives.

Meanwhile, Williams’ legacy has lived on years after his death, so much so that Dwayne Johnson is honoring him while filming Jumanji 4 by wearing a necklace with the original film’s prop dice. It was a heartfelt way to pay tribute to him as the final chapter in Jumanji continues filming, and there’s no telling what other nods there will be in the actual movie that will be released in 2026.

Getting news that Robin Williams had died was not easy for anyone who was a fan of his work, which was practically the whole world. But Jesse Tyler Ferguson being able to share that moment with the cast and Nathan Lane probably made it bearable, and I can only imagine the kind of stories that were shared around after that.

Modern Family is arguably one of the best sitcoms of all time, and made history for its constant Emmy love and representation of LGBTQ+ couples in a time where this was rare. Despite how universally acclaimed the series was during its whopping 11 seasons on the air, Mitchell actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson recently spoke about the backlash he got for that role, and how hurtful it was when coming from the queer community itself.

Modern Family, which is streaming with a Peacock subscription, began its tenure on the air before marriage equality had passed in 2015. While Ferguson's father originally lamented him playing gay roles, it turns out criticism came from queer folks as well. In a conversation with Russell Tovey on his podcast Dinner's On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the star of stage and screen revealed that some LGBTQ+ folks weren't happy with how he was representing queer folks on screen. He shared:

Ouch. While the Modern Family actor was making history by bringing Mitch and Cam's relationship to the small screen, it turns out that some LGBTQ+ viewers thought he was playing a stereotype. One can only imagine how that must have felt for the Cocaine Bear star as he was taking his career from Broadway to television.

This type of feedback is taking me by surprise, as I always was delighted by the way Ferguson brought Mitch to life. So did the critics, as he ended up being nominated for five consecutive Emmy nominations. Later in that same conversation with Tovey, the Mid-Century Modern actor spoke about playing his signature character pretty close to how he is IRL. In his words:

Hearing about being a stereotype while not trying to necessarily put a character on must have been strange for JTF. As he admits, he was largely playing himself as Mitch, albeit with unique and sitcom-focused stories. So if he was a stereotype in the role, I guess he was a stereotype off camera as well.

Modern Family is streaming on Peacock and Hulu right now. We'll just have to see where Jesse Tyler Ferguson appears on screen next; he most recently appeared onstage in Twelfth Night at The Public, co-starring Lupita Nyong'o, Sandra Oh, and Peter Dinklage.

Audiences fell in love with the Pritchetts, the Dunphys and all of the branches of the Modern Family tree during the 11-season run of one of the all-time best sitcoms on ABC. After spending such a significant chunk of their lives together, it’s not hard to see how the cast would become like a real family, and it’s always nice to see them reunite. Julie Bowen met up with Sarah Hyland recently and may have inadvertently shaded Ariel Winter in the process.

Sarah Hyland, who played the oldest Dunphy daughter Haley on Modern Family, is currently portraying Connie Francis in Just in Time on Broadway. Her TV mom Julie Bowen had glowing praise after catching a performance and posted a photo of their backstage reunion to Instagram:

They certainly look like a happy mother-daughter duo, don’t they? I couldn’t help but notice something in her caption, though, as Julie Bowen wrote:

Now, I know for your real children, you’re really not supposed to have favorites — or, if you do, you shouldn’t say it out loud or post those thoughts on social media where the other, less-favorable children might see it. Does that rule stand for fake children, too? Because Sarah Hyland isn’t Julie Bowen’s only fake daughter, and I can’t help but wonder how Ariel Winter feels about this.

Ariel Winter played Alex, the brainiac Dunphy middle child, younger sister of Haley, older sister of Luke (Nolan Gould). This seems like a classic case of middle child syndrome to me, always getting forgotten or ignored. I find it doubtful that Julie Bowen actually meant to throw any shade toward Winter and was likely just really excited about Sarah Hyland’s performance.

However, this wouldn’t be the first time Ariel Winter got snubbed by her Modern Family family. Back in 2021, just a year after the longtime series came to an end, some of the members of her TV family came together for a mini-reunion. Sofia Vergara posted a pic of her, Sarah Hyland and Jesse Tyler Ferguson enjoying a picnic lunch, which prompted Winter to inquire about her and Nolan Gould’s invitations.

The Alex Dunphy actress, however, was present when much of the cast reunited for Sarah Hyland’s wedding, and I’d imagine in actuality Ariel Winter is just as proud of Hyland’s achievements in the theater as their TV mom is.

Five years have now passed since Modern Family aired its final episode, and the topic of a reboot, reunion or spinoff has come up plenty of times, most recently by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who seemed to get a little jealous of Eric Stonestreet’s reunion with their TV daughter.

Only time will tell if we’ll ever see the Dunphys on our screens again to hash out this whole “best fake daughter” thing, but in the meantime, you can still stream all 11 seasons of Modern Family with either a Hulu subscription or a Peacock subscription.

One of Hollywood’s most recognizable young stars — even if she’s not permanently living in L.A. — Ariel Winter is familiar to fans not only on sight, but also for her vocal talents, as she’s been crushing voice-acting roles for most of her life, perhaps most notably as Disney’s mini-princess Sofia the First. Winter’s latest family-friendly 2D performance was for The Sisters Grimm, which is currently streaming via Apple TV subscription, and she told CinemaBlend why she still gets just as excited about animated projects as live-action ones.

In The Sisters Crimm, the first successful adaptation of author Michael Buckley’s YA novels, Winter voices the role of older sibling Sabrina Grimm, who discovers she and sister Daphne have quite the magical family tree as they meet up with characters straight out of fairy tale lore. The actress talked to CinemaBlend ahead of the streaming show’s debut, and I asked whether her opinions have changed over time, in regards to a preference between animated and live-action roles, and her response was delightfully down the middle. In her words:

Currently 27 years old, Ariel Winter has amassed around 100 credits so far across her work in movies, television, video games and more. (I’m especially fond of 2022’s decisions-matter horror The Quarry.) Some of her earliest voice roles happening in the preschool program Tickle U, the game Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and Bambi II, released between 2005 and 2006, though likely recorded earlier. Meanwhile, she first popped up in live-action for appearances in One Life to Live, LIsten Up, and as the 7-year-old version of Michelle Monaghan’s character in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Just that lineup touches upon a variety of different characters and performance types, and that’s a bit part of why Winter remains excited about both. She continued:

Since Modern Family wrapped up its run in 2020, amid constant calls from fans to revive or spinoff the ABC comedy, Winter has largely opted to lend her voice to animated projects like American Dad, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Phineas and Ferb, with The Sisters Grimm serving as her first series regular role since playing Alex Dunphy. On the flip side, Winter has appeared in a handful of live-action indie movies in the past few years, from the 2023 comedy Tripped Up to a trio of 2025 releases: the drama Like Father Like Son, the coming-of-age dramedy Pools and the Zoom-esque horror Don't Log Off.

Given the long wait time between actors recording their performances and when the fully animated projects are released, I wondered if it's ever difficult for Ariel to get excited all over again while promoting those projects. I was surprised to learn the exact opposite is the case, as Winter said it's more difficult to tamp the initial excitement down in the first place, saying:

It's a good point to make, since live-action projects obviously also take time to come together during the post-production process, even if it's not always as extensive as animation can be. But it's still awesome to hear that Winter doesn't have any trouble falling right back into a pumped-up mindset when new projects are on the horizon. She continued:

It's definitely true that not all projects are created and released equally, so the fact that The Sisters Grimm got such a high-profile release is celebratory in and of itself. While waiting to hear whether or not Season 2 will happen at Apple TV, check out what co-star Lorraine Newman told me about Saturday Night Live's casting changes.

Modern Family is arguably one of the best sitcoms of all time, and many still stream it today using a Hulu subscription. One of the best aspects of the series is chemistry amongst the cast, who remain close to this day. With that, members of the SAG-winning ensemble have reunited on multiple occasions over the last few years, like at Sarah Hyland’s wedding, where Jesse Tyler Ferguson was the officiant. Now, Ferguson has a funny response for his TV husband Eric Stonestreet and their on-screen daughter, who met up to hang out.

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons (who also professionally goes by Frances Anderson) and Eric Stonestreet recently got together in Kansas City, Missouri, which is where Stonestreet is from. Stonestreet took to Instagram to share some fun pictures and videos from the reunion, and they even re-enacted a scene from Modern Family. Check out the clip below, and I promise it'll not only generate an "aw" but also a burst of nostalgia:

The scene that the two actors recreated is from the Season 4 episode, "Party Crasher," in which the actors' two characters, Cam and Lily, tease each other. Ultimately, Lily ends up getting pushed off her chair in humorous fashion.

Anderson-Emmons and Stonestreet's reunion post is essentially perfect, even down to the caption. Of course, it also would've been even more fun had Jesse Tyler Ferguson -- who played Mitchell Tucker-Pritchett -- been involved. However, Ferguson took to the comments to share a hilarious take that included a funny question:

Fans very nearly got a spinoff following Cam, Mitch, Lily, and baby Rex moving to Missouri, but it didn’t pan out. Given that, I love that Ferguson joked as to whether a reboot or spinoff was moving forward without him. That cheeky comment aside, though, Ferguson has crossed paths with his TV daughter since the show ended. Most recently, he and Anderson-Emmons got together on the last day of Pride Month and shared a fun TikTok together.

Additionally, the Modern Family cast has had plenty of reunions as of late. Ferguson, Julie Bowen, and Ed O’Neill reunited on September 29 for a birthday party for Ferguson and his husband, Justin Mikita. There was also a mini reunion at the SAG Awards in 2024, and almost the entire cast got together in 2023, sans Ty Burrell. With that, the internet actually thought Burrell died due to his picture was held up amid a group photo. (Burrell was actually absent because he's since moved away from Hollywood and lives in Utah.)

The Modern Family stars' dynamic is so electric, and it's not surprising to me at all that the show remains so popular. Of course, it's also sweet knowing that in real life, the actors remain in touch. With that, I hope the entire Dunphy-Tucker-Pritchett family gets together soon and that these mini-reunions continue. Also, let's hope we're fortunate enough for a reboot to take shape at some point down the road.

It's been five years since Modern Family ended, but the cast has remained close. From having family reunions to officiating weddings to even showing up to a school production, the Tucker-Pritchett-Dunphy family has a bond like no other in real life. That was on display again as Eric Stonestreet got married and his TV husband Jesse Tyler Ferguson, as well as other famous friends, shared their congratulations.

Stonestreet, who portrayed Cameron Tucker-Pritchett on the ABC sitcom for all 11 seasons, took to his Instagram early on September 9, which is also his birthday, to share that he got a very special gift, and that gift is marriage. He posted some sweet photos from the ceremony with longtime partner Lindsay Schweitzer, and it seems like quite the fairytale wedding:

Many fans were quick to take to the comments of the post to share their well-wishes to Stonestreet and his new bride, as well as some famous friends. Most notably, Ferguson, who played Stonestreet’s husband Mitchell on Modern Family, congratulated the happy couple and wrote what may be the best comment about it as he referenced their much-adored on-screen relationship:

While Ferguson’s comment may seem like Stonestreet’s marriage to Schweitzer is his second actual marriage, Modern Family fans know otherwise. Cam and Mitch tied the knot in a far-from-perfect wedding in the two-part Season 5 finale, but by the end of the day and the episode, they had their picture-perfect ceremony because they had each other.

It can be assumed that the Stonestreets’ day was a lot better and did not involve wildfires and changing venues, etc., and it looked to be as picture-perfect as ever. And Ferguson’s comment makes it even better. Many other celebrities got in on the well-wishes to the newlyweds, including another Modern Family cast member and the co-creator:

• Steve Levitan: So happy for you both!!!! ❤️❤️
• Rico Rodriguez: 🥳🥳🥳
• Octavia Spencer: Congratulations! So happy for you both.
• Carrie Preston: Happy Birthday🥳!!!
• Will Sasso: CONGRATS!! ❤️❤️
• Jenny McCarthy: Congrats!

Eric Stonestreet has been pretty busy, and it’s not just because he’s been planning a wedding. The actor can be seen in his newest project, Dexter: Resurrection, with a Paramount+ subscription, and he is not a good dude in it as he plays a suspected serial killer. So seeing him go from a show like Modern Family to a show like Dexter: Resurrection shows the range that he has.

Then, seeing his happy wedding photos in real life adds to the fun of seeing him play all these different characters on screen.

It can be assumed that Stonestreet has gotten many more well-wishes and congratulations messages from other famous friends and his Modern Family “family,” but it is always nice to see the messages in public, especially when they come from his TV significant other. Now I feel like rewatching Cam and Mitch’s wedding with a Hulu subscription because there is just something so chaotic about it that really makes it special.

Wells Adams may not have found love on The Bachelorette when he made his TV debut in 2016, but the fame he got from the reality dating show led to something even better — meeting Sarah Hyland. The Modern Family star shared some throwback photos in celebration of her and Adams’ third wedding anniversary, and her caption reveals one of the downsides to being a working couple in Hollywood.

Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams tied the knot on August 20, 2022 (after years of delays), at what was effectively a Modern Family reunion, and the actress shared a couple of images from their happy day to Instagram:

She included a sweet caption to her Bachelor in Paradise bartender husband, but there was a somewhat disappointing revelation in her message as she wrote:

I guess that’s a definite downside to having careers that involve inflexible filming schedules and lots of travel.

It’s unknown exactly what projects kept the lovebirds apart this year. Wells Adams can be seen serving up drinks and calling out douche-baggery on Bachelor in Paradise, whose 10th season is currently airing on the 2025 TV schedule. Sarah Hyland, meanwhile, wrapped up her latest Broadway role — Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby — in June.

She wasn’t alone in marking the three-year milestone. Wells Adams also shared a slideshow of cute photos and videos from their adventures together, writing:

Sarah Hyland and Wells Adams started dating in 2017 after The Bachelor superfan slid into Adams’ DMs. They got engaged two years later in the summer of 2019 and planned to get married the next year. However, we all know how 2020 went, and the date was ultimately pushed back twice to ensure that they could safely celebrate their union with friends and family.

It was worth the wait for the former radio DJ, who once said on Bachelor in Paradise that he’d known he was going to marry Sarah Hyland since the first night the two hung out. He says she’s his “perfect person,” and I love seeing the sweet (and often funny) things these two have to say about each other.

Three years after “I do,” I think their love story is just as sweet, if not sweeter, than anything else we’ve seen come out of Bachelor Nation, but hopefully one of these years they’ll get to spend their day together!

Speaking of The Bachelor franchise, tune into ABC at 8 p.m. ET on Mondays to see Wells Adams serving up drinks and cynical commentary on Bachelor in Paradise Season 10, with episodes streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.

The Modern Family cast remain as unmistakable faces and stars in Hollywood. Together, during their 11 Season run, they helped change the face of present network television, and in the process, became one of the all-time greatest sitcoms. Since their finale, the ensemble has gone onto new projects, including the Lily Tucker-Pritchett actress, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons. Her latest endeavor includes a full pivot into a music career along with an explanation of why she’s going by Frances Anderson now.

Anderson joins a long line of stars who have different stage names and shared with E! News about the name switch. In addition to it being a part of her legal name, there’s both a sentimental and logical factor that play into the updated moniker. But, also, the now 18-year-old revealed that she’s interested to have her Lily fame on a different page as her new EP Drowned goes public (out now), as she said:

It’s hard to believe that the Lily actress has not only grown up (she attended prom last year) but moved on from acting. At least for the moment. As a fan, I’m excited to check out this EP and support the change of pace for her. It seems to be a smart move for young multi-talented stars who want to dabble in multiple industries. Stranger Things star Joe Keery performs under his stage name, Djo and has been very successful with it. Hopefully Anderson follows in his footsteps.

She also opened up about her new career path, and that she has plenty of aspirations regarding the subject. After Modern Family ended in 2020 (available for streaming with a Hulu subscription or Peacock subscription), Anderson was only 12 at the time and returned to a pretty typical upbringing. She returned to school, singing and started (and continues to run) a FoodMania Review on YouTube with her mom. In the past few years, she learned to write and play music and that’s what really set her dreams into motion, saying:

The break and redirection sounds like the perfect next step in Frances Anderson’s re-entry into the public eye. Five years for a determined and mature tween can bring them pretty far, it seems! I’m excited for how she’ll fare in her chosen field after speaking about her hesitations in recommending child acting to young kids. I think she’d nail a Broadway role, if she does pursue more projects.

Here’s hoping the actress turned singer will hit some high notes as Frances Anderson and forges a separate path from her Aubrey Anderson-Emmons fame. Though, the 2025 TV guide, or any since 2020, haven’t been quite the same without Lily and her family.

It’s no secret that plenty of stars moved out of Hollywood for a myriad of reasons, and more continue to do so. Regardless of whether it’s for professional motivations, such as a hiatus or personal ones, all are fully valid. Show business can be tolling and leaving the glitzy bubble has proven to be a great choice for many stars like Modern Family cast alumni Ariel Winter and her move cross country. And the idea seems to be a family affair with the Dunphy patriarch reflecting on leaving L.A. behind.

Ty Burrell’s move to Utah with his wife and two daughters isn’t anything recent. He shared with People about how pleased he is about the move to the Salt Lake City area after the finale after the ABC megahit in 2020 to raise their kids. He also revealed that when they initially arrived he felt like a fish out of water, not being the outdoorsy type, but adapted with time. The Finding Dory alumni said:

It’s wonderful to hear that the Phil Dunphy actor and his real family seemingly had a similarly positive experience as the multi-generational clan did on screen. Though the move was the reason online rumors that Burrell was dead sparked after he missed a Modern Family cast reunion. The relocation certainly makes travel logistics more complicated, but all the same, it sounds like all is well for the foursome in Utah.

As the 2025 TV schedule drums on, it marks five years since the whopping 11 Season award winning series has been on air, as well as seeing the Mr. Peabody & Sherman actor on screen. As mentioned, Burrell living well outside of Tinseltown territory has shifted his career slightly. Post Modern Family, the funnyman has been voice acting in a lot of animated titles, since it's a lot more flexible than being on a set day in and day out.

The 57-year-old was a part of the animated comedic series Duncanville and has more on the way. First is a comedic podcast series, entitled The Good Life, which he created, and is based on his childhood in the PNW. The other, Tightrope!, is in pre-production and will be a humorous animated reinterpretation of the 1950s show for Roku.

For me, If it’s the closest we can get to Ty Burrell’s comedy vibes without actually streaming Modern Family, with a Hulu subscription or a Peacock subscription, I’ll gladly be sat for both. Thankfully though, the Utah resident did admit he’s dreaming of performing in a non-animated project eventually, so fans can breathe a little easier knowing he’ll return from the mountains someday.

But for now, it seems that the like (on-screen) daughter, like (on-screen) father, decision to kick a California zip code is working just fine for Ariel Winter and Ty Burrell.

Guess who's back? Back again. Dexter's back. Tell a friend, especially if you happen to know that friend is secretly a serial murderer living in the same vicinity as Michael C. Hall's titular vigilantism-skewing killer. The first two episodes of the sequel series Dexter: Resurrection are now available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription, laying out the foundation for where Dexter, Harry and others’ stories are going. Sadly no sign yet of recurring stars Eric Stonestreet or Krysten Ritter, though.

For transparency, I did get to witness both actors’ franchise debuts ahead of the applicable episode hitting the 2025 TV schedule, and they absolutely make this show’s already amazing cast even better. Along with co-star David Dastmalchian, both the Modern Family vet and Jessica Jones alum spoke with CinemaBlend about the new show, and I asked Stonestreet about the crossover between Dexter’s fanbase and that of the long-running ABC sitcom. As he put it:

I can imagine just how much fans might love to screan out Cam quotes from Modern Family, and could also picture how much real-world clown would celebrate his character for making Fizbo such an institution. (Also, not a spoiler, but there actually IS a major infamous clown reference in the actor's first episode.)

There's no such clowning around in Dexter: Resurrection, even if his extremely deadly charcter Al initially seems like he could have stepped out of a primetime comedy. Given the polar extremes between the two shows, Eric Stonestreet doesn't predict that he'll see many fans referencing both series in public, saying:

Not gonna lie, I think Eric Stonestreet's Modern Family co-star Ed O'Neill would be an abso-fucking-lutely perfect addition to the Dexter universe, since he's so perfectly capable of portraying authentic warmth, comedy, and menace with similarly impressive aplomb. But we'll just have to make due to other A+ additions like Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage and Neil Patrick Harris, I guess...

Krysten Ritter chimed in to the fanbase conversation, saying that even though she's more than accustomed to attention from hardcore fans for her Jessica Jones years and her return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, she was still surprised by the outpouring the followed the casting news. As she told me:

I'm hoping Ritter's character Mia inspires some Halloween costumes for the upcoming holiday, as she dresses quite fancy at times. Not that it would be the most obvious look, I guess.

Stonestreet capped things off by sharing how much he appreciated Resurrection's bosses Clyde Phillips and Scott Reynolds for giving him a chance to turn over a disturbing new leaf in his character portfolio.

Dexter: Resurrection's first two episodes are currently available to stream on Paramount+, and will be airing on Showtime on Sunday, July 13, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for more on the Trinity Killer prequel that Philips updated fans on recently.

Ariel Winter was just 11 years old when Modern Family premiered in 2009, and over the next 11 years, America watched her grow up in front of their eyes as middle child Alex Dunphy. The actress — who has a couple of projects expected to hit the 2025 movie calendar — has not been shy about how “difficult” and “awful” things got, and she again got real about some traumatic experiences she had as a young actress in Hollywood.

Getting braces, going through puberty and constant scrutiny over her weight are issues that Ariel Winter has discussed regarding her experience growing up on TV. But as someone whose acting career started when she was still preschool age, the problematic behavior toward her began long before her teen years. The actress told the Daily Mail:

It seems like her experience as a child in the entertainment industry may have led her to her newest project, SOSA Undercover. The true crime docuseries — premiering on the 2025 TV schedule July 17 on YouTube — follows members of the nonprofit SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse) as they work with law enforcement to conduct undercover operations and apprehend sexual predators and traffickers.

Ariel Winter acknowledged that what she went through continued to affect her into adulthood, saying:

It wasn’t just online, either, and while she didn’t want to go into detail, she did say she ended up seeking professional help. The Modern Family star continued:

Ariel Winter has previously opened up about being body-shamed by fans while she was on the Emmy-winning sitcom. She said she was called a “fat slut” when she was 13, and things only got worse when she got on antidepressants and gained 30 pounds. She has reflected on what it felt like to have grown adults writing about her teenage body, saying it really damaged her self-esteem.

In addition to therapy, the Sofia the First star has made other moves in an effort to heal. Winter left Hollywood in 2022 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, joining a number of celebrities, including Matthew McConaughey, Florence Pugh, James Van Der Beek and more who decided to get out of Los Angeles. She said living in L.A. never allowed her to have a “normal existence,” and she hated being followed by paparazzi and having pictures taken of her.

Hopefully, Ariel Winter has continued to heal from the trauma she suffered as a child, and through her work with SOSA, maybe she’ll help to prevent others from going through similar situations. You can relive her Modern Family days by streaming the sitcom with a Hulu subscription or Peacock subscription, and check out her true crime docuseries SOSA Undercover, on July 17 on YouTube.

Ed O’Neill is a TV icon if there ever was one. With his roles on Married... with Children and Modern Family, he's not only helped mold some relatable sitcom families, but he's also been part of some of the best sitcoms of all time. O'Neill also has a reputation for being fun and easy to work with. Still, the amiable actor is no stranger to behind-the-scenes shenanigans. In fact, one of his former co-stars just shared a funny anecdote about him leaving the job earlier than he should have

Julie Bowen, who played Ed O'Neill's daughter on all 11 seasons of Modern Family, recounted the funny tale while on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. During the chat, Rosenbaum asked Bownen what it was like working with O'Neill, who she called "fucking delightful". Eventually, Bowen discussed how her ex-castmate prematurely clocked out for the day due to a misunderstanding. According to Bowen:

That kind of slip-up oozes laid-back dad energy, and it’s honestly pretty hilarious. In his defense, O'Neill has been working in the entertainment industry for some time now, particularly in the comedy sphere. So he would know what works and what doesn't work from that perspective. Despite that, it goes without saying that an actor still has to do the work accordingly.

Don't get anything twisted, though, as Julie Bowen sang the praises of her on-screen dad. In her eyes, he's a "font of information and wisdom." Ed O'Neill was apparently also a mentor to younger Modern Family cast members, including Rico Rodriguez, who played his character's stepson. Despite that, Bowen also said that his guidance played into something she learned about O'Neill, and it could explain why he ducked out of that rehearsal so quickly:

Just when I thought I couldn't love O'Neill more, Bowen shares these delightful comments. I don’t know what I love more -- that everyone eventually realized his angle or the fact that he was so good at giving advice. Either way, I love knowing the cast had fun relationships akin to their on-screen counterparts. And, even viewers we can find plenty of familial offerings on the 2025 TV guide right now, Jay Pritchett and his family are still missed though, thankfully, all 11 seasons of Modern Family are available to watch with a Hulu subscription.

Even now, I remain curious as to whether a Modern Family revival might actually happen. The prospect of such a project is exciting, as it'd be great to see the entire cast back together again. If it does move forward, though, I just hope Ed O'Neill doesn't have another snafu like his early exit.

Modern Family may have ended over five years ago, but the show remains as beloved as ever. To this day, it’s one of the funniest shows streaming on Hulu, and many who watch the ABC sitcom can name their favorite character right off the bat. Personally, Lily Tucker-Pritchett is my favorite because of her sassiness and quick wit. Now her actress, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, is revealing the very funny quote fans always say to her, and it totally proves my point.

Anyone who watches Modern Family knows that Lily can say some pretty out of pocket things, and it’s what makes her such a fun and lovable character. She has a lot of iconic quotes, but there is one that has stuck out to a lot of people. After watching a clip from Modern Family, the actress shared with ET that she gets quoted one pretty hilarious line all the time, which, out of context, may be taken the wrong way, and it makes it even better:

The scene and quote in question come from Modern Family Season 4, Episode 19, “The Future Dunphys,” when Mitch, Cam, and Gloria take Lily to a Vietnamese restaurant to help her get more in touch with her heritage. It may not be the best episode from the classic sitcom, but it's a favorite.

Lily doesn’t want to learn more about Vietnam and yells, very loudly, in the Vietnamese restaurant, “I hate Vietnam” more than once. It turns into one of the funniest scenes that also includes Lily saying, “I’m gay!” as Mitch tells her she’s not. That leads to her being confused and Jesse Tyler Ferguson's character realizing he’s turning into his father despite being gay himself.

Lily later says she wants to have something in common with her dads, which is why she said she was gay and that she hated Vietnam. Although the reasoning for why she said what she said turns into a sweet one, it’s still a pretty hilarious scene. And the fact that over 10 years after the episode first aired, Anderson-Emmons can’t seem to go anywhere online and probably out in public without at least one person bringing it up makes it even better.

That being said, although it seems like Anderson-Emmons doesn’t mind getting quoted that very unfortunate yet funny line and is grateful for her experience on Modern Family, the 17-year-old doesn’t recommend child acting. She was only 2 years old when she landed the role as Lily and has taken a step back from acting since the show ended to be a regular teenager. Previously, she also shared that people should wait to go into acting until they know it’s what they want to do.

It's hard to imagine how different things would have been had Aubrey Anderson-Emmons not played Lily. The character probably wouldn’t have had much spunk and sass, and legendary lines would just not be as iconic, which really says a lot.

Fans can watch the episode referenced in this story as well as the entire series with a Hulu subscription.

Great sitcom families come in all shapes and sizes when it comes to the expansive landscape. From animated favs to semi-autobiographical cranktakorous comedians, and even classic Hollywood iconic fams, all show up, good, bad or ugly. Regardless of their grade or feelings for one another, each brood left an indelible mark on the television genre. Wherever you stand within your family tree, this list is for the fathers, mothers, step-parents, kids, siblings, cousins and much more.

The Addams - The Addams Family 5/5

Though they can be considered creepy and kooky, the Addams remain as relevant as ever in pop culture. Starting as a single-panel New Yorker comic strip, the blended oddballs continue to showcase true love through dark and dismal ways. The success of these longstanding family unit vibes is due to one of the best couples (outside of rom-coms), Gomez and Morticia, and their unwavering love and pride.

The Simpsons - The Simpsons 4/5

The long-running cartoon has become a recognizable pop culture staple worldwide. Even if Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie aren’t the Cleavers of the past thirty years, they still show up for one another however they can. Realistically, though, Marge has and continues to be the anchor of the Simpson family dynamics.

The Taylors - The Andy Griffith Show 5/5

Mayberry, North Carolina, wouldn’t be the same without the Taylors, in my opinion. Andy, Aunt Bee and Opie paved the way wholesomely for many other families, of any shape or size, in the sitcom landscape. Now and again, though, small conflicts would arise between the trio (I still can’t get over the Opie, slingshot and bird episode) that would get addressed head-on and with care.

The Bunkers - All In The Family 3/5

The Bunkers live in a working-class Queens home fueled by loud opinions, generational clashes, and sharp-tongued debates. Archie’s old-school views and Edith’s unwavering sweetness lend to the frequently boisterous home. Though daughter Gloria and husband, Mike, are no strangers to stirring the pot, either. Underneath it all lies a stubborn but constant love for each other amid all the high-strung dynamics.

The Jeffersons - The Jeffersons 4/5

The titular unit first starred on All in the Family as the Bunkers' neighbors. Not long after did George, Louise and their family moved on up. The Jeffersons showcased a pretty average but caring reflection of familial dynamics–dad’s arrogance clashed with mom’s calm, while their son, Lionel, tried to be a voice of reason. Along with the trio’s inner workings, extended relatives were added into the mix in a humorous but heartfelt way.

The Stephens - Bewitched 3/5

Though Bewitched was presented as generally lighthearted with a focus on comedic situations, the storylines made the Stephens’ experience some turbulence. Between Samantha’s relatives interfering in her everyday dealings, to Darrin initially doubting her abilities, and even her kiddos stirring the pot, the familial layers ran through a whole gamut.

The Sanfords - Sanford And Son 3/5

Fred and Lamont make up this parent-kid relationship, and while it’s relatively stable, the less-than-stellar communication skills hinder these two from leveling up. Notably, it’s a love-hate vibe between the two, with Fred’s habits and personal beliefs that cause the most trouble in their day-to-day lives.

The Munsters - The Munsters 5/5

Presented as a satirical counterpoint to the other familial shows during the 60s, the spooky eponymous unit was quite loving. Herman and Lily, Frankenstein’s monster and a vampire, respectively, were good-natured parental role models who welcomed open conversations, even when things went haywire.

The Petries - The Dick Van Dyke Show 4/5

The veteran black and white trio balances everyday life with Hollywood dealings. Filled with quick wit, heartfelt moments, and the occasional misstep (often turned laugh), they face the ups and downs of everyday personal and professional issues as a unit. The Petries are a great example of running a home with grace, humor, and even a little song and dance when needed.

The Gellars - Friends 2/5

Monica and Ross are typical sister-brother fodder. They both hang with all of their pals in a home I've wanted to explore forever, and from time to time, break out an iconic childhood dance number. When their parents come into play, that rating dives off a cliff. While Ross is viewed as a golden child, Monica continuously gets scrutinized or patronized for every element of her life, and her bro is MIA to defend her.

The Costanzas, The Seinfelds - Seinfeld 3/5

While Seinfeld isn’t centered on regular relative relations, the Seinfelds and Costanzas got featured somewhat consistently. Jerry and his parents' (and occasionally, Uncle Leo's) dynamics are pretty run-of-the-mill, but can be somewhat quirky. Meanwhile, George’s mom and dad illustrate the louder side of caring, but also outspoken heads of the family. Together, they’re a hilarious blended group poking and prodding at their kids.

The Banks - Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 4/5

Like many of the other blended broods, the Banks show up at the end of the day for one another. Will coming to stay with the Bel-Air residents showcased from the jump what type of good-willed, community-driven people they are. Their actual reactions in their relationships on the surface may look quite different, though.

The Bundys - Married… With Children 1/5

The Married… with Children family is built differently. The Bundys are filled with insults, bad luck, and relentless sarcasm, paired with Al’s bitterness, Peg’s laziness, and the kids’ scheming--making it one unpredictable place. As miserable as they claim to be in regards to money, love and success, they’re stuck together—and wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Tucker-Pritchetts, Pritchett-Delgados and Dunphys - Modern Family 5/5

Ed O’Neill’s second run with a family sitcom was as notable as Married… With Children, but related much better to his loved ones, playing Jay Pritchett, the staunch but understanding patriarch. Between him and his OG kids, Claire and Mitchell, their respective families, his new wife and kids, and everyone interacting regularly, it’s more often than not a fun-loving and humanistic give and take of blended familial relationships.

The Flinstones - The Flintstones 3/5

The titular family of the first notable animated sitcom premiered back in the 1960s. And while it was widely successful and has multiple iterations a la The Addams Family, Fred is far from Gomez. But the fictionalized caveman continued to show up for his family even when the going got tough, or got him flustered.

The Belchers - Bob’s Burgers 4/5

As one of the most rewatchable shows ever, The Belchers' family dynamic is the stuff of magic. While they may be far from perfect, overly successful, or even popular (to some), the five humorously and oddly show up for one another every week. Now and again, Bob or one of the other four shows some defiance with the goings on, but it never lasts for long.

The Tanners (and co.) - Full House 4/5

The blended household has a lot going on within all of its floors, including regularly showing up for each other. Danny, Joey, Becky and Jesse do their best for the collective kiddos but can also lead them into trouble from time to time. All in all, though, the collective fam has nothing but the best intentions, except maybe when DJ’s neighbor's best friend, Kimmy Gibbler, comes around.

The McCulloughs - The Bernie Mac Show 4/5

The Bernie Mac Show is another classic, somewhat reflective look into the late comedian Bernie Mac’s real life. As the McCulloughs take in their two nieces and nephew after their mom has issues, lots of boundaries are explored for the new fivesome. With his bold humor but well-intended grace, they all learn to bond.

The Wilkersons - Malcolm In The Middle 3/5

Malcolm and the rest of his family live in middle-class chaos, outside of careers, much of which is due to the close-knit but quarrelsome four brothers. Regardless of how messy, wild, or outlandish it gets, Lois, with the help of Hal, is there to rein it all back in time and again. Through thick and thin, and a bonkers way of getting their feelings across, they continue to stick together.

The Barones - Everybody Loves Raymond 4/5

Ray and his family live in a whirlwind of sarcasm, guilt trips, and unsolicited visits, mostly stirred up by their impossibly close but constantly bickering dynamic. With Marie’s meddling, Frank’s gruff indifference, and Robert’s simmering resentment, Ray and Debra are rarely left in peace. Still, no matter how overbearing or absurd it gets, they always find a way to resolve any quip.

The Rocks - Everybody Hates Chris 4/5

The Chris Rock reflective sitcom is the perfect blend of comedy and heart between the core five. Even though the noted balance hangs true in most episodes, the reactions and happenings that fill out the original UPN show highlight the realities of their normalcy. All of them are trying their best in their personal and collective lives, and it’s an excellent showcase.

The Mitchells - Moesha 3/5

The Mitchells on Moesha broke barriers and still remains a part of pop culture due to breaking untrue industry perceptions. Though Frank ran his household in a tight manner, alongside his second wife, Dee (remarried after his first wife, Marguerite, passed), they faced issues head-on and together. (Including Frank’s past infidelities.)

The Lopezes - George Lopez 4/5

Another outstanding example of parents and their kids comes from the early ‘00s George Lopez series. Not that it didn’t have its issues, including Lopez’s spotty communication skills, the fivesome navigated their best through an array of ups and downs using humor and diverse perspectives.

The Davids - Curb Your Enthusiasm 1/5

In the off chance you’re not familiar with this somewhat factual Larry David sitcom, Larry has and always will be the problem. It’s exactly why Cheryl Hines divorced him during the long-running 12-season show. The writer and comedian loosely based this on his own marriage, but with a larger-than-life comedic spin to it.

The Mosbys - How I Met Your Mother 3/5

It may be a forgotten fact that the Mosby kids are sprinkled throughout the series, but their presence is the hinge of the show. From the small sampling we have of Ted with his son and daughter, it all seems pretty average (depending on who you ask). During the 9 seasons, Mosby ignores direct questions from his children, albeit comedically, and focuses on recounting the whole thing in order.

The Bluths - Arrested Development 2/5

The Bluth family and their fictional company were a comedic trainwreck from start to finish. Even though they all had shining moments of showing up for each other, their rich, out-of-touch ways, personally and professionally, wreaked some major havoc. With the corrupt and scheming patriarch George Bluth at the helm, sooner or later, all the issues were bound to hit a boiling point.

The Griffins - Family Guy 2/5

As one of the more outlandish cartoon families, the Griffiths don’t hold down the homestead title as well as others. From Peter to Stewie, each of them has some highlights, but their flaws and how they relate to each other through those traits are the glue that somehow holds them together. Overall, they have fine moments of true connectedness, but it's not commonplace.

The Landrys, Campbells - Sister Sister 5/5

The still lovable Sister Sister shows just how to work through a wildly unexpected happening together. Starring Tia and Tamera Mowry as long-lost twins of the same name to reunite and live with their respective parents under one roof takes a lot of gumption. By no means did the new era between the four run smoothly, but all were onboard to give it their best shot to let the sisters get to know each other.

Schitt’s Creek 5/5

Co-creators and real-life father-son duo, Eugene and Dan Levy, nailed this fictional riches-to-rags story’s foursome. The Canadian sitcom took over the world because of the Schitt’s humor, ridiculous banter, but a pure heart of gold for one another. From start to finish, we watched them grow as a family and as individuals who truly realized that our relationships are the most important thing any of us has.

The Hills - King Of The Hill 4/5

You’d never expect a place like small-town Texas to house one of the best animated shows and families of all time, but it does. The Hills reflect a completely average American family in suburbia, with, generally, semi-realistic issues they work through together. Hank may be a little rough around the edges when something goes wrong, but he usually works through it and celebrates by cracking open a cold one with his pals, uh-huh.

The Reynolds - It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 2/5

The Philadelphia area-based family isn’t for the faint of heart. They are a ragtag bunch that dysfunctionally can be supportive, but often through very muddied lenses of narcissism, manipulative behavior or shallowness. Somehow, through all of the dynamics, they continue to co-own and successfully tend a bar together.

The Solomons - 3rd Rock From The Sun 3/5

This case stands a little differently from the rest, in terms of human family dynamics vs. alien ones. As the Solomons, the quartet of ETs are wacky and get into a lot of antics Earthside that get them into trouble. But how they act toward one another as who they really are helps bump their score up.

You know when some good relationships on television make you want to squeal the moment you see them? Yeah, these are the relationships down below. Sure, we can spend some time watching the best rom-com movies, but what about several seasons of build-up to a relationship that makes it all worthwhile? Here are some couples that define “goals.”

Chandler And Monica (Friends)

Chandler and Monica are the couple from the Friends cast, and I will not be asking any other questions about it at this time. Ross and Rachel were what people talked about, but these two? I love them. They are defined as “goals” based on how much they love each other, even if they didn’t have the typical start. Friends-to-lovers is one of the best.

Ian And Mickey (Shameless)

There was a time when Ian and Mickey were literally all I saw on my Tumblr feed back in the early 2010s. The Shameless cast featured plenty of great relationships, some healthy and others…not so healthy, but Ian and Mickey were a relationship that made it until the end. There’s nothing quite like them.

Rebecca And Jack (This Is Us)

The This Is Us cast defined my time in college when the show was airing, and Jack and Rebecca were the blueprint for how I wanted my future marriage to go. I have never seen two people just so in love with each other on TV, but also portray such a realistic marriage.

Corey And Topanga (Boy Meets World)

I think Corey and Topanga were the couple for the '90s kids. I didn’t grow up watching Boy Meets World, but I know from many that watching these two grow into teenagers and then young adults was one of the best aspects of this series. And honestly, I love that for you.

Jim And Pam (The Office)

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Sure, there were moments between Jim and Pam in later seasons that felt a little out of character, but these two were the defining relationship from The Office cast. We were all on the edge of our seats at the beginning of the series when these two were just friends, and we wanted them all to get together.

Leslie And Ben (Parks And Recreation)

Leslie and Ben from the Parks and Recreation cast are the perfect example of a relationship that took its time but blossomed beautifully. Ben was the type of person who always let Leslie shine and never tried to dim her light, which is something that I love about them. They always supported each other no matter what.

Marshall And Lily (How I Met Your Mother)

There have been so many relationships that have come and gone in How I Met Your Mother, but you want to know what one of the best was? Obviously, Marshall and Lily. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as many warm fuzzies as I did watching these two.

Stefan And Caroline (The Vampire Diaries)

Team Stefan and Team Damon? Nah, Elena was always going to pick Damon and me, but Stefan and Caroline? Perfect, excellent. There are absolutely no notes on that couple because, honestly, they were better suited for each other. Sorry.

David And Patrick (Schitt’s Creek)

I’m pretty sure watching David and Patrick in Schitt’s Creek altered my brain chemistry because I don’t think another TV couple has stood out the same as them. The Schitt’s Creek cast is filled with memorable characters, but watching the progression of their relationship throughout its five seasons was something that I will always adore. These two loved each other so much.

Luke And Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)

Look, I know that we’re all here for Team Jess or Team Dean or whoever we’re rooting for with Rory, but to me, as an adult woman now, I like Luke and Lorelai’s relationship a heck of a lot more. It feels more mature, more natural, and less dramatic. Please, give me this rather than the craziness of teenage romance.

Nathan And Haley (One Tree Hill)

The definition of high school sweethearts that somehow worked out. They definitely had their moments of doubt throughout the nine seasons of the show, but these two loved each other so much and ended with a happily married life with two children, which is all you can really ask for in most teen drama romances out there.

Phil And Vivian (The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air)

I’m sure you weren’t expecting to see Phil and Vivian on this list because The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air isn’t really known for its romances. But honestly, Phil and Vivian are the perfect couple. They complement each other perfectly, know when to be each other’s rock or to stop the other from making a poor decision, and took care of Will as well as their biological family in the perfect way. I have no complaints.

Santana And Brittany (Glee)

The Glee cast is filled to the brim with couples, so much so that it’s hard to keep up with them. But my personal favorite was always Santana and Brittany. Not only was their relationship a great stepping stone for many lesbian/bisexual relationships on TV back in 2010, but it’s really one of the few that made it to the very end of the series. They were best friends turned lovers turned to something really real, and it ended with them getting married!

Randall And Beth (This Is Us)

“Perfectly imperfect” is a phrase that I still use to this day, ever since Randall uttered it to Beth in This Is Us. These two exemplify what it means to not only marry your best friend, but also marry a partner. They will stand by each other, support each other, and when someone is messing up, they will make them own up to it. There’s no sliding, and that’s what a genuine relationship should be like.

Jess And Nick (New Girl)

New Girl is one of those shows where relationships come and go, but there are always a few that stick the landing for the long haul. Jess and Nick were one of those, and we rooted for them, watching them fall in love, fall apart, and then fall back in love all over again.

Uncle Jesse And Aunt Becky (Full House)

I mean, of course, I have to put Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky. I feel like Full House literally never would have been the same without them. Their relationship started very early on, and it’s always fun to rewatch episodes of the show and watch them fall in love with each other time and time again.

Anthony And Kate (Bridgerton)

While I do love the specialness of Penelope and Colin and the steaminess of Daphne and Simon, there’s just something about Anthony and Kate that gets me going every time. These two, a classic enemies-to-lovers romance, clearly love each other so much by the time the season ends and Season 3 rolls around.

Claire And Jamie (Outlander)

Outlander, in general, is one of the best Starz shows, but a big reason is Claire and Jamie. Their love has transcended literal timelines. I don’t know how you can get more perfect than that.

Mitch And Cam (Modern Family)

I think when it comes to couples in Modern Family, Mitch and Cam are the perfect example of how two people work so well together, and to the outside, people wonder how the heck they function with how crazy they are. But throughout the several seasons of the show, there’s no denying that these two love each other dearly.

Lucy And Ricky (I Love Lucy)

I can’t have a relationships list without putting the OG’s here. Lucy and Ricky are the definition of “goals.” They were the first people on television to show you how in love with each other they are, no matter the amount of shenanigans that they may put the other through. You can’t get better than these two.

Phil And Claire (Modern Family)

I always see Phil and Claire as the much calmer couple of Modern Family, which is saying something because they still have their fair share of hilarious moments in their household of three kids. But what I love about Phil and Claire is that there is evident respect there, and Phil will support Claire no matter what and stand up for her, while Claire will do the same, regardless of what others think. They’re a team, through and through.

Killian And Emma (Once Upon A Time)

God, there are so many couples in Once Upon a Time, but I think the one we always return to is Killian and Emma. Whether it’s their steamy chemistry or their genuinely emotional story, they are an amazing romance with plenty of fantasy aspects that I just love.

Willow And Tara (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

As someone who loves looking back on legendary relationships that paved the way for others, I know there’s no one better to bring up than Willow and Tara. The couple was a significant landmark for LGBTQ+ representation in television and showed two people who clearly loved each other.

Kev And Veronica (Shameless)

These two were freaky, don’t get me wrong – but they were also freakishly in love with each other. Kev and Veronica stood by each other, and when someone dared to threaten the other, it was on sight. They would fight anyone to protect their love and their relationship, and no matter what, always strived to make time for the other.

Fran And Mr. Sheffield (The Nanny)

I’m pretty sure that if you’ve ever read any rom-com novel, then these two are who you picture when you think of the nanny and the billionaire falling in love. But what I love about Fran and Mr. Sheffield is that it’s not an instant lust between them. It’s more of a relationship built on respect and friendship before love was even considered.

Jake And Amy (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

The Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast features some hilarious characters, but personally, I always came back for Jake and Amy. I always saw them as rivals-to-lovers, but it feels so real watching them turn from competing with each other to becoming friends to going on dates and so much more.

Jane And Rafael (Jane The Virgin)

These two are in a strange situation, considering they didn’t even know each other when Jane fell pregnant accidentally. But watching their relationship grow organically throughout the show’s seasons is always something that I love to view.

Rick And Michonne (The Walking Dead)

When you think of couples who would literally kill for each other, I can think of no better than Rick and Michonne. Not only are they one of the best Walking Dead relationships, but there was a whole spinoff series dedicated to them finding their way back to each other after years apart. Now that is true love right there.

Poussey And Soso (Orange Is the New Black)

It hurts to even write about Poussey and Soso because it feels like they weren’t given enough time together in Orange is the New Black, but from what we were able to see, they really did work well together. Poussey was the kind of friend that Soso needed, and that blossomed into something brighter between the two of them before it was snuffed out. I needed so much more.

Morticia And Gomez (The Addams Family)

I mean, talk about a man who is obsessed with his woman. In any iteration of The Addams Family, Gomez always loves Morticia, but of course, we have to put the OG here from the 1960s TV series because these two were so in love that they ruined our expectations for all real-life romances.

Glenn And Maggie (The Walking Dead)

Yeah, I’m sad even writing about these two because the way it ends is something I don’t like to think about. But for the five seasons that we got with these two together, they were a light in the darkness that was the world of The Walking Dead. They loved each other, protected each other, and stood by the other until the very end.

Hopper And Joyce (Stranger Things)

God, I visibly remember screaming when these two finally got together in Stranger Things because it was just so apparent that they were into each other. Hopper literally risked his life for Joyce, and she risked hers to save him, and I love them together.

This just makes me want to revisit all of these television shows and watch these couples all over again. I’m in need of some cute TV romances. It's time for a binge-watch.

Modern Family is one of the best sitcoms of all time, and fans continue to re-watch it in the years since it wrapped. The Modern Family cast was stacked, and actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson earned five consecutive Emmy nominations for playing Mitchell Pritchett. And he recently opened up about a conversation he had with his father about playing gay roles, and how ultimately it brought him together.

Modern Family (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription) first came out back in 2009, before marriage equality and conversations about LGBTQ+ representation in the media. On a recent episode of his podcast Dinner's On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, he told guest Luke Macfarlane about how his father originally struggled in seeing him play queer characters... especially on TV. In the actor's own words:

This is likely a sentiment that many queer people know all too well. There are sometimes stages to acceptance for families of LGBTQ+ people, especially when there's a generational gap. And when Ferguson's father had questions and concerns about him playing Mitch on TV, it actually opened up the opportunity for them to have an honest conversation.

While Ferguson has played straight roles before, he definitely has played some very memorable queer men. That includes playing Carl Dad in the original Broadway cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, as well as his recent Tony-winning performance in Take Me Out. Later in the podcast, the actor shared why taking the role in Modern Family was so important to him at the time. As he put it:

While the actors from Modern Family bonded in their years on the show, it sounds like it also brought Ferguson and his father closer together. And like he said, portraying a healthy same-sex relationship for the show's long tenure on the air did help to open and change minds. After all, the sitcom was wildly popular.

Indeed, the world (and TV industry) changed throughout Modern Family's whopping 11-season fun. Audiences noticed that Mitchell and Cam were far less affectionate than the other couples, which seemingly inspired the show to finally show the two men kissing. The characters' wedding was also another major milestone, especially after marriage equality was finally passed in the United States.

Modern Family is streaming in its entirety on Hulu and new episodes of Dinner's On Me premiere Tuesdays. Unfortunately, Mitch and Cam's spinoff isn't happening anymore.

Ariel Winter has been acting since the age of four and is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in Modern Family. Her experience as a child star who is still acting today is unique because she left Tinseltown behind by moving to Virginia. Her time growing up within the city limits of Los Angeles was turbulent, personally and professionally, and sparked the move. Now, the Alex Dunphy actress weighs in on the then-ongoing negative public perception she endured as a growing minor and how it affected her self-worth.

Winter reflected to People on some parts of her childhood trauma including the regular scrutiny she faced while playing the middle Dunphy child. When the show started, she was just 11 years old, but with every passing year, she'd face more negative headlines about just about anything, but especially her body. That dramatically damaged her confidence. In Winter’s words:

As a fan of the show and of the now 27-year-old, I hate that she had to go through any of this at 14. Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon subject for young women and girls in Hollywood. She was only 21 at the time of the Modern Family finale. Maybe it's because I’m in a similar age range as Sarah Hyland and have a parasocial big sister feeling toward Ariel Winter, but it's awful to think about anybody receiving such public critiques at such a young age. I’m just glad that the past co-stars still have the Haley-Alex Dunphy bond to support each other through anything.

The Speed Racer alum did share more about the period, noting she knew that regardless of her actions, she’d be talked about and hated on. She said:

Again, it just makes my heart break for the talent she was and is! I do remember some of the headlines and stories that had harsh angles projected onto Winter and being so bummed by it. To me, Winter held her own among her co-stars, but for commentary on her body to overshadow her performance and harm her is a real shame at such a young age.

Thankfully, after the 11 seasons wrapped, the Sofia the First actress made the necessary changes to move on from past triggers. First, she and her boyfriend, Luke Benward, were among many stars to move out of Hollywood. (Virginia is Winter’s home state before she moved to L.A.). Along with the West Coast for East Coast swap, she shared a glimpse into life post-MF and showed off an F-bomb tattoo. It seems that as more time has passed, Winter is continuing to heal and grow from her childhood and TV traumas.

All of us at CinemaBlend wish nothing but the best for Ariel Winter’s continued healing and growth for moving past the hurt she felt from the body-shaming comments.

People have a lot of opinions on sitcoms, and the more popular, the more opinions there are. So, for this, our list of the best episodes of the best sitcoms, we combed through sites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes to see if we could find a consensus. It's probably not perfect, and opinions will vary, but at the very least, it's as close as a list can get to all the best episodes of these classic sitcoms from every era of television.

Seinfeld - The Contest

There is no question that "The Contest" in Season 4 ranks among the best episodes of Seinfeld ever. There may be one or two episodes that compete for that top spot, as would be expected from a show as beloved as Seinfeld, but just hearing Kramer yell "I'm out!" is enough for us to include it on this list.

Modern Family - Caught In The Act

Everyone fears walking in on their parents doing the deed, and that's the aptly titled "Caught In The Act" in Season 2 of Modern Family. The episode hilariously explores that one thing that everyone can relate to.

The Golden Girls - One Flew Out Out Of Cuckoo's Nest

Over the many years it ran, The Golden Girls just kept getting better. In fact, it's rare to see a series finale be ranked among the best ever, but that is the case with "One Flew Out Out Of Cuckoo's Nest." The classic NBC came to a wonderful conclusion with a couple of marriages and a move out of Florida. It does have some of those classic Golden Girls insults, though! What a way to end!

Good Times - The Evans Get Involved: Part 1

Sometimes the best episodes are not necessarily the funniest. Take, for example, "The Evans Get Involved: Part 1" from Season 5 of Good Times. Not only does it introduce Penny, played by a young Janet Jackson, who would become a major character going forward, but it also addresses the deadly serious subject of abuse. So, it's not the funniest, but it is great TV.

The Brady Bunch - The Subject Was Noses

Multiple generations grew up watching The Brady Bunch, and when asked about episodes, it's inevitable that many will immediately cite Marcia's broken nose episode as one of their favorites and certainly one of the most memorable. The episode, from Season 4, is a classic, and the ridiculousness of the football hitting Marcia in the face is one of the best moments in TV history.

Scrubs - My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby

The second episode of Season 4 of Scrubs, "My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby," takes the top spot for the medical comedy. Honestly, just the title is perfect for the show's over-the-top nature and earns it this spot on the list.

All In The Family -  Too Good Edith

All In The Family was never afraid to blur the lines between drama and comedy and take on heavy subjects. The series finale, after nine incredible seasons, takes the top spot here. Titled "Too Good Edith," the show explores the love Archie has for Edith and his fear of her death. The death comes off-screen, after the show concluded, and is dealt with the the show's sequel series, Archie's Place. A fitting end to the classic show.

The Simpsons - Homer's Enemy

Ask 100 fans of The Simpsons what the best episode is, and you'll probably get 100 different answers (though anyone who says anything after Season 10 is wrong). The most popular answer on the internet seems to be "Homer's Enemy" from Season 8, which tells the story of Homer's hapless co-worker Frank Grimes, aka "Grimsy," may he rest in peace.

Community - Modern Warfare

Ah, the famous paintball episode of Community. It feels like all we really need to say here is, "If you know, you know."

Family Guy - Road To The Multiverse

Years before the MCU movies took us into the multiverse, The Family Guy offered us a "Road to the Multiverse" in Season 8. It's a little surprising that this one is so loved by fans. It's a great episode, but it's also very different from a standard episode. Sometimes going this far astray doesn't work, but Seth McFarlane and his crack crew nailed it here.

Cheers - One For The Road

It turns out that fans actually kind of love series finales. "One for the Road" was the last episode of the classic sitcom Cheers, and while it's a great ending to the show, there are funnier episodes, for sure. Still, these episodes clearly rank highly for many shows. The same probably can't be said for dramas like Game of Thrones and Lost.

Gilligan's Island - Don't Bug The Mosquitoes

It's become cliche to joke about all the visitors who came to the castaways' island in Gilligan's Island, only to leave without the poor stranded folks on the island. So that's not what we'll do here, but "Don't Bug The Mosquitoes" from Season 2 is a prime example of just how ridiculous (and great) the show was. The Mosquitoes are pretty much a parody of mid-'60s rock stars, just as cheesy as you'd expect from the show.

The Odd Couple - Password

There really isn't a funnier premise than Felix and Oscar from The Odd Couple trying to work together on a game show like Password, as they did on this episode from Season 3 of the classic sitcom. Hijinks ensue!

Friends - The One Where Everybody Finds Out

Like a lot of really popular shows on this–and few shows ever have been as popular as Friends–there are sure to be people who disagree that the Season 7 episode "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" is the best. But c'mon, Phoebe yelling "My eyes!" is classic Friends!

Abbott Elementary - Volunteers

Abbott Elementary seems to be an unstoppable force. The multiple Emmy-winning show is probably the best sitcom of the 2020s, and it's because of episodes like "Volunteers." Though there is likely some recency bias baked in the reviews here, as it's a relatively new episode, coming from Season 4.

WKRP In Cincinnati - Turkeys Away

WKRP In Cincinnati is an all-time great sitcom, and this episode, the Thanksgiving episode from Season 1 titled "Turkeys Away" is almost certainly considered by all of the show's fans to be the best–or at the least in the top two or three. It's a show where clips still get shared every Thanksgiving, even decades after the show aired. And no, Les, turkeys can't fly.

I Love Lucy - L.A. At Last!

What would sitcoms be without I Love Lucy? The pioneering show starring the legendary Lucille Ball broke ground in more ways than we could ever talk about on this list. Books have been written about it. The Season 4 episode, "L.A. At Last!" is a classic episode, as Lucy and Desi go to Los Angeles and rub shoulders with the stars... with predictably disastrous results.

Arrested Development - Development Arrested

Season 3 of Arrested Development was supposed to be the series finale for the show that always seemed in danger of imminent cancellation. The episode, called "Development Arrested," does a great job of tying a bow on the series and, like pretty much every episode from those first three years, is absolutely hilarious.

Schitt's Creek - Happy Ending

Yet another series finale of a classic sitcom that tops the list of best episodes is "Happy Ending" from Schitt's Creek. It's a mostly happy ending for everyone, especially David and Patrick, as they finally get married after a lot of hassle!

Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Doll

There is nothing unique about "The Doll" from Curb Your Enthusiasm; it's just classic Curb, with Larry getting angry over mundane things, like how to act in a movie theater and locks on bathrooms (or the lack thereof). There are so many great episodes of the cringy classic that picking one is impossible, but this one is as good as any, and definitely one of the best.

Full House - Secret Admirer

For a certain generation, Full House will forever be an important part of their childhood. That makes "Secret Admirer" from Season 4 the perfect choice here. Everyone has had, or wishes they've had, a secret admirer, and in this episode, every member of the family finds that wish coming true, even though it was true for any of them. It really should be ranked number one.

Designing Women - Killing All The Right People

For whatever reason, Designing Women doesn't seem to have stood the test of time as other sitcoms from the era have. It's odd because in its day, it was wildly popular and a real cultural phenomenon. It was also a show that didn't shy away from commenting on the most controversial issues of the day, as it did in "Killing All The Right People" when it addressed the AIDS epidemic in a time when few were paying as much attention as they should have been.

The Jeffersons - Sorry, Wrong Meeting

Few spinoffs in television history have been as popular as The Jeffersons, which was one of the spinoffs from All In The Family. Like the show it came from, The Jeffersons loved to poke fun at series issues, like George accidentally attending a meeting for the KKK in "Sorry, Wrong Meeting."

Roseanne - War And Peace

"War and Peace," from Season 5 of Roseanne, is all about rumors and family squabbles. That might sound like most episodes of the sitcom, but this one is actually one of the best, as is evident by its ranking at the top. It's a classic Dan episode, which, if we're honest, is the best kind of episode.

Futurama - Jurassic Bark

Any show as beloved as Futurama is going to have a lot of opinions about the best episode. Season 3's "Jurassic Bark" is surprisingly agreed upon by many, though. It's one of the rare times the show got somewhat serious, and that always bumps a show up, it seems.

Diff'rent Strokes - First Love

We have to admit, this one surprised us. Diff'rent Strokes had its fair share of episodes that tackled controversial subjects, but this episode, "First Love," is a pretty straightforward sitcom episode centered around Willis and his new girlfriend, Charlene. Willis isn't allowed to see her, but he finds a way anyway, much to Mr. Drummond's ire.

Murphy Brown - Frank's Appendectomy

Putting this list together, it seemed certain that the most popular episode of Murphy Brown would be "You Say Potatoe, I Say Potato" about Murphy raising her child as a single mother. Instead, a relatively normal, but very funny episode from Season 2, "Frank's Appendectomy," won out.

Sanford And Son - A Guest In The Yard

One of the classic re-occurring bits on Sanford and Son had Fred berating Lamont for being a "big dummy." In the classic episode "A Guest In The Yard," it's pretty much a whole episode of just that. A homeless man tries to scam Fred and Lamont, and they can't figure out how to get rid of him. Lamont wises up, but it's no use; the man still manages to have them get him drunk.

Will & Grace - Grandpa Jack

Jack McFarland on Will & Grace is one of the best supporting characters in sitcom history, and many of the shows that focus on him are among the best in the show's history. Grandpa Jack...wait, Jack is a grandpa?... is no exception, and it's no surprise that it's ranked at the top.

Frasier - Ham Radio

It's incredible that Kelsey Grammer has been playing Frasier Crane for as many decades as he has. It's one of the most enduring characters in TV history, and "Ham Radio" from the fourth season of Frasier embodies everything we love to hate about the character when he tries to create an old-timey radio drama on his station. Of course, he's controlling and bossy, and everything falls apart...

The Big Bang Theory · The Stockholm Syndrome

The series finale of The Big Bang Theory, called "The Stockholm Syndrome," is, in a lot of ways, just another episode of the popular show. The gang of nerds gets into trouble on a flight to Sweden. But it definitely feels like a finale in many ways, most notably with the revelation that Penny is pregnant. The show's enduring popularity has led to multiple spinoffs, but the original is still the best for episodes like this.

Night Court - A Day In The Life

There is no question that "A Day In The Life" from Season 4 of Night Court is the best episode. The courtroom gang has to work at warp speed to get through hundreds of cases before midnight, and the frantic pace of the episode is hilarious and wonderful.

It’s hard to believe one of the best sitcoms ever, Modern Family, has been off the air for nearly 5 years. Though, given how often the former castmates post photos together, you'd think the show was still in production. One member of the Dunphy/Pritchett clan was noticeably missing from a recent reunion of the entire cast, and the internet thought the man in question, Ty Burrell, was dead. However, everyone’s favorite TV dad is alive and well, and he has finally explained the reason for his absence.

Back in 2023, Sofia Vergara (Gloria) held an unofficial Modern Family reunion at her house. No TV crew, just chosen family and friends catching up. They did take a group picture though and, in it, Ariel Winter (Alex Dunphy) is holding a sweet picture of her TV dad.

Naturally, the internet assumed Ty Burrell had died and that his image was being memorialized. To clear his name of these morbid rumors, the Mr. Peabody and Sherman actor was convinced to join a mini cast reunion at the 2024 SAG awards. Unfortunately, it might be challenging for Burrell to make frequent appearances like these, and he recently told People why.

So Ty Burrell has moved out of Hollywood. He’s not alone, as many actors have moved away from LA in recent years, including Matthew McConaughey and Anthony Mackie. Burrell’s own Modern Family co-star, Ariel Winter. moved from LA to Virginia, but she was still able to make the reunion.

While living in Utah does mean he sees his former TV set family a lot less, it doesn’t mean they’ve fallen out of touch. The Muppets actor said they have a group chat that they text in frequently.

They truly do feel like they are a real family. It's not always the case that actors become close while working together, even after doing so for years. Some can grow to love each other, while others might despise each other. Thankfully, it was the latter in this case, and this cast is more tight-knit than most.

For the Dunphy kids who grew up on the show, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, their onscreen parents were almost like actual guardians. Hyland’s husband, Wells Adams, even asked Burrell and Julie Bowen for their permission to marry her, and her TV dad was supposed to officiate the wedding. However, due to unexpected circumstances, he had to miss this unofficial Modern Family reunion as well, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson stepped in at the last minute.

I really love to see the continued bond shared among the stars of Modern Family (which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription), and I'd personally love to see a reboot. Should that not come to pass, though, I'll just revel in the fact that these stars remain close. Also, please show up to more reunions, Mr. Burrell, as we don't need anymore confusion involving your supposed death.

Though you won’t find it on the 2025 TV schedule, there’s no question that Modern Family's place in peak TV history still has fans regularly revisiting its finest moments. While we still don’t know if that hypothetical Dunphy/Pritchett revival series is happening, a real-life adventure story seems to have proven that actor Ty Burrell wouldn't take long to get back into character as Phil Dunphy.

On an episode of the podcast Dinner’s On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the host (and fellow Modern Family alum) mentioned a backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon that Burrell and his wife had taken with his co-star Nolan Gould. According to his TV dad, the actor who played the youngest Dunphy, Luke, is a bit of an adventurer, which makes the following involving some rough waters during kayaking a bit less frightening:

Ah, youth. The desire to jump back into a kayak on super cold waters isn’t for everyone, and Modern Family’s father-son team was learning that the hard way at this tale’s start. Those who revisit this legendary sitcom with a Hulu subscription can totally understand why Ty Burrell would feel protective of his young colleague and situational travel companion.

Through eleven years of playing a family, good casts tend to adopt that sort of mindset as part of the bonds that form while making history. This was probably why convincing Burrell to join 2024's Modern Family reunion for that year's SAG Awards involved some light peer pressure and concern on the part of Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

While one could applaud Mr. Gould’s daring ways, you can already see where this story would require Ty Burrell to go into full dad mode. For that part of the tale, we turn back to the Dawn of the Dead ‘04 star’s continued remarks and the moment he sprang into action:

This would be one of those moments where the serious Phil Dunphy would pop out, allowing Ty Burrell to take this lovably dopey TV dad into the more serious corners of Modern Family. Anyone else that remembers when Phil confronted Haley (Sarah Hyland) for going to that college party in “Go, Bulldogs,” or any of the other scattered occasions where that sort of break from being one of the funniest shows on Hulu was required would know that.

Good friends and partners are practically family, and Mr. Burrell is a person that loved ones could trust in either capacity. So if you’re a fan of his work as Phil Dunphy, and you need to imagine a voice of conscience that stops you from making a pretty big mistake, let this TV realtor/dad guide you in your time of need. Just don’t be weird about it, ok?

It’s finally March, which means we’re heading into spring, and now, it’s time to dust off the florals in my closet. Ariel Winter has already done that, and honestly, it’s motivating me to find my flower-patterned pieces to wear as the sun starts to come out again. She seriously looked so cute in her little floral dress and was manifesting springtime with it, and that's the kind of energy we need right now.

Ever since she was part of the Modern Family cast, I’ve always loved Ariel Winter’s style. So, it’s always exciting when she posts a new look. Most recently, she took to Instagram to upload a photo dump of “life lately,” and while it seemed to cover everything from the holidays to now, it was the flowery first photo that really caught my attention:

From Lacey Chabert’s floral and vintage-y dresses and Alexandra Daddario’s classic yellow flower dress to JLo’s lavish live flower gown, I love almost all looks that incorporate the beautiful and colorful plants.

Winter’s outfit is especially loveable because it’s extremely pretty while also being accessible. The bright pink floral minidress is an easy staple for anyone who is looking to add a pop of color to their wardrobe.

Here’s what I mean: As you can see below, you can get all sorts of pink floral minidresses at many different price points. So, no matter your budget, you can add a staple piece to your closet that has the same vibe as the dress Ariel Winter was rocking:

Listen, Miranda Priestly might frown on florals for spring, but there’s a reason they always come back. They’re such a fun way to celebrate the start of the warmer season!

Honestly, along with the cute fashion-forward image, the rest of Winter’s life update is idyllic too. Featuring cute photos of her and her loved ones (and her many dogs, too), it looks like she’s living her best life. In turn, that has me stoked about what she’s working on professionally, too, and reminiscing on the happy days of Modern Family.

Of course, you can always go back and re-watch Modern Family with a Hulu subscription to see Winter in her most iconic role.

However, if you are looking to see her in new projects, the film Like Father Like Son premiered on the 2025 movie schedule in January, and it’s available to watch on Philo and The Roku Channel. Meanwhile, she’s completed work on the series Hungry, and her films Don’t Log Off and Pools are in post-production. So, hopefully, we’ll see her a bit more as the year keeps chugging along.

In the meantime, I love that she’s embracing the spring energy and embracing the florals. Take notes, friends; this is how you rock florals for spring.

It’s not too much of a stretch to say that we’ve all been in a position where we put off folding laundry for so long we’re left with a giant mound of clothes, sheets, towels, and orphaned socks. What do you do in that situation? Put on a show that is perfect for background noise, of course!

With some of the best cartoons of all time, one or two of the greatest sitcoms ever made, or random docuseries and educational programs, here’s a list of 32 shows that are perfect for background noise while folding laundry.

Law & Order (1990 - 2010; 2022 - Present)

Law & Order, with its 500-plus episodes, has made the laundry-folding process a little better for decades now thanks to its grisly murders, captivating courtroom sequences, and too many “Jack McCoy” moments to count. This isn’t a knock on the show, but you don’t even really have to pay attention all that much to know what’s going on.

How It's Made (2001 - 2019)

Okay, you might get distracted by the manufacturing processes for things like Crayons, crackers, pillows, bowling balls, and thousands of other items featured on this long-running educational program, but How It’s Made makes for some great background noise. The soothing narration, that catchy music, and endless shots of everyday items being made make this a perfect option.

Home Improvement (1991 - 1999)

Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor (Tim Allen) probably never folded a shirt in his life (at least not properly), but that doesn’t mean Home Improvement is a great option for the laundry-folding machine in all of us. If you’re folding one basket, or two baskets, or trying to save your room from the pile that never goes away, this beloved ‘90s TV show will help you pass the time.

The Simpsons (1989 - Present)

With countless characters we love to hate, all kinds of zany situations, and more than 700 episodes to choose from, The Simpsons is one of those shows you can have on in the background in any situation. So, it’s not all surprising that this is a great option for laundry day.

The West Wing (1999 - 2006)

Considered one of the “peak TV era” shows, The West Wing was a staple of network television in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. That said, it’s not hard to imagine that at least a few people have gone through much of the Bartlet Administration while folding and pressing their laundry.

Friends (1994 - 2004)

When you have an episode with a title like“ The One with the East German Laundry Detergent,” you know Friends is going to be a great show to have on while folding your clothes. The landmark sitcom is pretty much the TV equivalent of a warm blanket, so it makes total sense.

Unsolved Mysteries (1987 - Present)

One of the greatest true crime shows to ever hit the small screen, Unsolved Mysteries has been there for many of us for years. First, the classic episodes hosted by Robert Stack helped us pass the time and eat snacks after school. Now, those very same episodes (as well as the Netflix revival) are there for… laundry. Where all these clothes come from is the real unsolved mystery in households around the country.

Scrubs (2001 - 2010)

Bill Lawrence’s Scrubs is one of the best comedies set in a hospital and one of the best medical shows of all time. That said, it’s also a perfect show to watch while folding laundry. Well, unless you experience one of J.D.’s elaborate daydreams while sorting socks. Maybe that explains where those missing socks have gone.

Cheers (1982 - 1993)

No judging here, but some of us have a certain stack of clothes that are pretty much like Norm from Cheers at this point. You know that the laundry will be there tomorrow like it was there today and yesterday (and the day before that).

Planet Earth (2006)

Planet Earth is one of those shows that’s perfect for just about any task around the house, especially with David Attenborough’s comforting narration perfectly explaining everything on the screen. And who knows, maybe you’ll go through the entire docuseries and its various sequels and spinoffs by the time you finish.

Burn Notice (2007 - 2013)

Aziz Ansari’s cousin Harris loves Burn Notice, but does he love watching the USA Network original show while folding his clothes? We’re kind of afraid to ask. Regardless, this spy series starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, and Bruce Campbell is one of those shows that feels tailor-made for the mindless task of laundry sorting.

Trailer Park Boys (2001 - 2007; 2014 - 2018)

Trailer Park Boys probably isn’t the first show that comes to mind when you’re trying to be productive, but this Canadian comedy series about the residents of Sunnyvale Trailer Park is the very definition of mindless, crude entertainment. Sure, you won’t want the kids around with the show’s profanity, but this would be great for a late-night laundry session.

30 Rock (2006 - 2013)

With seven seasons and nearly 140 episodes to watch, 30 Rock has more than enough laughs and crazy moments to get you through even the biggest of laundry piles. With its cast of characters working on the fictional TGS sketch comedy series, this beloved NBC comedy will do the trick.

Full House (1987 - 1995)

What would Danny Tanner do? Well, he probably wouldn’t let his laundry situation get out of hand, despite having an ever-growing group of roommates. All jokes aside about the Full House patriarch’s obsession with cleanliness and order, this long-running sitcom has gotten millions of people through laundry baskets over the years. Join in on the fun.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (2005 - Present)

Now, there’s a chance you get distracted by all those absurd It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia side characters (or even the main cast), but this FX comedy series is peak-laundry folding material. Just make sure you don’t come up with some ridiculous scheme to hide the clothes or pass the task on to someone else.

The Office (2005 - 2013)

Though the series did “jump the shark” near the end, The Office is still one of the best American sitcoms ever made. With a total of 201 episodes and thousands of hilarious and iconic jokes, there’s more than enough to keep you entertained while you work your way through that basket of socks that’s been taunting you for years.

Pawn Stars (2009 - Present)

With more than 650 episodes, all kinds of remarkable and odd pieces of memorabilia and historical artifacts, Pawn Stars has been one of the most popular shows on the History Channel for years now. And while we would love to be able to say “I know a guy” who can handle all these clothes, Rick Harrison and company at Gold & Silver Pawn Shop will help make the folding process a little more entertaining.

American Pickers (2010 - Present)

Like a lot of other great History Channel shows, American Pickers is one of those series perfect for background noise. You don’t really have to follow along to the finer points of the reality program, which is perfect when you’re about halfway through a load of clothes that you really need to finish.

Seinfeld (1989 - 1998)

Who would have thought that a show about nothing would be perfect for laundry? Well, that’s the case for Seinfeld. Sure, you’re probably going to get distracted, put mismatched socks together, or accidentally merge the “keep” and “give away” stacks on the foot of the bed, but it’s worth it.

Parks And Recreation (2009 - 2015)

Though it’s unlikely that Ron Swanson would be too fond of spending hours folding clothes, Parks and Recreation is a show that is perfect for the task. Sure, you may be stuck in a pit of clothes that were washed weeks ago before you finally pull yourself out, but it’s all about the journey.

Family Guy (1999 - Present)

Family Guy, one of the best-animated series of the 21st century, is also a great show to have on in the background while doing just about anything. This includes doing laundry. Sure, there are things we’d rather be doing than folding clothes, but this long-running Fox show certainly makes the task less mind-numbing.

Gilmore Girls (2000 - 2007)

Lorelai and Rory Gilmore guiding us through the ups and downs of small-town life is a great way to make doing laundry a lot more fun, or at least more melodramatic. With seven seasons, 153 episodes, and so many romances to explore, this is definitely a great option for folks who’ve put on laundry for like two months.

The UnXplained (2019 - Present)

How did this stack of clothes get so big? Is this clean, cleanish, or dirty? Does William Shatner fold his own clothes? These are questions with no answers, but The UnXplained will distract you from those mysteries while you search for that missing sock or No Country for Old Man bootleg t-shirt that disappeared in the wash.

Suits (2011 - 2019)

From 2011 to 2019, few shows reached the heights experienced by Suits. This USA Network drama about the high-stakes world of corporate law introduced viewers to all kinds of characters and intense situations along the way. And while few, if any, of those managing partners and ladder-climbing associates did their own laundry, they can help you do yours.

The X Files (1993 - 2002; 2016 - 2018)

A show that made it more than 10 seasons, The X Files was one of the most well-known and watched series of the ‘90s. If you want to mix things up with the laundry and imagine a world in which aliens and other paranormal creatures appear (and possibly help fold those fitted sheets), this landmark sci-fi show will do the trick.

The Great British Baking Show (2014 - Present)

The Great British Baking Show, or The Great British Bake Off as it’s known in its native United Kingdom, is one of the most delicious, hilarious, and watchable cooking shows to ever grace the small screen. While we typically prefer seeing these delectable creations (or disasters) in all their glory, maybe folding clothes will distract and prevent you from mindlessly eating as you watch.

Modern Family (2009 - 2020)

There’s nothing dysfunctional about the Dunphy and Pritchett families from Modern Family, right? Well, maybe a little. This long-running sitcom is one the best options when you’re trying to fold clothes, or really do anything around the house. You’ll be so fixated by Phil coming up with some scheme, Cameron and Mitchell having a meltdown, or Jay being over it all that you’ll forget you’re doing laundry.

Somebody Feed Phil (2018 - Present)

Somebody Feed Phil, a show that follows Everybody Loves Raymond co-creator Phil Rosenthal as he travels the globe to eat anything and everything in his field of view. With so many seasons, so many culinary explorations, and some hilarious moments involving a man loving food way too much, there’s a lot to enjoy.

House (2004 - 2012)

House is one of those shows you can start watching halfway through an episode and still get a lot of enjoyment out of it. One of the best medical dramas of the 21st century, this show starring Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House will allow you to solve all sorts of medical problems and mysteries as you fold your kids' clothes that never really seem to get clean.

Grey's Anatomy (2005 - Present)

Since its debut in 2005, Grey’s Anatomy has combined elements of the medical drama genre with romance and sometimes action to create an experience like no other. If you’re looking for hundreds of hours of TV to help make the laundry go from a mound of madness to a stack of clothes you’ll soon forget to put away, this is the stuff.

MTV True Life (1998 - 2017)

MTV True Life was a long-running documentary series that chronicled pretty much every aspect of life for teenagers, adults, and everyone else. With dozens of episodes about everything from wrestling to odd obsessions, you’ll have a lot of variety when you’re folding the sheets.

How I Met Your Mother (2005 - 2014)

How I Met Your Mother has nine seasons of romance, bromance, chaos, and more twists and turns than anyone can count. That’s why it’s such a darn good show for the weekly (or monthly) laundry experience. Watch Ted Mosby fall in and out of love and back in it again as you contemplate your own life, or at least laundry decisions.

From Downton Abbey to the Red Keep to 742 Evergreen Terrace, there are so many cool houses I'd love to explore from television shows. Some have even gotten quite famous for their use on these shows. Obviously I understand these are mostly sets on a soundstage with an exterior of a completely different house, but let's take a moment to use our imagination and talk about how fun and cool these houses I've always wanted to explore would be.

The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

Of course with have to include Uncle Phil and Aunt Bev's house on The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. Most of the show pretty much takes place in two rooms, the kitchen and the living room, with other scenes in various bedrooms and occasionally other spots. There must be so much more to see!

The Addams Family

Who doesn't want to explore a house like that of the Addams family? It's creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky! It's got a dismembered hand running around, a cousin covered in hair, and an uncle who can light up a light bulb in his mouth! This is the kind of house I want to learn a whole lot more about!

Friends

Much has been made about the apartments on Friends and how unrealistic they are. Sure, that may be true, but that doesn't mean they aren't cool, especially where Monica and Rachel live. As someone who lived in a shoebox in the East Village for years, this is the kind of place I'd love to explore and dream about how I could have been living... in a fever dream.

Full House

The Painted Ladies in San Francisco are some of the most iconic houses in the entire United States Of America. For that reason alone it's worth it to explore the Tanner home on Full House. I might not have a chance to explore one otherwise (not that would in this fictional scenario anyway!)

Succession

Let's be honest, I can't stand the Roy family and it makes it hard for me to love the show Succession, because I need someone to root for and there is no one on this show worthy of that. Except maybe the houses and locations, those all look amazing. So that's decides it, I'm rooting for fictional houses.

Game Of Thrones

I've included the Red Keep here from Game of Thrones, but really it's a stand-in for basically every castle, keep, and ancestral home on the show. They all look really cool and I love old European castles, so an architectural tour of Westeros is right in my wheelhouse. Winterfell, Dragonstone, the Eyrie, Sunspear... they are all amazing. Even the ruins of Harrenhal would be awesome to hang out in for a bit.

Gossip Girl

I lived a very different life in my shoebox in the East Village when I lived in New York than the families in Gossip Girl lived. Frankly, every location looks incredible in its own way and I want to see them all and the well-dressed people who live in them.

Frasier

Frasier Crane doesn't live in the most extravagant condo in TV history, but it still seems like a really cool place. Seattle is a beautiful city and the view they had would make a quick tour very worthwhile. Plus, who doesn't want to have a good sit in Martin's chair?

Diff'rent Strokes

The 1980s was filled with over-the-top residences, and the Drummonds apartment in Diff'rent Strokes is close to the top of the list. We really only got to see a little bit of the two-story New York apartment, as almost every scene was in the living room, kitchen, or Willis and Arnold's bedroom. I want to see more! There must be a cozy study in there somewhere with a fireplace filled with many old books and rich mahogany!

Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey is one of the few fictional houses on this list that one can actually spend some time in. The house, which is known as Highclere Castle in real life, is open for tours to the public, and not only can you explore the grounds, but many of the rooms from the show as well. I've not done it yet, but I'd love to do the tour at some point.

Silver Spoons

As a kid of the '80s, the Stratton's mansion on Silver Spoons is close to the top of my list of houses I wished I lived in. There was a train running through the living room, multiple arcade games, and a racing car bed! It's everything I ever wanted and more. Plus, we never got to see much other than a couple of rooms, there has to be so much to explore!

Dynasty

The 1980s were a time when incredibly rich families stirred up melodrama among themselves on shows like Dynasty. Set in Denver, the show's family, the Carringtons, lived in an amazing home. The exteriors of the home were actually a palatial home in Pasadena called Arden Villa.

Modern Family

Jay and Gloria Prichett's house on Modern Family fits the name of the show well. It's...well... modern and it's the kind of house I like to stalk on Zillow. It's not the most over-the-top, or biggest (nor the smallest, for sure), but it seems like a really awesome, realistic house that would be perfect for a week-long AirBnB rental.

Mork & Mindy

This is one of those homes on TV that actually seems like a place I could actually afford and live in. It's a simple house in Boulder, CO, where the show is set and while the prices all over Colorado for real estate are kind of insane, it's still a very cool looking, sensible house. Mork (Robin Williams) is the only thing that isn't sensible about it.

The Munsters

There are few houses in TV history as iconic as the Munster's mansion from The Munsters. Though I'm not a big fan of horror movies, even I can appreciate all the Easter eggs and tributes to old monster movies that must be hidden all over the house. It's the kind of place that is a museum of the weird as much as it is a home.

The Brady Bunch

I love Mid-Century Modern architecture, especially houses. There is no better example of a cool Mid-Century Modern house in TV history than the house designed by Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch. It's also one of the rare shows where we basically see every room in the house in almost every episode. The one part we never see is where Alice lives, so that's something new to explore.

The Golden Girls

I'm a total sucker for those weird Florida gated communities like the one in The Golden Girls and for that reason, I'd love to check the house shared by the four retired roommates in the classic NBC sitcom. It's not the most extravagant, nor the most interesting, but it's still the kind of realistic house I love.

The Sopranos

This is a little bit of an outlier because really, the house in The Sopranos is everything I kinda hate in a house. It's pretty much a standard suburban McMansion, so that means my exploration would really be to make fun of it. I get that it's not a great idea to criticize Carmela's decorating or Tony's house in general, but it's a risk I'd be willing to take.

Mad Men

Don Draper's apartment in Mad Men looks amazing. It's not the biggest home on this list, but it's so perfectly set in its time, it would be amazing to spend a few hours in listening to some jazz and smoking cigarettes.

Dallas

Southfork Ranch is a real place. It's a popular spot in Dallas to hold weddings and other events. That means that exploring the house, which is home to the Ewing clan in Dallas is possible, but I'd want to go back in time and see it as it was when the Ewings lived there (on the show anyway). There would be so much to see across all of the property.

The Simpsons

There are few addresses as famous as 742 Evergreen Terrace. It's not the grandest house on this list, obviously, but still, it's just so iconic. I can just see myself having a Duff on the back patio while Homer relaxes in his hammock, or lying on the floor with Lisa and Bart watching the latest episode of Itchy & Scratchy. Maybe even helping Marge in the kitchen cooking pork chops for dinner.

Dexter

Okay, I'll admit, this one is the most depraved choice on this list. Checking out Dexter's apartment from Dexter is sure to be disturbing and morbid, so it's the kind of place where it's good to keep in mind this is all fictional! Demented and sad, but fictional!

Seinfeld

Jerry's apartment on Seinfeld is probably the smallest home on this list. It's really just the kitchen and living room open-plan space (that doesn't actually make sense) and Jerry's bedroom, but there is always some cool stuff in the background, like Superman memorabilia and cereal boxes. Those are worth exploring, right? Maybe not, but Kramer may have the hot tub open in his apartment.

Charmed

Like a few others on this lit, visiting nd exploring the house on Charmed is less about the house - though it does look stunning - and more about learning about what is really going with these three witches. It has to be fascinating to see how they live when they aren't fighting demons and the like.

The Nanny

I'll admit I'm pretty fascinated by huge New York City apartments. It's just so different from how most people live in the city. The opulence and ease of living in multi-story dwellings in the city must be amazing, and the home on The Nanny certainly fits the bill like others on this list.

Desperate Housewives

This entry isn't about one house, it's about all the house and the neighborhood that makes up Wisteria Lane on Desperate Housewives. There isn't anything particularly special about any one house, but wow what a subdivision to live in! My suburban street was nothing like this... or maybe it was and I was just ignorant of it. Probably not.

The Crown

There are a lot of palaces and castles in Netflix's The Crown and all of them are real places, though none of the show was actually filmed in them, of course. Of all the castles and palaces that Queen Elizabeth is seen in on the show, the coolest and most interesting has to be Balmoral, her castle in Scotland where she ultimately died in real life. That's the castle and grounds I want to explore.

Billions

Even by TV show standards, Bobby Axelrod (Damien Lewis) on Showtime's Billions has a ridiculous beach house in the Hamptons. I mean, it looks like a country club clubhouse or a hotel, it's insane. It feels like you could spend a month there and never hang out in the same room twice.

Ozark

I've been to the Lake of the Ozarks a bunch of times in my life and while it's a super fun place, you don't really think of it as having interesting houses. On the show Ozark, the Byrdes definitely live in one that you wouldn't ever expect to see there, and it's based on a real place there. It's exactly the kind of house I love. It's also one of the few places that is actually based on a real thing at Lake of the Ozarks, as the show was primarily shot in Georgia.

Beverly Hills, 90210

As someone who grew up watching Beverly Hills, 90210 every week, this is definitely a very personal choice. I just always thought the house was really nice looking and I'd love to spend some time hanging out with the Walshes.

Arrested Development

Yes, it's only a model house, and yes, it's basically cheap construction of plywood and chewing gum, but still, the house in Arrested Development would be a wild place to hang out for a while. You could look for George in the attic, or count the number of blue handprints on the wall... there's just so much. I wouldn't mess around with the cornballer though.

Falcon Crest

One of the wildest wealthy fictional families on TV in the '80s was the Channing/Gioberti clan on Falcon Crest. It's a show that no one talks about anymore, but the house, set in a fictionalized version of Napa Valley is amazing and really, we should be talking about it as the star of the show, though Jane Wyman is pretty fantastic on the show too.

David Beckham and his upcoming Valentine's Boss underwear campaign have already garnered plenty of buzz amongst fans (including his wife, Victoria Beckham). The sports star is no stranger to the limelight and discourse regarding his work or physique. Modern Family cast member Jesse Tyler Ferguson recently chimed right in with an apt and comical comparison. Ferguson equated Beckham’s wardrobe from the new campaign to the ex-athlete's cameo on one of ABC’S best sitcoms. (And he's on to something here.)

As the face of the Boss One underwear campaign, the former soccer star has been sharing a lot about the line with his Instagram followers. Between the images and reels he’s dropped, the reveals have been relatively straightforward. His fans have a lot to say, though, and I'm not surprised Ferguson was amongst the commenters. The actor's aforementioned comparison was not only hilarious but (figuratively and literally) fitting:

Jesse Tyler Ferguson is absolutely right in his assertion that the wardrobe is similar in both cases. While Beckham wasn’t in his skivvies for the entirety of his time on the iconic comedy series, he did appear in them during the back half of the storyline. iIt's very similar to his current Boss One post, which you can check out for yourself:

While the post is definitely doing its job in promoting the underwear line, I can't help but think about his Modern Family episode. Season 11, Episode 10 -- “The Prescott” -- centers around Alex Dunphy’s (Ariel Winter) new luxury apartment, which is provided by her job. Her family is ultimately motivated to sneak in for varying reasons, even though it’s against the rules. Guests aren’t allowed at the amenity-filled-digs without a resident present and, with Alex busy on a project, she refuses to have anyone over.

All of her direct family members except, Hayley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland), Lily Pritchett (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) and Joe Pritchett (Jeremy Maguire), inevitably sneak in and get in to all sorts of shenanigans. Everyone has their own motivations, but Mitch and Cam (Eric Stonestreet), independently of one another, are trying to meet the most famous residents -- Victoria and David Beckham. The couple get their chance to meet half of the A-List couple, while they are all in a hot tub.

I'd consider the episode to be one of Modern Family's signature installments, even if it does come near the end of its run. Today, It’s funny to see Jesse Tyler Ferguson's comparison. That aside, though, I appreciate that the British athlete isn’t afraid to bare it all for a show or campaign.

As for whether David Beckham might show up in another sitcom anytime soon, that's unclear. I know I'd sure love to see him make a cameo on another show. But, in the meantime, I'm just enjoying Jesse Tyler Ferguson's fun comparison related to the Boss One campaign.. The only thing that could make it better would be if Beckham decides to add a cheeky reply of some sort.

Those who'd like to stream David Beckham's episode of Modern Family can do just that using an active Hulu subscription or Peacock subscription.

The so-called "Golden Age" or "Peak TV era" of television is broadly (and roughly) defined as the running from the debut of The Sopranos to the finale of Better Call Saul. This isn't a perfect description, as there are still some really amazing shows that continue part, like, say, Severance, just to name one. But, for this article, we're going to stick to those parameters. Without further ado, here is our list of some of the truly great shows from the Peak Era of television.

Game Of Thrones

We certainly couldn't make this list without the grand dragon on them all, HBO's Game of Thrones. Though the ending made a lot of people mad and you can argue that the show declined greatly in its last couple of seasons, it doesn't diminish the greatest of the show's early years. With some of the most shocking moments in TV history, the show was must-watch TV for all eight seasons.

Atlanta

Creator and star of Atlanta Donald Glover proved yet again that he is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Over six years and four seasons the show and its star were showered with acclaim and industry awards, including multiple Golden Globes and Emmys. Not only did Glover win an Emmy for acting on the FX series, but he became the first African-American to win Best Director at the Emmys in the show's first season.

The West Wing

There aren't a lot of network TV shows on this list, but one that simply has to be is The West Wing. For seven seasons in the early 2000s, the NBC hit was one of the best shows in network history. Featuring a long list of stars that included Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, and many other cast members, The West Wing gave us all a look into all that government can be if we want it to be.

Lost

Pardon the pun, but it's fair to say that ABC's Lost lost its way towards the end. A confluence of events, including a writer's strike, left fans more than a little annoyed with the show's final couple of seasons, but those first few years were simply incredible. The show, which debuted in 2004, was one of the first shows that was ever described as "bingable" and with good reasons, the cliffhangers were amazing.

Mad Men

In a lot of ways, AMC's Mad Men kind of came out of nowhere. Set in the 1960s, it was unlike anything on TV at the time and the longer it went on, the better it got, which is rare for any show. It made a star out of Jon Hamm and fascinated viewers each week both with its wonderful storytelling and its look back at one of the most turbulent and interesting decades in American history.

The Office

In an era when sitcoms were evolving and struggling to keep up with their dramatic counterparts, The Office was one of the biggest shows of all time (that's what she said). Steve Carell's performance as the worst boss in the world became one of the most quotable and memed shows ever. It's true the NBC show did suffer some when Carell left after Season 7, the legacy of the show was well-established by then.

Downton Abbey

If you had bet on a period piece set on an opulent estate during Edwardian England would be a massive hit, most of the time, you'd lose. If you placed that bet on Downton Abbey, however, you'd have won big. There are no action sequences, stunts, or special effects. It's simply a wonderfully told story with fantastic characters played by excellent actors.

Better Call Saul

As a spinoff to another Peak TV era show, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul found its own place in television history. It's a very different show from the show that birthed it, as it's a little more surreal and, frankly, funny. In some people's eyes, the AMC's show's finale in 2022 marks the end of an era.

The Wire

Famously, The Wire was never a monster hit for HBO. Certainly not on the level of The Sopranos, which ran during roughly the same few years. Still, it has maintained a spot at the top or near the top of almost any list of "Best TV Shows in History." The Wire plays out like a 60-hour movie or a great book. The character development is unrivaled and the storytelling is heartbreaking, uplifting, and frustrating (in a good way). There is no doubt that the show will be remembered as one of the best for a long, long time.

Breaking Bad

What can we write about Breaking Bad that hasn't already been written. Widely considered the best (or close to the best) TV show of all time, the Bryan Cranston-led show was wildly popular with both fans and critics alike. It is one of the darkest shows in history, but that never diminished the love for it.

Narcos

Netflix landed itself a massive hit with Narcos in 2015. Wagner Moura, who played the kingpin Pablo Escobar stole the show with his uncanny and incredible performance as the notorious drug lord and Pedro Pascal found a new level of fame as one of the DEA agents trying to bring Escobar down. The show's third season, which shifted away from the Escobar story after the character's death wasn't quite on the level of the first two, but the show was popular enough to launch a spinoff, Narcos: Mexico, which ran for three seasons as well.

The Sopranos

The Sopranos' debut on HBO in January of 1999 marks the unofficial beginning of the Golden Age of Television - or at least the modern Golden Age. The production value, storytelling, and acting on the show were unlike anything anyone had ever seen. the characters were fully formed almost from the moment they first hit the screen and the story that unfolded, about a mafia boss played by the late, great James Gandolfini trying to keep both his crime family and his actual family together was simply unparalleled. Right down to the end and the show's much-talked-about finale.

Grey's Anatomy

As one of the longest-running prime-time shows in history, Grey's Anatomy has run for almost the entire era of "peak TV." Since its debut in 2005 and over more than 20 seasons and 400 episodes, the show has just kept chugging along with a devoted fanbase who stayed with it over the decades and though the endless cast changes can be frustrating, the show is remarkable.

24

One of the very first "bingable" shows would have to be 24. The Kiefer Sutherland-led action show from Fox kept viewers on the edge of their seats for nine seasons, one TV movie (24: Redemption), and a couple of spin-offs. It all made 24 one of the most bankable franchises of the era.

Six Feet Under

The early 2000s were an incredible era for HBO. Along with The Sopranos and The Wire, the network had another one of the best shows of the era with Six Feet Under. The show told the story of the Fisher family and their trials and turbulations running the family business, a funeral home. Mix in some supernatural elements and HBO had a unique hit on their hands.

Modern Family

Network sitcoms that enter the general cultural zeitgeist are few and far between these days. Certainly not like they were in their heyday of the 1970s and '80s. There are still a few that break through though, like Modern Family. For a time, it seemed as those everyone in the country was watching the ups and downs of the most dysfunctional and wonder families in TV history. For 11 seasons, the ABC hit dominated the ratings and is still a hit on streaming years after airing its finale in 2020.

Orange Is the New Black

Orange Is the New Black wasn't the first "prestige TV" show from Netflix, but it's safe to say it solidified Netflix's spot among the biggest players in the industry. For seven seasons over six years, the prison comedy-drama told the semi-autobiographical story of Piper Kerman, whose book of the same name was the basis for the show. Kerman spent a year in prison and many of the stories in the show reflected or told the experiences she had while in jail.

Deadwood

Many of the best Westerns on film came out many decades ago. On TV, there were big hits in the '50s and '60s like Gunsmoke and Bonanza, but the best Western television show of the 21st Century, Deadwood has almost nothing in common with any of those. The show was dark, crass, and unlike anything else on TV. The verbose language and insane moments made must-see TV at the time. Sadly it was never quite as popular as it should have been and that made for some herky-jerky starts-and-stops between seasons, but the show never dipped in quality.

Friday Night Lights

"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose," from a speech by Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) in Friday Night Lights has become part of the television canon, just as the show has. Based on the movie starring Billy Bob Thornton about the spectacle that is high school football in Texas, the show has outshined its source material in almost every way.

Veep

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is unique. She not only starred in the biggest sitcom of the 1990s, Seinfeld, but she's followed it up with two more hot shows. First in the '00s she won awards for The New Adventures of Old Christine and then in the 2010s had maybe her best performance as the hapless, power-hungry Vice President on HBO's Veep for which she won an incredible seven Emmys in a row.

House Of Cards

In 2013 Netflix loudly announced it was ready to be a player in the Peak Age of TV with House Of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. Based on a British show of the same name, the show highlighted the darkest corners of politics and despite the show losing some steam when Kevin Spacey got caught in the middle of a serious legal battle forcing him off the show and effectively ending his career, it still deserves recognition for all six seasons it ran for.

The Walking Dead

Over 11 seasons and 177 episodes, it's fair to say that not every moment on The Walking Dead was peak TV. That doesn't tell the whole story though, because when The Walking Dead was great, it was really great. The AMC zombie show was a ratings monster and cultivated one of the most dedicated fanbases ever, which led to multiple spinoffs that will seemingly run forever.

Boardwalk Empire

When Boardwalk Empire premiered on HBO in 2009, it came with a lot of hype as the mind behind it, Terrence Winter, had been of the key creative minds behind The Sopranos. While Boardwalk Empire never quite reached the lofty heights of The Sopranos, it was still one of the best shows on TV in its time.

Sons Of Anarchy

Like a few other shows on this list, FX's Sons Of Anarchy isn't a perfect show. There were some ill-advised plot decisions, like moving the gang to Ireland for a while, but like those other shows, when SOA was good, it was really, really good. The characters became our own dysfunctional family who we laughed, cried, and died with over the show's seven seasons. A spinoff, Mayans M.C., wasn't as good, but it also found a fanbase and lasted for five seasons.

The Americans

Of all the shows on this list, the one that maybe flew under the radar more than most has to be The Americans. The FX show was just... cool. It was a spy thriller that brought the Cold War back to U.S. television. Set in the '80s and starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, the show ran for six great seasons and never really fell off as so many other shows do.

30 Rock

How do you follow up an incredible run as a star and head writer on SNL? Well, if you're as talented and funny as Tina Fey, you create one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 21st Century with 30 Rock. If nothing else, the show left us with the important bit of advice that you should never go with a hippie to a second location.

Justified

FX's Justified updated the Western for the 21st Century. Based on a book for Elmore Leonard and starring Timothy Olyphant as a 21st-century lawman with with his heart in the 19th Century, Justified was as noir as you'd expect from a story by Leonard and the acting is, across the board, fantastic.

True Detective

One of the darkest shows during the Peak Era of TV had to be True Detective, especially the first season. The unconventional storytelling was brought to life brilliantly by stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and while the show was still great for a couple of more seasons, it really was that first season that stood out and above the others.

Succession

On HBO's Succession, the entire Roy family are all awful people. It's a show entirely made of characters we love to hate. We hated them so much, we couldn't wait to tune in each week to see what awful things they would do and it made the show unique and magical in that way.

Homeland

Showtime's Homeland started with a bang in its first season, or rather, almost ended its first season with a bang that never happened. The spy thriller starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis was the ultimate nail-biter as no one really knew how the season would end. While the end of that first season was probably the pinnacle of the show, it ended up airing for seven more excellent seasons.

Battlestar Galactica

Interestingly, though there are some exceptions, Sci-Fi wasn't a huge part of the era. One of those exceptions was Battlestar Galactica, a reboot of the old series from the 1970s. The new version was a mystery wrapped in a space adventure and featured some of the craziest twists of any show from the time.

Barry

It's always cool to see an actor known primarily for their comedic talents take on a more serious role and Bill Hader in Barry is a perfect example. Sure, there is some dark comedy in the show of course, but, especially as the show went on, the character played by Hader was as complex as any character we've seen on TV and Hader is amazing.

Through five seasons of Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston completely shifted from being a beloved comedic actor to one of peak TV’s most celebrated thespians, all thanks to his increasingly more intimidating performance as Walter White. The former chemistry teacher became quite proficient with criminal acts, from cooking up nearly perfect meth to planting explosives to rigging up the show’s infamous “machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac” contraption.

So yeah, Walter White certainly knows a thing or two about machine guns — even if series creator Vince Gilligan has publicly regretted its inclusion — but not everyone might be aware that Bryan Cranston himself is apparently known to get into a Nerf gun war on occasion. At least whenever he’s invited to, as it went on the set of Modern Family whenever the Emmy-winning actor popped by the ABC sitcom to offer up his directing talents.

When Modern Family vet Nolan Gould appeared on former co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner’s On Me, the younger actor talked about how he, Ariel Winter and Rico Rodriguez used to be “maniacs” behind the scenes and would get into all kind of shenanigans. Here's how he boasted about getting the superstar actor to join their horseplay:

Host Jesse Tyler Ferguson did indeed remember that experience, and told Gould to share a little more about it, to which the To Do List actor said:

Ferguson then addressed the fact that he'd actually hosted Bryan Cranston himself on the podcast previously, and that he'd talked about the Nerf gun experience at the time. As the Mitchell Pritchett actor put it:

As opposed to Modern Family and Malcolm in the Middle, Breaking Bad didn't exactly have a ton of child actors hanging around the set. There was Walter and Skylar's baby, of course, but not until later, and it's probably not super safe (or fun) to play Nerf wars with an infant.

Cranston directed two episodes of Modern Family, one in Season 3 and one in Season 5, but that wasn’t his only stint behind the camera. He helmed three episodes of Breaking Bad, eps of Sneaky Pete and his Showtime thriller Your Honor, as well as that episode of The Office where a car stunt nearly went awry, with seven installments of Malcolm also under his directorial belt.

Just because he's proficient in directing doesn't mean he'll be quitting his day job anytime soon. To that end, Cranston’s comments about stepping away from acting went viral last year in ways he presumably didn’t intend for, since he came out afterward to clarify that he wasn’t fully retiring from the artform, but that he would be taking some time off when he turns 70 in 2026.

Before that happens, though, fans will get to see the actor return to his TV sitcom roots for Malcolm in the Middle’s officially confirmed revival, which will hopefully land on the 2025 premiere schedule.

In the meantime, fans can always rewatch Breaking Bad in full with a Netflix subscription, while Modern Family is available to stream in its entirety with a Hulu subscription.

The Modern Family cast is remaining busy years after the ABC sitcom ended back in 2020, especially Julie Bowen. The Claire Dunphy actress may still be reuniting with her former TV family from time to time, but she still has been working non-stop. On top of her exciting return as Virginia Venit for the upcoming Happy Gilmore sequel, she’s also swapping broadcast networks for a brand new sitcom, and I love it.

The Emmy winner will be both starring in and executive producing the new NBC comedy Taste. Still in development, the series comes from writers and executive producers Justin Shanes and Nedaa Sweiss, according to Deadline. Taste will follow employees at a legacy food magazine in the Bay Area that gets bought up by a "Silicon Valley tech mogul." Bowen's traditionalist editor is thrust into working with a young and socially savvy TikTok chef, and it's easy to see how sparks would fly.

Executive produced by Bowen through her Bowen and Sons Production company (along with president Rachael Field and Top Chef judge and EP Gail Simmons), Taste is still in development and has not been ordered to series. But it already sounds pretty promising, and her casting doesn't hurt in the slightest. Workplace comedies seem to always be a big hit, and with Bowen attached to this one, it would be highly surprising if it didn’t move forward.

Taste marks Bowen’s latest network comedy series since Modern Family, though she recently got quite dramatic on-screen while starring in the comedy horror-thriller Hysteria (which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription). And it seems like she had a positive enough experience with the streaming service, seeing as how she's now working with its parent company.

It is pretty interesting to know that after calling ABC home for 11 years with Modern Family, Julie Bowen could very well getting a new home at NBC. At the very least, it doesn’t seem like Bowen will be stuck with another Mom role, and is still sticking with the comedy genre, which is always a plus for her. Taste certainly sounds like a fun series, especially if Bowen’s character has to be ushered into the TikTok space.

The potential series is NBC’s latest new comedy project. Both the mockumentary St. Denis Medical and Reba McEntire's sitcome return Happy’s Place premiered on the 2024 TV schedule, but it's not yet clear which shows on its schedule would need to get canceled or moved around to make room for Taste.

Meanwhile, Modern Family remains a favorite among fans even if it is one of many shows to go on for too long. It’s one of the best sitcoms of all time and will probably be one of the best sitcoms for years to come. Bowen may have played a TV mom with an iron fist, but Claire Dunphy, as well as the rest of the family, was as loved as ever.

Even though it’s still hard to get used to seeing the cast in different roles despite it being over five years since the finale. Not much else is known about Taste, but more details will likely be released in the coming months depending on whether it’s ordered to series by NBC, but the wait will be worth it.

Modern Family is one of the best sitcoms of all time and it’s partly because of the cast. The characters are quite relatable, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the roles. Julie Bowen’s Claire Dunphy, for example, is certainly a TV mom that parented with an iron fist, having to wrangle not only her three kids but her often goofy husband, but it all came with love. Bowen had the role down perfectly, but apparently, another comedic actress could have nabbed the role.

There are often stories of actors who were in the running to play a role in a film or TV show that wound up being huge, and you always think of the “What if?” In Modern Family’s case, 13 Going on 30 star Judy Greer almost auditioned for the role of Claire Dunphy. She told Modern Family’s own Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his podcast Dinner’s On Me about auditioning for the ABC sitcom after being asked what her connection was to the series, and I can’t stop thinking about how different it would have been:

Considering Modern Family wound up running for 11 seasons, that’s a long time to play a mother for a role. Even Julie Bowen is receiving Mom roles after Modern Family. It’s not an easy role to do, whether real or fake, and it’s something that Greer didn’t want to do after much debate:

Even though Judy Greer is sure she wouldn’t have gotten the role had she auditioned anyway, it’s still something to think about. Another reason why Modern Family went as long as it did is because of the cast’s chemistry and their believability as an actual and relatable family. Greer being on Modern Family would have been interesting to see, whether as Claire or as a different character, but it sounds like she’s not too regretful about not auditioning. And there would only be one reason why she would have auditioned:

At the very least, it all worked out in the end. Greer wasn’t limited to just one role or project, and Bowen was definitely the perfect person to play Claire and she got a new family out of it as well. Even today, the Modern Family cast remain close. Coincidentally, both Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson spent Thanksgiving in the ER because of their kids, and they shared some sweet support for one another.

Modern Family is always going to be a beloved show with a beloved cast, and it’s very likely that even with one different actor, the show would have been completely different. There’s no way to know what it would have been like with Greer, but fans can watch the show with a Hulu subscription or a Peacock subscription and see just how great it is with Bowen.

Ideally, Thanksgiving is a day for family, food and football (sometimes even if you’re working, like Tom Brady), but we all know things don’t always go as planned. Emergencies don’t take a break just because it’s a holiday, and that’s a truth that both Modern Family co-stars Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson learned Thursday. Each spent the day at the hospital with their children (both are OK, they assured fans!), and I love that they can lean on each other for support.

It might make a good synopsis for a Modern Family episode if it weren’t such a terrible thing to happen in real life, but on Thanksgiving Day, the actors who played siblings Claire Dunphy and Mitchell Pritchett on one of the best sitcoms of all time both had to take their kids to the ER. Julie Bowen, who shares 17-year-old Oliver and 15-year-old twins John and Gustav with her ex-husband Scott Phillips, posted a photo to Instagram showing one of them silhouetted in front of the lit-up emergency room entrance:

In the caption, the Happy Gilmore 2 actress assured fans that her son is fine, and she seemed to indicate this might not be their first visit to the establishment (as boy moms everywhere can surely attest to). Still, it wasn’t the ideal holiday, I’m sure, and as people sent their well-wishes in the comments, there was a familiar face, commiserating with Julie Bowen. Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s husband Justin Mikita commented:

Sadly it seems that the two dads, who share 4-year-old Beckett Mercer and 2-year-old Sullivan Louis, also had a not-so-happy holiday, as Jesse Tyler Ferguson shared his own photo on social media. The Tony Award winner looked solemnly at the camera as he lay in a hospital bed holding one of his sons:

He referenced his TV sister’s similar struggles, as he wrote:

I love that Jesse Tyler Ferguson has been able to lean on his sister for advice, as her boys are a good bit older than his, and it sounds like some of that inevitable parent guilt was alleviated by seeing that she, too, was unable to prevent whatever landed them in the ER. Their struggles didn’t go unnoticed by Sofia Vergara, who played their stepmother Gloria on the sitcom, as she commented on JTF’s photo:

Neither of the Modern Family stars disclosed the reasons for their hospital visit, but the important thing is that it sounds like everyone is OK. It’s also great to know that the Pritchett siblings can still lean on each other after all these years.

If you want to see Claire and Mitchell in happier moments, or where at least the hardships are all fictional, Modern Family is one of the funniest shows streaming on Hulu right now, and it's also available to stream with a Peacock subscription. Our best wishes go out to Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s families for continued recovery after what was likely a scary day.

Modern Family remains one of the best sitcoms of all time and, thanks to streaming, people can continue to revisit it. It's one of the rare series that ran for over 10 seasons, as it ended with 11 seasons and 250 episodes. The show featured a wonderful ensemble cast that included Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who played Lily Tucker-Pritchett. Today, the actress is "grateful" for her experience on the Emmy-winning show, but she may not recommend child acting to everyone.

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons was just four years old when she took over the role of Lily amid Season 3 of the aforementioned show, and she played it through the remainder of the series. As her character grew up she became a fan-favorite for her sass and sarcasm, even at a young age. Anderson-Emmons herself also received praise for her work.

The former child star, along with her mother, recently appeared on Trisha Paytas’ Just Trish podcast, where the host and influencer mentioned that she was thinking about getting her young kids into acting since she was never able to when she was their age. The veteran Modern Family cast member didn't totally try to dissuade the social media maven from moving forward with that plan, but she did give her take on why Paytas should wait until her kids are older:

Those are reasonable thoughts. Show business is said to be tough, but I'd imagine that taking part in it at such a young age before you’re really able to make decisions for yourself is even harder. I can’t imagine having that kind of pressure or no control over things.

Still, it’s clear that Aubrey Anderson-Emmons still holds her former show near and dear to her heart, and she still hangs out with her TV family from time to time. Yet the now-17-year-old actress is not shy about admitting what life was like immediately after Modern Family, and it sounds like it wasn’t easy:

She did indeed spend a good chunk of her childhood on the beloved ABC show and was almost a teenager when the series wrapped. For a while, acting was all she knew, so one can understand why it was tough for her to find another outlet after the show ended. I can’t blame her for recommending that others hold off on the child acting until they're of an age that they're truly cognizant of whether or not they want it.

Anderson-Emmons might have not known what she wanted after the series ended, but she is making sure to get as much normal school experience as she can. The young actress went to prom earlier this year, and many fans had sweet comments referencing her show and her TV dads, Cam and Mitch. She also has not acted since the series' conclusion in 2020, aside from the short Tailwinds this year. On that note, though, it seems like she's content with making decisions for herself in regards to what she really wants to do with her life.

I love seeing just how mature and well-adjusted Aubrey Anderson-Emmons is at this point in her life. And, while she's moved on from Modern Family, you can still revisit her work using a Hulu subscription or a Peacock subscription.

There are so many shows out there that are perfect for your next binge. They could be one of the best shows to watch on Netflix or even be an original series for a streaming service – either way, they are full of life and hilarity. And if you're looking for a new show to watch, you might want to consider any of the following options for your next best sitcom.

Friends

I can't have a sitcom list and not write about Friends. The series was a huge hit for several years, running for ten seasons and making the Friends cast the vast stars they are today. The series follows a group of friends who live in New York City and follow their personal and professional lives.

How I Met Your Mother

For nine seasons, How I Met Your Mother dominated the world. The How I Met Your Mother cast was exceptionally popular, with skyrocketing careers, and featured some of the funniest jokes ever. If you ignore the finale (which most tend to do), it's honestly one of the best shows out there. The series follows the main character as he tells his children about how he met their mother.

30 Rock

Created by Tina Fey, 30 Rock ran for seven seasons and was a hilarious addition to the sitcom's run. The series follows the lives of workers at a fictional sketch show in New York City, based on Fey's time working on Saturday Night Live. The 30 Rock cast is hilarious in so many ways.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Okay, so this series is the definition of a long binge. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has run forever, it seems. It follows the story of a group of friends (and one annoying father) who live in Philadelphia and get up to the craziest things (usually illegal). I mean, this series is iconic—it can't really get better than this one.

Abbott Elementary

Abbott Elementary is on the fast track to becoming an all-time great show. The series follows the lives of teachers who work at a public school in Philadelphia and the struggles they have to go through to make their children happy and give them a good environment, as well as their own personal lives.

Frasier

Running for eleven seasons, Frasier is a spinoff of Cheers and follows the psychiatrist Frasier Crane, who travels back home to Seattle and documents his personal and professional life. Talk about an incredible spinoff – and it earned a reboot several years later on Paramount+.

The Office

I mean, obviously, I have to include The Office. Running for eleven seasons, the series followed the lives of workers in a paper company in Scranton and is considered one of the best mockumentary sitcoms of all time. The Office cast is super iconic, and after one watch, you'll be returning to this show like a security blanket.

Community

With six seasons, Community is a fun one to watch. It follows five misfits who go to a community college and form a study group together – which gets them into hilarious situations. The series is hysterical, and while Season 5 is a little iffy (in my personal opinion and many others), it's still worth a binge – especially since a Community movie is in the works.

Cheers

Running for eleven seasons, Cheers is one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. The show mainly revolves around patrons and friends who gather at a bar as we follow their lives both in and out of the world. The series is responsible for creating several big stars, such as Ted Danson, Kirstie Alley, Kelsey Grammer, and Woody Harrelson.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

While it only ran for four seasons, I personally love Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The series follows a young woman who was locked away in a bunker for several years only to emerge and find herself a stranger in this new modern world. With the help of some unlikely friends, she finds her path.

Two And A Half Men

As someone who watched Two and a Half Men for the first time a few years ago, I find this series hilarious. Running for twelve seasons and originally starring Charlie Sheen (before switching over to Ashton Kutcher years later), the series follows a man who houses his brother and his son during a divorce and the craziness they get into as time goes on. This series is wild, so be prepared for some jokes that most likely did not age well but are still fun.

Parks And Recreation

Parks and Recreation aired a few years after The Office ended, and people loved this show just as much. The series mainly follows Leslie Knope, who works at the Parks Department in a fictional town and cares deeply about her job, causing headaches for others. If you take a look at the Parks and Recreation cast, you'll see a ton of familiar faces.

That '70s Show

Running for eight seasons, That '70s Show was a series that raised me as a kid. The series follows a group of teenagers who are living in the 1970s and their experiences with the culture there. The series was so popular that it spawned a spinoff years later called That '90s Show, although it was short-lived.

Seinfeld

I mean, obviously, I have to put Seinfeld on here. Created by comedy legends Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, Seinfeld is "a show about nothing," following the lives of a fictionalized version of Seinfeld and his friends in New York City during the 1980s and 90s. The series ran for nine seasons and created the famous Seinfeld cast.

The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

Where was he raised? In West Philadelphia, of course. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starred Will Smith and followed the story of a young man who is sent to his uncle in Bel-Air after getting into trouble back home in Philly. His mother hopes that his uncle can straighten him out, and it just turns into hilarity for this fresh prince. The series ran for six seasons.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast is hilarious in every way possible, and I thoroughly recommend this series with my whole heart. The series follows the lives of workers at a fictional police station in New York City, from their professional lives to their own, and how they all intertwine.

The Golden Girls

I have to recommend The Golden Girls. Running for seven seasons and just as iconic as you would expect, the show starred Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty as four older women who lived together in their later years in Miami and the crazy lives they got into.

Bob's Burgers

Animated shows are probably some of the best series to binge because they often have so many seasons, and Bob's Burgers is an excellent example of that. The series, which has been running for fifteen seasons and counting, follows the lives of a family who own a burger shop and what they get up to when they're not in the kitchen—as well as the drama that unfolds in their restaurant. It's hilarious, and I highly recommend it.

I Love Lucy

Of course, I have to put the original sitcom here. I Love Lucy is a classic sitcom starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as Lucy and Ricky, a couple living in New York City, and the shenanigans that Lucy gets into all the time. I'm often not the best person to recommend older TV shows because most tend to miss the mark, but this is one of the best you can watch. The series ran for six seasons.

Modern Family

Modern Family is an absolute icon, and yes, you need to watch it. Running for eleven seasons, It is exactly what you would expect it to be—it follows the lives of a modern-age family and the craziness they get into. The Modern Family cast is hysterical, and I can assure you that you will laugh several times throughout the show.

The Nanny

"She's the nanny, the nanny named Fran!" I can assure you that the theme song for this show will be stuck in your head by the end of this binge. Running for six seasons, The Nanny, starring Fran Drescher, follows the lives of a fashionista who decides to take on the role of a nanny for three children when she needs the money, only for her life to intertwine with their father, Peter Marc Jacobson.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Created by Larry David and running for twelve seasons (despite that twenty-four-year-long streak), Curb Your Enthusiasm is a hilarious HBO series that stars David as a fictionalized version of himself as he lives in Los Angeles and his days as a retired TV producer and writer, and the stuff he gets into as he deals with all the drama Hollywood can bring.

Full House

The Full House cast is iconic because of how great this series was and how many of us were raised on it, honestly. Full House follows the lives of three men, one a widow, one a brother-in-law, and the other a best friend, who all live in the same house, and work together to raise the children of one after his wife passes away. The series ran for eight seasons.

The Simpsons

Obviously, I have to put The Simpsons on this list. The Simpsons is probably one of the most iconic TV families ever, following the animated tales of Homer and his family as they get into the craziest shenanigans you could ever think of and more.

The Big Bang Theory

Running for twelve seasons, The Big Bang Theory was an extremely successful modern-day sitcom that followed several people living in California. It mainly followed the lives of Leonard and Sheldon, who they ran into as total science nerds, and the friends they surround themselves with.

South Park

South Park has some outrageous episodes, but this is the perfect binge if you want something that's way more adult. The series follows the lives of four fourth-graders in the world of South Park, a fictional town in Colorado, where literally nothing is off the table for the drama they get into. This series is just a lot to handle but so freaking hysterical.

Scrubs

Created by Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Shrinking) and running for nine seasons, Scrubs is the medical sitcom that you're in need of. The series follows the lives of workers at a hospital, following the medical interns as they work their way up in the world and the hilarious things that happen to them.

Schitt's Creek

While Schitt's Creek only ran for four seasons, its impact on pop culture is widely known. The series follows the lives of the Rose family, who suddenly lose everything in their name except for a little town the father bought as a joke years ago – Schitt's Creek, the place where they will begin their return to wealth. The Schitt's Creek cast is absolutely hysterical.

Veep

Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and running for seven seasons, Veep is a hilarious HBO sitcom and political satire show that will make you laugh for hours on end. The series follows the life of political figure Selina Meyer, who is the Vice President of the United States, and how she deals with what is thrown at her, as well as working with the president who drives her nuts.

Rick And Morty

Created by Dan Harmon, Rick and Morty is one of those animated sitcoms where you never know what is going to happen next, but you know it'll be hilarious. Rick and Morty follows the scientific adventures of Grandpa Rick and his grandson, Morty, as he takes him across multiple dimensions and into situations that really no young boy should ever experience.

Arrested Development

Running for five seasons, with two of them happening in the later years of the 2010s, Arrested Development is the type of show that will make you laugh for hours. The series follows a formerly wealthy family as they try to adjust to normal everyday life – and they most certainly have a hard time doing it.

Everybody Hates Chris

Created by Chris Rock, Everybody Hates Chris stars Tyler James Williams and is loosely based on Rock's life when he was a teenager and what it was like living in New York City back in the 1980s as a teenager. It ran for four seasons (but to me, it should have ran for way more).

Any of these shows would be excellent picks for you to watch next. Now, I feel like I need to have a TV marathon. It's time to dim the lights and get the popcorn once again.

Julie Bowen certainly solidified her role in TV history by playing Modern Family's Claire Dunphy. Honestly, the thoughtful character may have subconsciously been the voice of reason for a lot of us during the 2010s. It’s undeniable that Claire has become one of the best TV moms who never got enough credit. The show ran for 11 years and, since then, Bowen (who has a new title on the 2024 TV schedule) has seemingly still be offered a lot of "mom" roles, and she's now sharing her feelings about that.

The 54-year-old actress was recently interviewed by People and talked about her newest show, Peacock's eight-episode comedy horror-thriller Hysteria! She was eventually asked about the influx of motherly roles she's received since her hit long-running sitcom ended in 2020. As the Jumping the Broom alum explained, she doesn't have any qualms about being tapped for such gigs:

It's definitely true that some actors can get tired of being cast in specific kinds of roles. Some instances can be unfortunate, especially when it's clear that such a star has range. Nevertheless, it's sweet to hear that Julie Bowen doesn't mind taking on the role of a mama when called upon. And, to be completely honest, she's quite good at it.

Despite that, the fan-favorite actress has continued to stand out in her roles beyond the ABC staple, and that’s great to see. The Life of the Party alum has since joined some fun projects, including Totally Killer, Hubie Halloween and the upcoming Happy Gilmore sequel, which will be a part of the 2025 movie schedule.

While she's since moved on, there’s no mistaking that Julie Bowen loved Modern Family, and the same is true of her colleagues. Bowen even recently admitted that she would’ve happily died on that set. In retrospect, it's funny to think that the Horrible Bosses star almost missed the opportunity to join the hit sitcom, as she was eyeing another gig at the time. Her tenure on the show wasn't perfect as, apparently, the press tried to pit Bowen and co- star Sofia Vergara against each other. Still, it sounds like Bowen has much appreciation for that time in her life.

Today, the Fallout alum remains booked and busy and her role inthe '80s Satanic high school show Hysteria! really gives her the chance to flex her acting muscles and try something wild. Fans of hers who are Peacock subscription holders should do themselves a favor and check it out. l'm very glad Julie Bowen has accepted and flourished in her mom era, and here's hoping she continues to flourish and nab the roles she desires.

Those who'd still love to see her work on Modern Family, though, can do just that by streaming all 11 seasons of the beloved series with a Hulu subscription.

Even the best sitcoms of all time, like wildly fun and fresh Modern Family, have to come to a close. The series ran for just over 10 Seasons, and while some may think that the blended family network hit went on for too long, it broke a lot of barriers and received rightful acclaim. They won so many awards for the show, in fact, that recently Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett, revealed an awkward moment the whole cast shared after their Emmy-winning years.

During a chat on Busy Philipps' podcast Busy This Week, Ferguson was asked about the cast’s awards, including their Emmy wins, and whether or not he was ever over-participating in the shows. He said he enjoyed his time at the ceremonies, but he divulged that the audience had other feelings, explaining:

The Modern Family award run was highly impressive and took center stage for a good half-decade before it all slowed down. For them to pull ranks with a classic sitcom like Fraiser is no joke, and it was deserved for at least a few of those years.

During the back half of the show, the awards slowed down. While speaking about the first year they didn't win, Ferguson shared nervously that a collectively awkward moment between him and his co-stars happened and it seems fitting for the entire Pritchett family. They didn’t know the right door to use when leaving the award show, because every other year they'd been ushered off stage through a different door. So, while explaining all this, the actor said:

Philipps, mouth agape, responded by saying that this story was ‘iconic,’ and it really kind of is. After a run like they had, it’s not incredibly surprising that the group wasn't sure how to leave since they went straight into press all the years before.

Now, as we look back and laugh over this moment and reflect on the massive success of the show, I can't help but think about whether Mitchell and his family could ever return. Many of us are hoping for that revival Ferguson and company have teased here and there. Meanwhile, other fans are still holding out hope for the Cam and Mitchell spinoff, which won't happen, but one can dream!

For now, we’ll have to stick with the original Emmy-winning series which is available to stream with a Hulu+ subscription or Peacock subscription.

One of the most beloved TV sitcoms of all time, Modern Family was bolstered by its stacked ensemble cast, and quickly turned stars like Julie Bowen into household names. The ABC faux documentary kept its multigenerational tale going for eleven seasons, which is more than enough time for plenty of on-set drama to go down. But it doesn't sound like that was ever the case for Bowen herself, who says she would have been happy to die on that set.

While perhaps not the most traditionally positive way to reflect on a treasured memory, Bowen has remained wholly positive about her entire experience as Claire Dunphy (a role she almost missed out on). What’s more, she’s welcoming all the ongoing rumors and conversations about a potential spinoff or revival as a sequel series, and sounds like she wouldn’t hesitate to get back to work with her former co-workers. Speaking with US Weekly, she talked about her affection for the ABC series, saying:

While probably not the most cost-efficient way to fill a TV schedule, it would be quite the interesting experiment to have a documentary-esque series like Modern Family release annual specials or episodes that check in with the same characters year after year for far longer than scripted TV projects usually last. I'd imagine Bowen would be down for just such a regular update on the Dunphy clan, especially if it means getting to spend guaranteed time with her TV family. The Los Angeles-based filming is obviously also expected.

Despite rumors and stories coming out during Modern Family's run that pit Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara against each other, the former has addressed how disappointing that was, especially considering the actresses were and remain such good friends on and off the set.

Just in case it wasn't already clear by the idea of her willingness to grow old and brittle-boned on Modern Family's set, Julie Bowen fully confirmed that she would be all in on returning to this universe in whatever context possible. In her words:

Surely, it takes more than just casual interest from fans and actors to get a TV revival officially in the works, and the fact that ABC passed on the Cam and Mitchell spinoff makes me curious about how much budgeting for the show's massive cast has played into conversations about bringing the series back.

While it’s unclear if Julie Bowen will be popping up in any upcoming horror TV shows after showing off her talents in Peacock's Hysteria!, we can always hope for it. Or maybe even a Halloween-based reunion special for Modern Family, to keep those vibes alive. Before we get to see Claire Dunphy’s possible return, though, we’ll be seeing a de-aged version of Bowen in Happy Gilmore 2 alongside Adam Sandler when the comedy sequel hits the 2025 movie schedule.

The trend of stars packing up and moving away from Tinsletown has been pretty consistent over the years. The reasons to leave the bounds of LA or even NYC can vary and involve personal reasons such as privacy or the protection of one's family. Some may agree that the spotlight within Hollywood and its surrounding neighborhoods can be a lot. Former Modern Family cast member Ariel Winter followed in the footsteps of Matthew McConaughey (who now lives in Texas) and others by moving away from LA in 2022 and recently discussed the decision.

The Mr. Peabody & Sherman alum moved to Nashville, Tennessee a few years ago with longtime boyfriend Luke Benward. When the 26-year-old actress was interviewed by E! News, she reflected on why her move was important, and it sounds like she doesn't regret the choice she ultimately made. The former child actor had this to say:

Even with the best casts and crews, the magnifying glass that Hollywood has on it is enough for anyone to leave. And, in the case of the Sophia the First star, she already had a lot of people critiquing her for reasons other than her work. So she welcomed the change of scenery post-Modern Family.

Ariel Winter, who played middle child and brainiac Alex Dunphy on the ABC megahit, was only ten years old when she landed the role. During the show's eleven-year run, fans saw the character as well as her siblings and cousins grow up. By extension, audiences saw the child actors themselves mature. Sadly, some fans body-shamed Winter, and she's been open about having to process that.

The Last Movie Star alum is far from the first star to face scrutiny, and that can happen whether one lives in Hollywood or not. Either way, plenty of actors have made the decision to leave. Aside from the aforementioned Matthew McConaughey, Carlos and Alexa PenaVega moved away as well, citing a desire to raise their kids away from LA as well as audition struggles for Carlos. Mark Wahlberg even moved his family to Las Vegas for a fresh start.

Although Ariel Winter is no longer in LA, she and her co-stars keep in touch. She even revealed to E! that she and co-star Noah Gould, who played everyone’s favorite little brother, Luke, are particularly close. Since Modern Family ended a little under five years ago, there has been a lot of activity amongst all the Dunphy-Delgado-Tucker-Pritchett actors, and even a few of them have teased and formulated ideas for what a reunion could look like.

One would hope that if such a project comes to fruition, Ariel Winter will be ready to accept the call. In the meantime, though, I could see her enjoying her home in Nashville with Luke Benward. I'm glad stars aren’t afraid to take the move for their career and more importantly, themselves.

If you’d like to stream Modern Family and join in on the familial fun, you can do so by streaming all of the seasons with a Hulu subscription or a Peacock subscription.

Over the course of network TV history, there have been shows that have changed the way we look at sitcoms, and, when talking about great ensemble comedies, Modern Family is easily at the top of the list. It’s among the best sitcoms of all time in great part because of its storytelling and impeccable cast. Now, Julie Bowen -- who famously played Claire Dunphy excellently -- is opening up about auditioning to join the cast, and believe it or not, she nearly missed out on the role.

The Happy Gilmore star joined Andy Richter on his podcast, The Three Questions, to talk about Modern Family, the Sandler sequel and her new show Hysteria! which will air on Peacock as a part of the 2024 TV schedule, amongst other things. Later in the episode, both Richter and Bowen were recounting their earlier days and the beginnings of the ABC megahit. The Totally Killer alum revealed she was pregnant at the time and auditioning for another show she had a better chance of landing. She said of the timeframe:

Like Bowen, other stars have had their doubts about their careers while being pregnant, but luckily for her, the show wanted her. She even recounted getting a call about the potential job from one of the creators of the show:

It did more than just work out, the sitcom was a massive hit!

The Dunphy’s and the rest of the family were on air for a whopping 11 seasons and for good reason–from the funny and relatable storylines, the characters’ relationships, and the cast’s chemistry, the series was a big hit from the jump. And while the show ended less than five years ago and although they all grew up and changed over the course of it, it was still hard to see them go.

I’m not sure the comedy would be the same without Bowen playing Claire, and the creators clearly felt the same. Let’s thank the TV gods we don’t have to think about what could have been too much, especially with the teasing of reunions in the air.

If you’re interested in watching Julie Bowen and co. in Modern Family, it’s available to stream with a Peacock subscription or Hulu subscription.

While it’s been four years since Modern Family came to an end and it ranks as one of the best sitcoms of all time, fans are still not over the potential that Adam DeVine’s Andy Bailey could have had. When the Pitch Perfect star joined the ABC sitcom in Season 5 as Jay and Gloria’s male nanny, or “manny,” and later a Realtor assistant, he quickly became a fan-favorite, especially when he was dating Haley. However, it wasn’t always so easy, as DeVine had an awkward first day of filming with Sofia Vergara that came with a strict note from an EP.

DeVine recurred on Modern Family for Seasons 5-7 and made a brief appearance in Season 9. Even though it’s been 11 years now since he made his debut on the sitcom, he still vividly remembers how the experience started. He spoke to People about his time on the show, recalling what co-creator and executive producer Steve Levitan told him about the dialogue:

Some shows and films rely on improv, and it can make certain scenes feel all the more real. Considering just how hilarious and relatable Modern Family was, it’s not surprising that one of the first notes from Levitan was to improv to try something fresh five seasons in. However, it doesn’t always work out as intended, as DeVine revealed just how downhill things went and the unpleasant reaction he got from Vergara:

It sounds as awkward as I can possibly imagine, and it’s not the first impression that DeVine wanted to make on his first day. While improv is not unusual in some productions, it's not a fit for all shows. The Workaholics vet shared another note that Levitan told him following the debacle, and he learned an important lesson:

Considering Adam DeVine managed to stick around for a few seasons and nearly had a permanent on-screen relationship with a main character, his first day didn’t make a bad impression, which is good. Plus, he also learned a lot and got to know just how sitcoms work. The more he was on the show, he probably started to pick up on the dos and don’ts of scripted comedy acting.

DeVine did likely use what he was taught for the Pitch Perfect spinoff, Bumper in Berlin, on Peacock. The series only lasted a season, despite initially being renewed for Season 2. Regardless, the notes that he got from Modern Family left an impact, and he now knows that improv may not always be the best direction. At the very least, his awkward first day didn’t seem to matter much when it came to his future on the series, and fans with a Hulu subscription can watch his Modern Family appearances.

While it may have ended its run four years ago, it still feels like Modern Family should be running on the 2024 TV schedule. In the wake of that feeling, you’d think a spin-off to one of the best sitcoms of all time would have been easy money; especially one centered around the beloved characters of Mitchell and Cameron. However, as actor Eric Stonestreet revealed, that prospect was passed on for some very specific reasons, with the result being a bit hurtful.

A recent interview on the program In Depth with Graham Bensinger saw the actor who played Cam freshly share that knowledge. Even if you’re not a fan with attachments to the long-running ABC sitcom, what Stonestreet had to say is pretty heartbreaking:

Eric Stonestreet would go on to talk about how he thought this concept could have been successful if it had happened in the moment. But somehow, someone high up on the chain of command decided that this wasn’t going to work. Which, depending on how you look at Modern Family, either makes total sense or sounds absolutely ridiculous.

It’s no secret that after 11 seasons in the lives of Cameron, Mitchell, and the rest of their collective family, some consider this hit of the past to be one of those TV shows that went on too long. I mean, we’re only a handful of years past the Modern Family finale, and actor Aubrey Anderson-Emmons went to prom this year, and she was four when the show started! Not only does this fact probably leave fans wistful about the past, but as you’ll read in further remarks from Eric Stonestreet, his regard for the series continues on as follows:

I find it hard to believe that the potential of a Cameron/Mitchell-focused spin-off has passed, especially with the opportunity to show those men and their kids, who would be no longer that little. Of course, there’s still mileage in that concept as those hypothetical Modern Family revival talks regularly keep hope alive. Let’s just hope that if this return does come to pass, there’s room to revisit this spinoff, if only to make it up to Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

Modern Family may be off the air, but you can relive the memories quite easily through the world of streaming. All 11 seasons continue to be available through access to a Hulu subscription, which continues to be good news for those who miss these characters. Who knows? If you start watching the series now, there might be more promising developments by the time you finish it off!

Moms are strong by nature but TV's toughest moms rule their roost with high standards, great expectations and strong discipline. From sitcom staples like Roseanne Conner and Clair Huxtable to dramatic dames like Cersei Lannister and Cookie Lyon, these iron-fisted mamas don't get the credit they deserve when it comes to their strict and stern parenting styles. Here are 32 of our favorites. 

Roseanne Conner (Roseanne)

The fierce working-class "domestic goddess" at the center of the ABC sitcom Roseanne was always crazy-quick with a wisecrack and was never one to hold back an opinion. But though known for her loud, sarcastic and domineering nature, Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) was always loving and protective towards her four kids, daughters Becky (Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke) and Darlene (Sara Gilbert), and sons D.J. (Michael Fishman) and Jerry (Cole and Morgan Roberts).

Clair Huxtable (The Cosby Show)

Despite having to juggle raising five children, maintaining a household and continuing a successful law career, The Cosby Show's Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) was always a vision of class and composure. While her husband Cliff was the more fun-loving and boisterous parent, Clair was the disciplinarian of the Huxtable residence and was assertive in teaching her kids about responsibility and respect. 

Peggy Bundy (Married... With Children)

With her refusal to cook, clean or cater to her boorish husband Al (Ed O'Neil), Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal) from the beloved blue-collar comedy Married... with Children was TV's ultimate anti-housewife. Where other small-screen moms used their iron fist to ensure order and discipline, Peg unapologetically prioritized her own couch-sitting, Oprah-watching "Me Time" over traditional parenting and domestic work. But that doesn't mean she didn't regularly make time to voice her opinions about her lackluster hubby and kids Kelly (Christina Applegate) and Bud (David Faustino).

Wilma Flintstone (The Flintstones) 

When you're married to a literal caveman, it's no surprise that Wilma Flintstone had to be level-headed and strong-willed for the sake of her family. Throughout the classic cartoon series The Flintstones, the Stone Age mama was tender and caring to her hubby Fred and daughter Pebbles but was known to utilize a firm hand — and a frying pan — when things got a little too rambunctious in her household. 

Claire Dunphy (Modern Family)

Often regulated to being the strict mom opposite goofy dad Phil (Ty Burrell), Claire (Julie Bowen) is the hardworking and often anxiety-ridden head of the Dunphy household. In trying to wrangle her husband and three children — Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould) — The Modern Family matriarch can regularly be neurotic and controlling but every ounce of that effort clearly comes from a place of love. 

Jessica Huang (Fresh Off The Boat)

Just as her husband Louis (Randall Park) described her, Jessica Huang (Constance Wu) from the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat is "aggressive yet elegant." No-nonsense, traditional and very competitive, she pushes both her spouse and their sons Eddie (Hudson Yang), Emery (Forrest Wheeler) and Evan (Ian Chen) to succeed in their careers and academics, respectively. For example, she's plenty pleased with Evan's future plans of becoming "doctor/president," but less so when Eddie reveals that he wants to go to culinary school instead of college.

Cersei Lannister (Game Of Thrones)

Like many things in her life, Cersei Lannister's (Lena Headey) relationship with her children throughout Game of Thrones was often fueled by her own pride and need for power. However, that doesn't mean that Cersei wouldn't kill for her kids — and she did. When it came to the safety of Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) and Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman), she parented with a leonine fierceness, to the danger of her enemies. 

Florida Evans (Good Times)

First introduced as a feisty maid in Maude, strong-willed Chicago mother Florida Evans (Esther Rolle) is the heart and soul of the original Good Times. Despite considerable financial issues and a never-ending list of chores and responsibilities, Florida always kept her household in line, offering up stern but loving discipline and instilling valuable morals in her three children J.J. (Jimmy Walker) Thelma (Bern Nadette Stanis), and Michael Evans (Ralph Carter). 

Lois Wilkerson (Malcolm In The Middle)

As the mother of five highly mischievous and unruly young boys, we really can't blame Malcolm in the Middle's Lois Wilkerson (Jane Kaczmarek) for being a touch stubborn, overbearing and hotheaded. Lois genuinely cares about her children, but her idea of discipline is jokingly dubbed "sadistic" by the boys: "Your punishment isn't over until that bathroom floor is so clean you'll be eating off it. Which is what you'll be doing for the next three weeks," she memorably punished son Reese in Season 6. 

Norma Bates (Bates Motel)

Now, we're certainly not suggesting that Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) had a healthy parenting style throughout the A&E horror drama Bates Motel, but she certainly was a devoted, if domineering, mother to Norman (Freddie Highmore). Norma can be clingy and critical of her son — and has especially harsh opinions about the girls Norman hangs out with — but she always does everything in her power to protect him. 

Emily Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)

It seems like the only people Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) is more judgmental of than her own daughter Lorelai (Lauren Graham) — no picnic in the mom department, herself — are her maids, who she seemingly hired and fired every other episode of Gilmore Girls. The wealthy matriarch of the eponymous family is known for her high standards, snooty attitude and controlling nature: a textbook example is forcing Lorelai and granddaughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) to attend Friday night dinner at her home every week, no exceptions. 

Debra Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond)

A classic example of a TV mom having to play the "bad cop" to a "fun dad" type is Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton) from Everybody Loves Raymond. While husband Ray (Ray Romano) often gets up to nearly as many hijinks as their kids Ally (Madylin Sweeten), Geoffrey and Michael (Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten), Debra is all business. She's responsible, hardworking and not afraid to speak her mind — except, it seems, when it comes to her meddling mother-in-law Marie (Doris Roberts). 

Harriette Winslow (Family Matters)

The matriarch of the Winslow family (largely played by Jo Marie Payton but replaced with Judyann Elder in Family Matters' final season) knows order and discipline: she left the police force when she became pregnant with her eldest, Eddie (Darius McCrary). Raising three kids, Harriette is regularly the voice of reason in the Winslow household but is a sharp-tongued disciplinarian when she needs to be. 

Colleen Donaghy (30 Rock)

Portrayed by the legendarily brash Elaine Stritch, the mother of Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) always dishes out tough love when it comes to her son. With just one of her many characteristically biting quips (“Don’t talk to me like that Jack. I breastfed you for nine years!”) Colleen is able to instantly turn her slick, successful businessman of a son into a fearful little boy. 

Beverly Goldberg (The Goldbergs)

The Goldbergs' Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) puts the "mother" in "smother" — hugs are mandatory and she can often be found meddling in various areas of her kids' worlds, from school to sports to social life. But the snuggies-loving matriarch can be strict, tough and opinionated, not only when it comes to her children Erica (Hayley Orrantia), Barry (Troy Gentile) and Adam (Sean Giambrone) but also herself: "I have failed as a mother!" is the character's main catchphrase. 

Galina ‘Red’ Reznikov (Orange Is The New Black)

Yes, even prisoners need a mother figure and Litchfield Penitentiary has Red (Kate Mulgrew). Compassionate but very cunning — this is a woman who was in cahoots with the Russian Mafia, after all — she rules her block of the prison with a watchful eye, explicitly prohibiting her girls from partaking in drugs whilst running a well-oiled smuggling ring to get them the contraband goods they need. 

Vivian Banks (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

Firstly, we're specifically talking about Aunt Viv as portrayed by Janet Hubert for the first half of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (Daphne Maxwell Reid took over the role in season four after Hubert was dismissed from the show.) As no-nonsense as she was nurturing, Hubert's take on the character was more fiery than her successor, a strong, confident university professor who wasn't afraid to lay down a hard lesson to her three children, her students or her troublemaking nephew (Will Smith). 

Marge Simpson (The Simpsons)

Marge is the blue-haired, bee-hived moralistic center of the Simpsons family. With a fam that includes an oafish husband like Homer, a notorious prankster like Bart and an eternal infant like Maggie, The Simpsons matriarch has to run a tight ship to maintain order in her antics-filled household. She doesn't approve of the kids' violent video games or cartoons, has followed Bart's whereabouts through his cell phone and is always pushing her family to go to mass. As Homer says of his wife: "If it were up to [Marge], all we would ever do is work and go to church."

Violet Crawley (Downton Abbey)

Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Dame Maggie Smith), is not exactly known for being a cuddly grandmother sort. Instead, the stately Downton Abbey matriarch is defined by her dry wit, direct nature and deep investment in maintaining the family's traditions, honor and legacy. 

Barbara Howard (Abbott Elementary)

Barbara Howard (Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph) didn't just raise kids of her own at home — she's raised whole classrooms full of impressionable youngins as a kindergarten teacher at Willard R. Abbott Elementary School for the past two decades. Super old-school (no, she will not be learning that new teaching technology, thank you very much) and strictly religion, she's the kind of teacher who quiets rowdy classrooms the second she steps foot into them. 

Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

As both a mother to teen daughter Julie (Aimee Teegarden) and little Gracie Belle (Madilyn Landry) and a counselor at Dillon High School to countless students, Connie Britton's tough yet compassionate Tami Taylor regularly guided the youth with equal parts firmness and fairness. Through five seasons of Friday Night Lights, she was a sounding board and a calm authority, but always with a little bit of Southern sweetness sprinkled on top. 

Jill Taylor (Home Improvement)

The lion-hearted leading lady of the Taylor family, Jill (Patricia Richardson) raises her three sons Brad (Zachery Ty Bryan), Randy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and Mark (Taran Noah Smith) with a stern hand and Type-A attitude while also remaining lovingly perceptive and good-naturedly allowing for silly moments. However, you know that when she addresses her husband Tim (Tim Allen) or her sons by their full name, somebody is definitely in trouble. 

Cookie Lyon (Empire)

Talk about one tough cookie: Empire's queen bee Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) tells it like it is, demands respect and doesn't tolerate nonsense in any aspect of her life, including when it comes to her children Andre (Trai Byers), Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray). She can be extremely headstrong and brash, but she definitely has a caring and compassionate side and she always puts her family first. 

Sophia Petrillo (The Golden Girls)

Sarcasm and sass certainly seem to be genetic in the Petrillo household: both mom Sophia (Estelle Getty) and daughter Dorothy Zbornak (Bea Arthur) possess each personality trait in spades. As Dorothy's actual parent and the surrogate mother of her roommates Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) and Rose Nyland (Betty White), Sophia doles out wisecracks and criticisms often — about Dorothy’s lack of love life, Blanche’s promiscuity and Rose’s stupidity — but beneath all of her hilarious put-downs beats a lot of love. 

Nalini Vishwakumar (Never Have I Ever)

Never Have I Ever's Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) can be hard on her teen daughter Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) but her overly strict and at times overbearing nature stems from not only her traditional Indian upbringing but also her sheer love and concern for her child. (As fans no doubt remember, Nalini lost her husband to a heart attack before the start of the series, a trauma which sparked temporary paralysis in her daughter.) Sometimes it's hard for her to show tenderness, but her heart is always in the right place. 

Olivia Walton (The Waltons)

Yes, Olivia Walton (Michael Learned) is an exceedingly sweet and compassionate lady, but there's one area of her life in which she does not play around: her parenting. She prompts all seven of her children (John-Boy, Jason, Mary-Ellen, Ben, Erin Walton, Jim-Bob and Elizabeth) to have good manners and posture, requires them to read the Bible and never miss Sunday service, and will resort to scolding her children if they misbehave. 

Carmela Soprano (The Sopranos) 

Steely and steadfast, Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) is like any good Italian-American mom: she's armed with a deep sense of obligation to her family, works hard to create a (somewhat) stable environment for daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and son A.J. (Robert Iler), and can make a mean lasagna. With her husband Tony (James Gandolfini) busy with Mafia business, Carmela does the lion's share of the parenting and when it comes to chastising her children, she's proven to be just as formidable as her spouse.

Thelma Harper (Mama’s Family)

Known simply as Mama, Thelma Harper (Vicki Lawrence) from the NBC sitcom Mama's Family headed her household with a sharp wit, an acid tongue and a quick temper. Bluntly outspoken and hilariously grumpy, the series version of the character was actually reportedly softer-edged than the original iteration conceived for The Carol Burnett Show. And despite Mama's frequent bickering and bad attitude, all of her cooking, cleaning and curmudgeonly care is clearly out of love.  

Gemma Teller Morrow (Sons Of Anarchy) 

A more hard-edged mama than her other famous TV mom character Peg Bundy, Katey Sagal's Gemma Teller Morrow is unapologetic about how protective she is of not only her son Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and grandchildren but also her surrogate family, the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. Equipped with equal parts savagery and vulnerability, she's adapted to her gritty environment and can be tough, competitive and manipulative in the lengths she'll go to to defend those she loves.

Penelope Alvarez (One Day At A Time)

Don't let her quirky, fun-loving demeanor fool you — as One Day at a Time's main madre Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado) is quick to remind you, she's a "total badass." As a single Cuban-American mother, a nurse practitioner and a former Staff Sergeant in the United States Army, "Lupe" has a strong work ethic and sense of discipline, which she makes sure to instill in her children Elena (Isabella Gomez) and Alex (Marcel Ruiz).

Evelyn Harper (Two And A Half Men)

Son Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) doesn't jokingly call her "the queen of darkness" for nothing. Yes, the wealthy and five-time-widowed Evelyn (played by Holland Taylor) can be quite cold, callous and critical when it comes to her sons Alan and Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and grandson Jake (Angus T. Jones). She majorly disapproves of Alan's failed marriages as well as Charlie's personal hobbies — granted, the latter is drinking, gambling and womanizing, so she might be onto something. 

Lynette Scavo (Desperate Housewives)

Having to deal with four demanding children (Porter, Preston, Parker and Penny) as a stay-at-home mom while her husband Tom (Doug Savant) is at the office every day, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is understandably stressed much of the time, which tends to manifest itself as a neurotic and controlling nature. She also often tends to go over the top when it comes to disciplining her children — for example, she once ditched her kiddos on the side of the road to teach them about following orders. 

We've been experiencing a TV renaissance for years now, to the delight of superfans like myself who love watching my weekly stories. But even before the small screen became a place for A-listers, there were a number of iconic moments that stuck with fans. And this will be all about the single most memorable moment of 32 iconic TV shows.

Obviously not every beloved TV title can be on this list, so apologies in advance if your favorite isn't included. The small screen is simply an embarrassment of riches in this regard, especially once you factor in streaming shows that have arrived in recent years. In no particular order, here are the biggest moments from 32 beloved shows. But be warned: a major SPOILER ALERT is needed, as some of these episodes feature big plot twists and/or character deaths. You've been warned!

The Red Wedding, Game of Thrones

During its run on HBO, Game of Thrones was jam-packed with wild, violent, and truly memorable sequences. And while fans are still debating the final season, perhaps the most iconic scene occurred during the Season 3 episode "The Rains of Castamere". This is the infamous Red Wedding, where Walder Frey betrays the Starks, resulting in the brutal deaths of Robb, Catelyn, and Talisa (as well as her unborn baby).

Nomi's Wedding, Sense8

When Netflix was rolling out expensive and ambitious new content early into its run, The Wachowskis helmed the sci-fi series Sense8. The show followed eight strangers who were connected psychically and was canceled after two seasons, but fan campaigns resulted in a Sense8 finale movie being produced. After beating the bad guys, the show ends with Nomi and Amanita's wedding on the Eiffel Tower, followed by one last, wild, party.

Fonzie Jumps The Shark, Happy Days

The beloved sitcom series Happy Days is known for bringing the phrase "jumping the shark" into the pop culture lexicon. This originates from a Season 5 episode of the classic series, where Henry Winler's Fonzie jumps over a live shark while on waterskis. Say what you want about this plot point, but it's remained the most lasting and iconic plot line from the show's tenure on the air.

"Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me", Grey's Anatomy

During its long tenure on the air, Grey's Anatomy had a number of iconic love stories. But the biggest has always been Meredith and Derek. Fans waited a long time for them to be together, and one of the show's most iconic moments is when she pleads for McDreamy to "pick me" instead of his wife Addison.

Rory's Graduation Speech, Gilmore Girls

When Gilmore Girls began its run on TV, it followed as Alexis Bledel's Rory struggled to adjust to life at her new fancy school, Chilton. Eventually, she becomes a leader in the school and delivers a graduation speech in Season 3. Not only did it make characters like Lorelai and Sookie cry, but it's one of the most iconic scenes of the entire show, where she pays tribute to all that her mother has given her.

Negan Kills Glenn And Abraham, The Walking Dead

For fans who watched The Walking Dead at the height of its popularity, there's life before Negan and after Negan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's villain made a horrifying splash when he entered the scene, brutally killing fan favorites Abraham and Glenn with his bat Lucille. Some folks thought that killing was too much for the brutal apocalyptic drama.

The Plane Crash, Lost

Lost's pilot episode started a new must-see television show, with the sci-fi series instantly becoming water cooler talk. While some folks stopped watching as it ran, the first (wildly expensive) episode remains the most iconic, thanks to the thrilling plane crash sequences.

Tyra Banks Screams At Tiffany, America's Next Top Model

There are a handful of reality TV show moments on this list because of their impact on pop culture. America's Next Top Model might not be considered one of the best reality shows of all time, but it left its mark. Particularly the episode where host Tyra Banks screamed at one of the contestants after her elimination.

The Gift, Buffy The Vampire Slayer 

The first five seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer aired on the WB, before it eventually changed networks to UPN for the final two entries. Season 5 went out with a serious bang, with Buffy dying after sacrificing herself to save Dawn and the world. After wondering for half the season, we finally understood that death was her gift.

The Movements, The OA

The OA was an ambitious series that ran on Netflix for two seasons and was canceled far too soon. In the Season 1 finale, the group of teenagers (plus Phyllis Smith's BBA) decide to use the reality-traveling movements to distract a school shooter, saving the day in the process. It's a moment we waited all season for, and is an emotional and epic sequence.

The Lake House Fight, Girls

HBO's Award-winning comedy series Girls was a huge hit when it was on the air, and has been getting a lot of positive attention in the years since it wrapped. One of the best episodes of all time is Season 3's "The Lake House", where the four titular girls drink, dance and have an epic argument that shows just how messed up their friendships truly are.

Dexter Finds Rita's Dead Body, Dexter

Dexter was hugely popular during its original run on Showtime, and many consider Season 4 to be its strongest chapter. While Michael C. Hall's character eventually manages to murder the Trinity killer, he doesn't realize that the villain has already murdered his wife Rita. This represented a huge switch for the series and showed the consequences of Dexter's dark passenger.

The Final Scene, The Sopranos

The Sopranos' ending is one that has lived in infamy since it aired back in 2007. With an all-out mob war looming, fans expected Tony and the rest of the crew to go out with a bang. Instead, the finale famously cut to black during the final sequence, with audiences thinking their cable broke when it originally aired.

I Am The One Who Knocks, Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad was a delightful slow burn, with audiences following as Bryan Cranston's Walter White goes from chemistry teacher to bonafide drug lord. Things got more and more dangerous for Walt and his family throughout the show's run, to the dismay of his wife Skyler. When she finally confronts him in Season 4, he gives a truly iconic speech where he claims that he isn't waiting for someone dangerous to knock on the door because "I am the one who knocks."

The Final Sequence, Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under goes in the long list of quality shows to come from HBO. But it stands out as having arguably the best series finale of all time, where the audience is shown how the characters live and (more importantly) die. Set to the tune of Sia's "Breathe Me", try to get through that final sequence without crying.

The Departure, The Leftovers

The Leftovers was a thrilling drama with a super fascinating concept: on October 14th, 2% of the world's population suddenly vanished. While the show follows the fallout of that event, the pilot episode opened on The Departure, with a mother desperately searching for her baby after he disappeared.

Jessie's Song, Saved By The Bell

During its run in the late '80s and early '90s, Saved By The Bell was a favorite show among young people. While it was largely a comedy, certain episodes got more serious. Case in point: the episode "Jessie's Song", where Elizabeth Berkley's character becomes addicted to caffeine pills.

Fiona confronts Monica, Shameless

The US version of Shameless had a super long run on Showtime, ending after a whopping 11 seasons on the air. But it was best during its early years, and perhaps the most iconic moment came back in Season 1. When Monica returns to the Gallagher family and tries to take Liam away with her, Emmy Rossum's Fiona reaches her breaking point and confronts her over years of neglect.

Ross Says The Wrong Name, Friends

Throughout all of Friends' decade-long run on the air, the biggest question was whether or not Rachel and Ross would end up together. They had plenty of starts and stops (they were on a break!) but perhaps the most dramatic part of this saga came during Ross' wedding to Emily. In the middle of his vows, he accidentally refers to Emily as Rachel, ending his marriage before it even began.

The Hallway Fight, Daredevil 

While Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock is taking center stage in the MCU with Daredevil: Born Again, his tenure as the hero began with the Netflix Daredevil show. The series was gritty and featured dizzying fight choreography, with the most iconic being the long hallway fight, which was a thrilling one.

The Family Portrait, Modern Family

The Emmy-winning comedy Modern Family had a long life on the air, with the audience watching as the child actors grew up before their eyes. Season 1 was especially great, and the first finale "Family Portrait" is the show at its best. After stressing to try and pose for the perfect picture, the mixed family ends up throwing mud on each other and letting it all go in a heartwarming story.

Don Draper's Happy Ending, Mad Men

While it had a wildly successful run on AMC, arguably the most iconic moment from Mad Men came from its series finale. Fans have long debated the meaning behind the final shot, where Don Draper is seen happy and meditating, seemingly leaving the advertising world behind him. Although Jon Hamm's interpretation of the ending offers another, less hopeful perspective.

Pam And Jim's First Kiss, The Office

The Office had plenty of long love stories, with fans rooting for the staff of Dunder Mifflin. Jim and Pam's is the biggest example of this, and fans had to wait years for them to finally get together. In Season 2 the pair finally share their first kiss, although they didn't end up together just yet.

Teresa's Table Flip, The Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Real Housewives franchise is a huge behemoth at this point, but in the beginning, there were just a handful of cities. Chief among them was The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which entered the pop culture zeitgeist forever when OG Teresa Giudice flipped a table during a heated argument with Danielle Staub in the Season 1 finale.

Sue Hawk's Speech, Survivor

The first season of Survivor changed the TV world forever, and the show is still running to this day. Perhaps the most memorable moment from that prolific first chapter was Sue Hawk's scathing speech about snakes and rats, where he let out her rage about runner-up Kelly Wiglesworth.

Poussey's Death, Orange Is The New Black

Orange is the New Black was one of the first original Netflix shows, and it remained wildly popular until it ended. Fans know that the show was forever changed when Poussey was tragically killed in Season 4, inspiring a prison-wide riot that would take up all of Season 5.

Nina Kills Teri, 24

24 became a wild sensation when it started airing on Fox, with an entire season of action taking place in just one day. The Season 1 finale offered one more gut punch for audiences, when Jack finds the body of his wife Teri, realizing that she was killed by his former friend and colleague Nina.

Diane And Sam Breakup For Good, Cheers

Diane and Sam were the will they/won't they couple in the comedy Cheers, and fans all had their own opinions about them. In the series finale, we finally get some closure, and the pair realizes they shouldn't be together after all.

Nancy Burn Her House Down, Weeds

When Weeds started airing on Showtime, it was about a single mother who resorts to selling drugs to her suburban neighborhood. In Season 3 she burns down her house to avoid being caught, and the show was never the same after.

Kurt Dances To 'Single Ladies', Glee

Season 1 of Glee hit the world by storm, thanks to its colorful cast of characters and non-stop stream of hit songs. The first season was a huge deal, and there are perhaps no more iconic episodes when Kurt dances to Beyonce's "Single Ladies", and has to try and keep his identity from his father.

'Let's Go To The Mall', How I Met Your Mother

During the How I Met Your Mother episode "Slap Bet" the group of friends (and the audience) are introduced to Robin's teen pop culture persona Robin Sparkles. The song "Let's Go To The Mall" is a hilarious spoof on '80s stars like Tiffany, and is arguably the most iconic moment of the comedy series' run on TV.

Eleanor Realizes The Truth, The Good Place

The Good Place ran for four seasons on NBC, offering a hilarious and complex story. Season 1 was arguably its best, and the most memorable moment came when Kristen Bell's Eleanor realizes that they've been in the Bad Place all along.

A lot of people love to travel, and I think many of those people would likely say that it can be a great way to relax, but also to shake life up a bit and experience things you wouldn’t normally. As Jesse Tyler Ferguson tells it, something that his Modern Family co-star Eric Stonestreet experienced while they filmed in Paris was scarfing down “four blocks” of butter at lunch for an incredibly wild reason.

What’s The Wild Reason That Led To Eric Stonestreet Eating Four Blocks Of Butter While Filming Modern Family In Paris?

One of the best sitcoms of all time is certainly Modern Family. The Emmy-winning comedy had its finale in 2020 after a blockbuster 11-season run, and that season saw the cast and crew film on location in Paris for the last of their famed Valentine’s Day episodes.

While speaking with Emily in Paris star Ashley Park on his Dinner’s On Me podcast, Jesse Tyler Ferguson literally sat down to dinner with her, and after ordering, Park relayed a story about the time she went to a fancy French restaurant and mistook the water used to clean your hands while eating oysters for lemon juice and proceeded to pour the stuff all over her food. Ferguson then told on his TV husband/Fizbo the clown, Eric Stonestreet, and opened up about why his Modern Family co-star ate a bunch of butter during a lunch in Paris:

Guys, I love cheese, OK? Never in my life, though, have I willingly even attempted eating four blocks of it in one sitting. Now, have I potentially, while eating a whole meal of homemade mac-n-cheese, maybe had the equivalent of a small block of the stuff? Probably. But, I’m an American, dammit. That’s one of our inalienable rights according to Benjamin Franklin. There’s someone who lived in Paris for nine years…I wonder if Franklin ever mistook their butter for cheese?

To be fair to Stonestreet (who’s currently working on a new series called Home Team for Amazon), the “blocks” of butter he actually ate probably weren’t what we’d think of when we think, well, a block of anything. I’ve never been to Paris, but I kinda doubt they sit a whole stick of butter down at the table. It was likely more of a generous pat; so maybe…half a stick? Alright, that’s still a lot of butter to just chomp down on outright.

I have so many questions about this. What had The Santa Clauses Season 2 actor ordered for lunch that allowed him to be so distracted by blocks of butter-not-cheese? Was he charged extra for eating so much of it? Did Ferguson try any of it, and if so, was he not similarly impressed? Also, will someone just send me some of this butter that’s so good it can be mistaken for cheese, please?

No? Fine. Be that way! I will now feel like I haven’t really lived unless I’ve tried it, so I guess I just have to go to France myself. Too bad I can’t get ABC to pay for it…

It’s hard enough for a TV show to be greenlit for a pilot and then officially ordered to series, let alone run for many seasons. Many of these shows don’t make it past their first season, and those that end up running between five-10 should definitely be considered successes. But over the decades, there have been a handful of shows that have achieved the incredible feat of lasting more than 10 seasons. Most have been live-action programming, whether we’re talking exceptional dramas or the best sitcoms of all time, and some are among the best-animated TV shows of all time. Whatever the case, these 32 TV shows deserve to be spotlighted as small-screen programming that ran for amazingly long times.

NCIS

The series about agents solving crimes for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service spun out of JAG, which had its own impressive run from 1995-2005. However, it’s safe to say that NCIS far surpassed its predecessor’s level of popularity, as not only did the main show end up running over multiple decades, but it also launched a franchise encompassing many spinoffs, one of which will be mentioned later.

The Simpsons

The satirical depiction of suburban life in Springfield centered around Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, Maggie and their family members and friends quickly became a pop culture phenomenon after it started in 1989. As the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom and longest-running primetime show, The Simpsons has become a beloved TV staple to multiple generations.

Cheers

From 1982-1993, viewers could visit a Boston bar where everybody knew their name… or rather they could pretend they were hanging out with folks like Sam, Carla and Norm. Cheers proved to be a sitcom sensation that earned numerous accolades, including winning 28 Emmys out of 111 nominations and six Golden Globes out of 31 nominations.

The Big Bang Theory

What started out as a show about a group of scientifically gifted young men and and the gorgeous blonde woman who lived across the hall from two of them became something so much more by the time its 12-season run was finished. Not only did The Big Bang Theory spotlight geek culture in a way that made it more than just the butt of jokes, but its legacy lived on through the prequel spinoff Young Sheldon.

Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke achieved popularity as a radio program from 1952 to 1961, but in the middle of that run, it was additionally adapted for TV, and that was an even better success. With a 20-season run, plus five TV movies made after it ended in 1975, the series about Marshal Matt Dillon protecting the citizens of Dodge City, Kanas in the post-Civil War era ranked for a long time as the longest-running, primetime, live-action TV series.

Law & Order

Police procedurals obviously weren’t anything new when Law & Order debuted in 1990, but the Dick Wolf creation about New York City police detectives and prosecuting attorneys has arguably become the most well-known of this type of programming from its own merit and the massive small screen franchise it launched. The show originally aired on NBC for 20 seasons, and then the network revived it in 2022.

Family Guy

Family Guy didn’t get off to the best of starts, as it was canceled by Fox in 2002 after just three seasons. However, thanks to syndicated reruns and DVD sales. Peter Griffin and his family and friends from Quahog, Rhode Island returned to the network in 2005, and the show has since delivered so many hilarious episodes, though it’s not without its controversies. We’re lucky there’s still a man who positively can do all the things that make us laugh and cry.

Dallas

The primetime soap opera about the Ewing family, which owned the Ewing Oil company and Southfork Ranch, captivated audiences over its 14-season run, which is also just as long as the spinoff Knot’s Landing lasted. Dallas would later receive a revival that ran from 2012-2014, though it ignored the events from the two TV movies that followed the original series.

American Dad!

In 2005, the same year Family Guy returned to the airwaves, Seth MacFarlane also delivered American Dad!, which started out as the first show on Fox’s Animation Domination block, and was then moved to TBS years later. It might not have quite the name recognition as Family Guy, but the hijinks of Stan Smith and his family and associates have assembled their own sizable fanbase.

Bonanza

Bonanza is another Western that had a lengthy run in the earlier years of television, running on NBC from 1959 to 1973. Week after week, viewers turned in to watch the stories centered on the wealthy Cartwright family who lived near Virginia City, Nevada in the 1860s, and the series was followed by three made-for-TV movies, as well as a short-lived prequel called The Ponderosa that ran in 2001.

South Park

Y’all ever come down to South Park to meet some friends of mine? Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Comedy Central show started out as two animated short films before it was ordered to series in 1997. South Park is unquestionably one of the most controversial pieces of programming on this list thanks to its many outrageous episodes, but there’s no questioning how much of an impact it’s left on pop culture… when it’s not making fun of it, that is.

Blue Bloods

While Tom Selleck will always arguably be best known for leading the original Magnum P.I., he spent a lot longer on the CBS procedural Blue Bloods. He played NYPD Commissioner Frank Regan in this series following the Reagan family and their various jobs in law enforcement that lasted for 14 seasons.

Supernatural

As one of the pieces of programming that weathered The WB’s transition to The CW, Supernatural, which followed brothers Dean and Sam Winchester battling demonic creatures across the United States, had an impressive 15-season run and assembled a passionate fanbase during that time. It’s the longest-running live-action fantasy series and was followed by the short-lived prequel The Winchesters.

Criminal Minds

This procedural is about the criminal profilers who work for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. The original incarnation of Criminal Minds ran on CBS for 16 seasons, which is obviously a big deal on its own. Then just two years later, it was revived as a Paramount+-exclusive show, albeit now titled as Criminal Minds: Evolution.

M*A*S*H

In 1972, two years after the M*A*S*H movie achieved critical and commercial success, the same-named TV series inspired by the same premise first featured in the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors started airing on CBS. This comedy/drama about doctors during the Korean War ran for 11 seasons, and its finale was the most-watched TV broadcast in the United States from 1983 to 2010.

Law And Order: Special Victims Unit

In 1999, nine years after Law & Order began, this TV property officially became a franchise when Law & Order: Special Victims Unit began airing. This series specifically focused on sexually-based crimes became just as popular as its predecessor, if not more so. Mariska Hargitay anchors SVU as Olivia Benson, with her being the only main cast member to have been around since the show started.

Grey’s Anatomy

Viewers have spent a long time with the employees at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, which was later renamed the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Grey’s Anatomy began on ABC in 2005 with Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey leading the large cast, and other notable cast members who’ve appeared on the show over the years include Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey, Kate Walsh, Eric Dane and Jesse Williams, among many others.

Frasier

Frasier Crane didn’t appear on Cheers until Season 3, but after that show concluded, Kelsey Grammer’s character took center stage for the spinoff that saw him moving to Seattle, Washington to host his own radio show. Like Cheers, Frasier ran for 11 seasons and racked up a lot of Emmy wins. Nearly two decades after the series ended, Grammer returned to lead a revival/sequel on Paramount+.

Modern Family

Over the course of 11 seasons, Modern Family followed along with three kinds of connected families: nuclear, blended and same-sex. The result was the series starring Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara and Ed O’Neill, among many others, becoming one of ABC’s most popular pieces of programming, and by the time it ended in 2020, it had won 22 Emmys.

ER

While not the first medical show to be called ER (though the first was written as E/R), this drama hailing from the mind of Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton obviously left a much bigger stamp on pop culture. From George Clooney and Angela Bassett, to John Stamos and Ming-Na Wen, as well as a lot of ER cameos, this NBC series about the staff of the fictional Cook County General Hospital highlighted a lot of major talents during its 15 seasons on the air.

Bob’s Burgers

Fox strengthened its lineup of adult animation in 2011 with Bob’s Burgers, which is about the Belcher family running their hamburger restaurant and their interesting clientele. The series has spawned a theatrical movie and a comic book series, but the show more than holds up on its own, as evidenced by its Emmy wins and nominations, among other accolades.

Two And A Half Men

Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen, two actors closely tied with the Brat Pack, teamed up in 2003 for Two and a Half Men, which followed Cryer’s Alan Harper and his son Jake, played by Angus T. Jones, moving into the Malibu house of Sheen’s Charlie Harper, Alan’s brother. Both Sheen and Jones eventually left the show, and Ashton Kutcher came aboard as Walden Schmidt, but in the end, Two and a Half Men had a great run with 12 seasons.

NCIS: Los Angeles

Just like how JAG aired the backdoor pilot for NCIS in 2003, in 2009, NCIS aired special episodes to set up its first spinoff, NCIS: Los Angeles, which followed the Office of Special Projects in the title city. The procedural starring Chris O’Donnell, LL Cool J, Daniela Ruah and more ended up running for 14 seasons on CBS.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

In 2000, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation premiered on CBS, and it quickly became a worldwide phenomena, both in positive and negative (the show’s violence and graphic imagery being a frequent source of criticism). The show ended after 15 seasons, and then in 2021, a revival called CSI: Vegas aired on Paramount+ for three seasons, following previous spinoffs Miami, NY and Cyber.

Hawaii-5-O

Although the Hawaii-5-0 reboot had a healthy run of 10 seasons, the original, spelled Hawaii 5-O, lasted just a little longer at 12 seasons. From 1968 to 1980, viewers spent time with characters like Steve McGarrett, Danno Williams and Chin Ho Kelly as they tracked down and apprehended criminals around the Hawaiian Islands, and the series’ popularity led to “Book ‘em” becoming part of the pop culture lexicon.

Murder, She Wrote

Having already made a name for herself on the stage and in movies like The Manchurian Candidate, Angela Lansbury left her mark on TV when she played Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote. For 12 seasons and four made-for-TV movies, her character, mystery writer Jessica Fletcher solved murders that were being committed in her town of Cabot Cove, Maine and other locations around the world.

Bones

Bones stood out from other procedurals by focusing on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, as Emily Deschanel’s Temperance “Bones” Brennan would study the human remains brought in by FBI agent Seeley Booth, played by David Boreanaz, for investigations. Clearly audiences liked this approach, as the show ran for 12 seasons on Fox.

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Originally starting out on FX, and then moving to FXX in 2013, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has spent years chronicling the exploits of Charlie, Dennis, Mac Dee and Frank, a.k.a. “The Gang.” They run the Irish dive bar Paddy’s Pub in Philadelphia and are some of the worst people who’ve ever walked the Earth, but their misadventures have produced some of TV’s greatest comedic moments, and it’s become the longest-running live-action sitcom.

The X-Files

The X-Files originally ran on Fox from 1993 to 2002, with David Duchovny’s Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully looking into cases involving paranormal elements. While the show in its original run wouldn’t have qualified for this list, The X-Files came back for two more seasons from 2016-2018. A theatrical movie, also just called The X-Files, was additionally released in 1998, and The X-Files: I Want To Believe followed in 2008.

King Of The Hill

In yet another example of how much Fox has killed it with adult animation, King of the Hill earned critical acclaim during its 13 seasons originally on the air. The looks at the lives of the Hill family and those in their orbit earned two Emmy awards, among other accolades. In 2023, nearly 15 years after the series ended, it was announced that King of the Hill would be revived, which those with a Hulu subscription could watch.

Will & Grace

Will & Grace originally ran on NBC from 1998 to 2006, and thanks to returning for three more seasons between 2017 and 2020, it makes the cut for this list. The lives of best friends Eric McCormack’s Will Truman and Debra Messing’s Grace Adler, plus cohorts Jack McFarland and Karen Walker, played respectively by Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally, earned 18 Emmys and 96 total nominations.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Following his time show running all but two seasons of Seinfeld, Larry David took center stage for Curb Your Enthusiasm, which was based on his 1999 one-hour special Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm and saw him playing a fictional version of himself who frequently found himself in awkward social situations. While Curb Your Enthusiasm didn’t air consistently between 2000 and 2024, it racked up 12 seasons in the end.

Even though it’s been off the air since 2020, Modern Family remains one of the best sitcoms of all time, particularly for how relatable it was to watch the various dynamics in one family play out from episode to episode. When Julie Bowen recently reflected on her time on the ABC series, she recalled press often pitting her against co-star Sofia Vergara and how far it was from “real life.”

When Bowen was recently a guest on the I Choose Me With Jennie Garth podcast, the two actresses spoke about their experiences with the media pitting women against each other. Here’s how the Modern Family actress responded:

Bowen also recalled going grocery shopping sometimes and seeing her face next to Sofia Vergara’s in a magazine at the checkout line and thinking how “crazy” it was that they were being depicted as enemies. As she continued:

The narrative around Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara may have spread easily among those who didn't know the actresses personally since they often went up against each other for Emmys and other awards for Modern Family. The co-stars were both up for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series four times, two of which Bowen won over Vergara. As Bowen spoke to on the podcast, the co-stars got along well on set, despite their differences, and she feels they were pitted against one another due to a popular idea that two women cannot be successful on a project at once. She also said this:

Vergara is less decorated than Bowen when it comes to Emmys, but that has a lot more to do with the voting body than the two women. Plus, Vergara has earned a slot on the list of 76th Emmy nominees as Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie for Griselda, which in turn allowed her to make history as the first-ever Latina to receive a nod in that category.

Emmys and tabloids aside, the Modern Family cast seems to be a family in real life, between reuniting together under their own accord and Bowen working in a funny Taylor Swift joke when asked about Vergara’s split from Joe Manganiello. It’s hard to imagine any of the Modern Family cast not being part of the show, which makes the fact that Bowen almost passed on the series even wilder.

You can watch Modern Family right now with a Peacock subscription and get ready for her upcoming series, Hysteria!, which premieres on Peacock on October 18.

Age-rap relationships aren't a rarity on television: in fact, they pop up in seemingly every genre, whether a big fantasy blockbuster like Game of Thrones, a beloved network sitcom like Modern Family, or an acclaimed drama like Succession. And in many cases, the TV wife is much younger than her onscreen spouse — here are 32 TV couples where the bride is married to a much older groom. 

Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)

There was a 15-year age difference between royal teen Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her much older husband, Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), on HBO's Game of Thrones. Even more surprising, Khaleesi was even younger in the George R. R. Martin novels upon which the fantasy show was based: though she's aged 17 in season one, she's only 13 in the book. 

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Modern Family)

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofia Vergara) is not only 25 years younger than her 60-something Modern Family hubby Jay (Ed O'Neill), but she's also only 14 months younger than her stepdaughter Claire (Julie Bowen). And while that hefty age disparity definitely lends itself to plenty of comedy throughout 11 seasons of the ABC sitcom, their relationship is actually one of the show's staples. 

Ethel Mertz (I Love Lucy)

Though Vivian Vance was only two years older than her onscreen BFF Lucille Ball when the classic comedy I Love Lucy began in 1951, the actress was a whopping 22 years younger than her TV spouse William Frawley, who played the Fred to her Ethel. Rumor has it that Vance wasn't too pleased to be paired with the older actor and their offscreen relationship was less pleasant than their famous chemistry suggests. 

Skyler White (Breaking Bad)

Skyler White (Anna Gunn) got a lot of hate during Breaking Bad's six-season run, but her husband Walt (Bryan Cranston) was running an entire meth empire behind her back so yes, she very much had reason to be upset with him. Walt was actually 12 years older than his wife, so he was definitely grown enough to know better than to get involved with the world of drug cartels. 

Julie Cooper (The O.C.) 

Marissa Cooper's mom Julie (Melinda Clarke) participated in her fair share of May-December romances as part of The O.C. cast, even having an affair with her daughter's ex-boyfriend Luke Ward (Chris Carmack). But it was her age-gap marriage to Caleb Nichol (Alan Dale) — the two-decades-older father of her friend Kristen — that earns her a spot on this list. 

Megan Draper (Mad Men)

The second wife of Don Draper (Jon Hamm) was the already younger Betty (January Jones), who was six or seven years his junior. But his third bride, Megan (Jessica Paré), was even younger than that: per The Daily Beast, Megan was somewhere between 25 and 26 years old this season, about 15 years younger than her husband and little more than a decade older than his daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka).

Fran Fine (The Nanny)

Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) was a fortysomething widower and father of three when Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) ended up on his doorstep selling makeup and later became not only the nanny but the stepmother of his children. And though Fran lying about her age is a running joke throughout the CBS sitcom — in one late episode, even the FBI can't verify her real birthdate — it's clear that she's at least a decade younger than her husband. 

April Ludgate (Parks and Recreation)

There was an eight-year age difference between coworkers-turned-spouses April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) in Parks and Recreation. It was revealed during the first season of the beloved NBC sitcom that April was 19 years old while Andy was 28, an age gap which, though totally legal, didn't actually adhere to Andy's "half my age, plus seven" dating rule. 

Cheryl Mabel (According To Jim)

Though we actually don't learn the age of suburban mom Cheryl (played by Courtney Thorne-Smith) during eight seasons of the ABC sitcom According to Jim, it's safe to assume that the TV wife is more youthful than her onscreen hubby Jim (Jim Belushi), given that the actress playing her is 12 years younger than her co-star. 

Laura Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show)

Mary Tyler Moore was 24 when she began playing Laura Petrie, the stylish, capris-panted wife of TV writer Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), on The Dick Van Dyke Show in 1961. Moore was eleven years younger than the show's eponymous star, an age difference that Van Dyke revealed to Entertainment Tonight initially gave him pause. However, show creator Carl Reiner assured the actor: "I said, 'Nobody's going to know...Nobody ever even mentioned it. The first time they kissed on the pilot, that was it. They were together."

Princess Diana (The Crown)

Some TV couple age gaps are rooted in reality. Case in point, the age difference between the then-Prince of Wales, Charles III, and his 12-years-younger bride, Princess Diana, portrayed in Netflix's historical drama The Crown by Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin in seasons 3 and 4, and Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki in seasons 5 and 6. 

Alicent Hightower (House Of The Dragon)

The fact that King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) married his daughter's best friend, Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), isn't the only awkward part about their relationship — there's also that considerable age difference. In George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood, 30-year-old Viserys is 11 years older than his young bride; however, the onscreen age gap is much larger, with Viserys played by 50-year-old Considine and frequently in poor health in the fantasy series. 

Joanna Loudon (Newhart)

Mary Frann, best known for her role as Joanna Loudon, the wife of Bob Newhart's character on the CBS sitcom Newhart, was 13 years older than her iconic co-star. Per that infamous series finale, the storylines from the small-town sitcom all ended up being a dream inside the mind of Bob Hartley from The Bob Newhart Show, so it seems like a much younger TV wife was simply wishful thinking. 

Wanda Maximoff (WandaVision)

Given that WandaVision picked up just a few weeks after that big old Blip in Avengers: Endgame, we know that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) was still 28 years old in the Disney+ miniseries. As for her android husband, Vision (Paul Bettany) was technically only six at the time of the show, since he was "created" in 2015's Age of Ultron. But things get even more complicated when you consider that Bettany is nearly two decades older than his onscreen wife. 

Rhonda Volmer (Big Love)

HBO's polygamy drama Big Love saw many big age-gap marriages in its five seasons, which ran on the network from 2006 to 2011, but the couple with the largest disparity was octogenarian Juniper Creek prophet Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) and his teen bride-to-be Rhonda Volmer (Daveigh Chase).

Peg Bundy (Married... with Children)

Katey Sagal started her role as Peggy Bundy on Married... with Children when she was 33 years old, eight years junior to her male counterpart Ed O'Neill, who played Al Bundy. However, Sagal mentioned in several interviews over the years that she always imagined Peg to be even younger than Al; in a season 11 episode, her character jokes that she was 9 years old and Al 18 when they wed. 

Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)

As is the case with many Game of Thrones characters, both Tyrion Lannister (played by Peter Dinklage) and his younger missus Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) were aged up a few years from the A Song of Ice and Fire books for the HBO series. In the fantasy novels, Sansa is said to be 13 years old and Tyrion 26 at the time of their marriage; in the TV show, however, the Stark daughter was 15 and the Lannister lad around 34. 

Fiona Gallagher (Shameless)

With an absentee mother and an alcoholic father, Fiona Gallagher (Emma Rossum) was forced to grow up early as the matriarch of the Gallagher clan in Showtime's Shameless. So it wasn't too much of a surprise when the 23-year-old was set to wed Sean Pierce (Dermot Mulroney), the fortysomething owner of her employer Patsy's Pies. However, their marital plans fell through when his troubled past came back to haunt them. 

Meredith Grey (Grey's Anatomy)

In the season 1 script for the long-running medical drama, then-surgical intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) was described as 32 years old, making her older than the rest of the mid-twenties interns but about seven years younger than her McDreamy one-night stand and eventual husband, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). 

Anna Smith (Downton Abbey)

Anne Smith (Joanne Froggatt) met her future husband, John Bates (Brendan Coyle) in the very first episode of Downton Abbey, when the man is hired as the new valet to Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). By the end of season 2, they would marry, despite a solid 15-year age difference between them. 

Connie McDowell (NYPD Blue)

Even the producers of the ABC procedural NYPD Blue were concerned about pairing up Dennis Franz's Andy Sipowicz and Charlotte Ross's much younger Connie McDowell for the detective's third marriage. Executive producer Bill Clark likened turning the characters into a romantic couple to "walking onto a minefield," telling The Los Angeles Times: “I can say I don’t think in all of the years on the show any decision has had as much effort put into it like this one.”

Penny Hofstadter (The Big Bang Theory)

Onscreen, the age difference between Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and his neighbor-turned-wife Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is about five years, but behind-the-scenes, the IRL discrepancy is even larger: born in 1975, Galecki is a whole decade older than his co-star. 

Natasha Naginsky (Sex and the City)

The youthfulness of Natasha Naginsky (Bridget Moynahan), the 26-year-old second wife of fortysomething Mr. Big (Chris Noth), is a major point of contention for Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and the rest of the Sex and the City girls. However, despite being younger than the rest, Natasha proves to be the only one with real maturity, handling Carrie and Big's messy affair with strength and dignity. 

Abishola Wheeler (Bob Hearts Abishola)

Looks like Bob hearts younger women. In the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, Bob Wheeler (Billy Gardell) falls for Nigerian nurse Abishola Adebambo (Folake Olowofoyeku) while being treated at the hospital for a mild heart attack. Along with their cultural differences, there is also a generation gap between the couple: Bob is in his fifties and while Abishola's age is never stated in the show, it's safe to assume she's in her thirties like actress Olowofoyeku. 

Margot Sauerbruch (Charité at War)

In the German drama Charité at War, Doctor Margot Sauerbruch (Luise Wolfram) is nearly three decades younger than her husband Ferdinand Sauerbruch (Ulrich Noethen), who is the head of surgery at Berlin's Charité hospital. In fact, Margot is much closer in age to her stepson Peter (Maximilian Klas) than his father.

Esther Keyes (The Handmaid's Tale)

In the dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale, women and girls are taken as wives as long as they are fertile to boost birthrates. For example, Esther Keyes (Mckenna Grace), is only 14 years old when she is placed into an arranged marriage to the elderly Commander Keyes (Bill MacDonald). However, Esther rebels against the oppression and ends up slowly poisoning her older husband. 

Barbra Jean Hart (Reba)

It's become a cliché for a man to move on from his first marriage by marrying a much younger bride for his second, but that's exactly what happened in The WB comedy Reba. Reba Hart's (Reba McEntire) life was upended when her husband of 20 years, Brock (Christopher Rich), decided to divorce her after getting his dental hygienist, Barbra Jean (Melissa Peterman) — who was half his age — pregnant. 

Marcia Roy (Succession)

Even at two decades younger than her husband, the in-her-60s Marcia Roy (Hiam Abbass) was a significantly more age-appropriate partner for powerful media-mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox) than his even younger secretary-slash mistress Kerry Castellabate (Zoë Winters), who was only in her thirties. 

Sara Sidle (CSI)

CSI fans were in for a surprise in the season 6 finale of the CBS police procedural, when Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) and Gil Grissom (William Petersen) ended up in bed with each other. The coupling was even more unexpected, given the age gap between the two characters, who later married in season 10: Grissom was not only Sara's boss but also 15 years older than her. 

Shelly Tambo (Northern Exposure)

Shelly Tambo (Cynthia Geary) was first introduced on the Alaska-set CBS dramedy Northern Exposure as the young girlfriend of sexagenarian Holling Vincoeur (John Cullum). She initially has a difficult time getting Holling down the altar, as the storied lifespans of the Vincoeur males has him worries that, despite being more than 40 years older than Shelly, he could outlive her for decades with a broken heart. 

Rachel Gatina (One Tree Hill)

The name "Rachel Gatina" is pretty notorious among One Tree Hill fans and for good reason: Danneel Harris's character had a long history of manipulation and promiscuity in the teen drama. And that drama didn't stop when she married Dan Scott, the father of her former Tree Hill schoolmates Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan (James Lafferty).

Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries)

Though Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) looked around the same age as her primary love interests Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) — the latter of whom she married in the season 8 finale episode — both men were significantly older than her as they were, of course, vampires. (Damon was 169 years old and Stefan was seven years younger in The Vampire Diaries pilot.) 

Nicole Wright (True Blood)

In the sixth season of HBO's fantasy drama True Blood, Merlotte's Bar and Grill owner Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) meets the much younger supernatural rights activist Nicole Wright (Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Despite the large age gap (there are 17 years between the performers) and the fact that they're different species (he a shapeshifter, she a mere human), the twosome goes on to leave Bon Temps together, marry and have children, as revealed in the show's epilogue. 

Ariel Winter was a fixture in primetime for a decade thanks to her role as Alex Dunphy on Modern Family, but bringing the laughs on ABC didn't mean she couldn't deliver in a dramatic show. Case in point: Law & Order: SVU, which featured the actress as a guest star in a Season 21 episode back in 2019. Recently, the franchise's social media pages have been calling back to her performance as "next level," and revisiting that episode (available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription) led me to discover just how many Modern Family vets have appeared on SVU.

Ariel Winter In Law & Order: SVU Season 21

Ariel Winter appeared in the second episode of Season 21 of SVU, called "The Darkest Journey Home," back in October of 2019. The actress sported a different look than she usually did as the bespectacled and dark-haired Alex Dunphy, and it was a look she once again sported following the end of Modern Family. She played Raegan, a young woman who was attacked and needed Benson's help in putting her memories back together and catching the men responsible. It was a great episode back in 2019, and the Law & Order Instagram page made sure to remind followers of that recently:

Raegan's storyline was quite dark compared to what Ariel Winter would perform on Modern Family, but it's no surprise that she was eager to join Mariska Hargitay on the long-running drama for an episode. Speaking with EW before her episode aired, she shared:

While most SVU fans likely can't relate to Winter living the dream of getting the opportunity to guest star, I think plenty can relate to becoming a fan of the show thanks to USA airing mega SVU marathons! She's also only one of the Modern Family Dunphys to come to the Law & Order franchise, although she's definitely the most recent.

Other Modern Family Vets On SVU

Ariel Winter is in fact one of four former Modern Family stars to appear on Law & Order: SVU, with one of her on-screen family members actually playing more than one character on the same show opposite Mariska Hargitay.

Sarah Hyland, who played Hailey Dunphy for all eleven seasons of Modern Family (which you can revisit streaming with a Hulu subscription), made her SVU debut back in the Season 3 premiere in 2001, called "Repression." She returned in the Season 10 episode called "Hothouse" in 2009, playing a different character. She would also appear in Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial By Jury for good measure before landing her sitcom role.

Ty Burrell, a.k.a. Phil Dunphy, guest-starred on SVU in Season 3's "Execution," which aired in 2002 as part of the same season as his future on-screen daughter's first episode. He would also play two different characters on the original Law & Order between 2000-2003.

Finally, Julie Bowen appeared in a 2008 episode of SVU just one year before she'd begin her long run as Claire Dunphy. Her episode was called "Trials" and was the Season 10 premiere, also featuring Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Luke Perry.

Fortunately, it's not hard to find any of those episodes if you're in the mood to see the Modern Family stars in roles other than the Dunphys, as SVU streams on both Peacock and Hulu. NBC has also announced the fall premiere date for Law & Order: SVU Season 26, where it will air as part of the network's Law & Order Thursdays in the 2024 TV schedule.

There are those shows that ended long before we wanted them to, from '90s one-season wonders like Freaks & Geeks and My So-Called Life to perfectly timed dramas like Succession and Breaking Bad. These are not those shows. Instead, these television titles overstayed their welcome, long after their biggest stars departed, or the critical acclaim and awards dried up, or the storylines made any sense. Here are 32 TV shows that simply went on way too long. 

Californication

At the beginning of Showtime's Californication, which ran on the network from 2007 to 2014, the story of troubled novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) and his hedonistic ways felt fresh and edgy. But seven seasons of incessant drinking and womanizing majorly dulled any of that edge. 

The Walking Dead

How long can people survive a zombie apocalypse? Apparently, for a while—the AMC flagship series The Walking Dead went on for an unfathomable eleven seasons and the survival story of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) still isn't over, having been picked up in the spin-off miniseries The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. 

Dexter

One word: lumberjack. For eight seasons, the Showtime series followed Miami man Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) as he worked as a forensic pathologist by day and a vigilante serial killer by night. Spending nearly a decade watching Dexter get away with murder after murder felt both implausible and repetitive. And don't even get us started on that disappointing, woodsy series finale. 

Grey's Anatomy

It's felt like Grey's Anatomy has been resuscitated more times than any of the patients at Seattle Grace. It's been the longest-running medical drama on primetime, but it became barely the Grey's that O.G. fans remember. In later seasons, lead actress Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey, scaled back to a recurring role, and beloved original characters like Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) were all long gone. 

The Handmaid's Tale

There's plenty of argument to be made that Hulu's dragged-out dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale—which sees fertile American women (played by the likes of Elisabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel and Samira Wiley) being forced into child-bearing slavery by a totalitarian government—should have been a one-and-done miniseries. After all, the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel on which it is based concluded after the events of the first season. 

Sons of Anarchy

Too-long episodes (many of which pushed way past the traditional hour-long mark) and irredeemable characters made it hard to continue to care about Jax (Charlie Hunnam), Gemma (Katey Sagal) and the rest of the outlaw bikers in the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club after seven seasons of the FX crime drama.

Shameless

Sure, Shameless had a jam-packed ensemble throughout its entire eleven season run, including Jeremy Allen White, William H. Macy, Cameron Monaghan and Shanola Hampton. But the grungy Showtime family drama lost its heart when lead actress Emmy Rossum—who played the older sister-turned-matriarch Fiona Gallagher—departed the series in season nine. 

White Collar

Many White Collar fans felt that things were getting a little rinse-and-repeat with the USA Network procedural by the end of its six-season run, with case-of-the-week storylines and stagnant character development. Imagine their surprise, then, when it was announced that the show was getting a Netflix revival, with actors Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay and Tiffani Thiessen reprising their roles. 

This Is Us

The earned emotionality of early seasons of This Is Us—an NBC family drama that follows the lives of two parents (played by Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore) and their three children (Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley,) in several different time frames—started to feel manipulative and maudlin after six years. 

Suits

Some television shows suffer from an unsustainable premise. Case in point, Suits, the USA Network legal drama that follows a college dropout with a photographic memory (Patrick J. Adams) who is hired to work as an associate at a prestigious law firm, despite not actually having a license to practice law. Sure, Jan. Despite the dubious concept, Suits aired for a whopping nine seasons. 

Supernatural

Exactly how many demons, ghosts and monsters did brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) have to hunt down to save the world? Fifteen seasons and 327 episodes worth! However, even many Supernatural superfans believe the CW fantasy series lost its way by the end and should have finished after season five when creator Eric Kripke left as showrunner. 

How I Met Your Mother

That is one long story that Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor) tells his adolescent children Luke (David Henrie) and Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) about how their dad first met their mother. In fact, the tale took nine whole years, with many meandering tangents along the way, that we wouldn't blame the kids if they, too, got bored listening to it. 

Glee

Few shows faced quite the critical fall from grace as Glee. Early on, the FOX teen show—which centered on the plucky members of New Directions, the glee club of the fictional William McKinley High School—was an awards show juggernaut, winning several Emmys in its first few seasons, but those high notes were soured when the scripts focused less on the show's original characters and more on ad nauseum celebrity guests. 

Scrubs

Starting with the ninth season, many of the original Scrubs cast—including Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Ken Jenkins and Neil Flynn—stepped back from being main characters on the show, popping up in only a handful or as little as one episode that season. Longtime fans of the NBC medical comedy didn't love that their favorites got replaced with new characters, played by the likes of Kerry Bishé, Michael Mosley and Dave Franco.

The Big Bang Theory

Running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes, this CBS sitcom about Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and their similarly geeky pals got bogged down by too many main characters, recycled old catchphrases and the use of laugh tracks as a crutch. 

The Simpsons

As old as, well, the person writing this very article, the satirical animated sitcom has broken several TV records in its three-decade tenure, including being the longest-running scripted primetime series in American television. And though Homer, Marge, Bar, Lisa, Maggie and the rest of the residents of Springfield are comedy legends, they now feel like relics of a different generation. 

Riverdale

The occurrences within the town of Riverdale were easy enough to keep track of in the early seasons of the CW teen drama, which was populated with the famous characters from Archie Comics (Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and the like.) But as the writing got messier and mazelike, and the characters' storylines more and more outlandish, the soapy series became impossible to take seriously by the end of its seven-season run. 

Game of Thrones

The brazenness with which the Game of Thrones creators killed off some of its biggest, most beloved characters — Ned Stark (Sean Bean) in season one, his son Robb (Richard Madden) and wife Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) in season four — majorly lost its umph when the show killed off Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in the season five finale...only to resurrect him two episodes later. 

Homeland

The first two seasons of this Showtime espionage thriller — in which Claire Danes stars as a CIA officer with bipolar disorder, opposite Damian Lewis playing a Marine Corps Scout Sniper who has just returned home following eight years in captivity — received universal acclaim, including the 2012 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. However, though Homeland had eight seasons total, it never recovered in quality following the death of Lewis's character in season 3. 

Two and a Half Men

It's always a gamble when you replace the main character of a TV show, especially such a long-running one as the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. Originally starring Charlie Sheen as a hedonistic jingle writer living with his uptight brother (played by Jon Cryer) and his nephew (Angus T. Jones), the show misguidedly hired Ashton Kutcher to lead the cast in seasons nine through twelve after Sheen left the show to enter drug rehab. 

One Tree Hill

It rarely works when a high school show follows its characters to college and into adulthood. One Tree Hill, the early-aughts teen drama that ran for three seasons on The WB and another six on The CW, stretched the storylines of Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray), Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton), Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush) and the rest of the Tree Hill Ravens crew too long past graduation, especially as both Murray and Burton departed the show after season five.  

Lost

Airing 121 episodes over six seasons from 2004 to 2010, Lost packed a lot of supernatural nonsense onto that island, frustratingly devolving over the years from a character drama to a complex mythology swirling with time travel, smoke monsters and electromagnetic phenomena. Even co-creator Damon Lindelof has said that he wanted the show to end after three seasons instead of six. By the time the series aired its final episode, the sci-fi series had offered up far too many questions and far too few answers.

Modern Family

Even Modern Family star Sarah Hyland, who played Haley Dunphy in 11 seasons of the Emmy-winning ABC comedy, was kind of disappointed by the show's later seasons. And she seemingly wasn't the only one: though it had earned both critical acclaim and strong viewership for its earlier installments, season 10 had the worst ratings of the series. 

Once Upon a Time

The thing about fairytales is that soon enough you get to that happily ever after at the end. The ABC fantasy drama Once Upon a Time seemingly didn't get that message because it made fans wait for that storybook ending for seven long seasons — even Robert Carlyle, who portrayed Rumplestiltskin in the series, retrospectively admitted to The A.V. Club that he felt that the series "ran for too long."

Killing Eve

On paper, we should have never wanted Killing Eve to end, with its cast led by a superb Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer — as a British intelligence investigator and the psychopathic assassin she's tasked with capturing, respectively — and scripts from the brilliant mind of Fleabag scribe-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. However, when Waller-Bridge departed as head writer after the first season, the once-great show simply ran out of story. 

Bones

Crime procedurals have a habit of staying on TV long after they should, what with their formulaic case-of-the-week structure that's easy to replicate season after season. And Bones, the long-running Fox crime drama starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, is definitely no exception, overstuffed with soapy gimmicks, themed episodes and a way-too-long will-they-won't-they dynamic between Deschanel's Temperance Brennan and Boreanaz's Seeley Booth.

The Office

Of course, we love the entire Dunder Mifflin crew, but everybody knows that The Office should have naturally called it quits when lead Steve Carell — who played the "World's Best Boss," a.k.a. the delightfully incompetent Michael Scott — departed the show after its seventh season. Not even big-name actors like Will Ferrell and James Spader could fill the hole Michael Scott left. 

Westworld

Westworld's first season is to this day the most-watched first season of any HBO original series. However, that popularity, coupled with early critical acclaim, didn't last long for the dystopian Western — the writing and character work drastically declined by the time the show was canceled in November 2022, and just a month later, the entire series was brutally removed from HBO Max. 

That '70s Show

The Fox teen drama — centered on a groovy group of teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin — worked because of the chemistry created by its young cast, including Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama. So of course the show itself took a creative hit when that chemistry was altered following the departures of Grace and Kutcher after the seventh season. 

Smallville

Initially a show about a teenage Clark Kent dealing with issues both human (bullies, crushes) and superhuman (kryptonite and such) while growing up in fictional Smallville, Kansas, Smallville seemed to care less and less about the human side of the Man of Steel over the course of ten seasons. Many fans suggest that the TV superhero should have hung his cape after season seven, which saw the departure of both the show's main villain Lex Luther (Michael Rosenbaum) and Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. 

13 Reasons Why

Based on the young adult novel by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why is one of those cases where a multi-season show was made to be a limited series. Instead of just neatly telling the story of Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) and the tapes she leaves behind after tragically ending her own life, the Netflix teen drama inexplicably changed genres throughout its four-season run, becoming a poor murder mystery in the show's third season. 

Heroes

Though the NBC superhero drama Heroes only went on for four seasons, critics of the show were already pointing out less-than-engaging storylines and lack of cohesion as early as season two. The tales of ordinary people who discover that they have superhuman abilities and have to work together to prevent catastrophic futures should have been adrenaline-pumping stuff, but it simply couldn't sustain that energy after its acclaimed first season. 

Anytime actors take on TV roles for upwards of a decade and beyond, it’s pretty much a guarantee that fans are going to continue wanting to see those characters back on the small screen forevermore. Such as it goes for the giant ensemble from Modern Family (one of CinemaBlend’s best sitcoms ever), which bid farewell to viewers in 2020 after eleven seasons, as Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s recent set photo tease to fans has now been followed up by co-star Sarah Hyland’s comments about a potential return to playing Haley Dunphy.

What Sarah Hyland Wants From A Modern Family Revival

Obviously, until execs from ABC or Disney+ rise up to publicly make the call to order another season of Modern Family proper (or a more targeted spinoff), there's no reason to get too excited about the prospects. But considering how many Modern Family-related happenings have occurred in 2024 so far, Sarah Hyland's comments to People hold far more weight than they might have in any previous year.

While on hand at the 2024 Drama Desk Awards, Hyland seemed only too positive about the idea of reprising her biggest TV role to date, albeit with the understanding that it isn't a total stinker of a project. In her words:

A solid answer, and one that expands on ideas that she's voiced in the past, which could easily indicate that she's thinking about the prospect more and more. Or it could just mean that people are asking her about it more often, and she needed a pleasing go-to answer. But the latter is too cynical for anyone in that family but Alex.

More specifically, Hyland has spoken out about not being 100% pleased with Haley's storyline in the final seasons, in that the creative team wound up limiting her character arc somewhat by having her get pregnant with twins, which led to an abundance of "frazzled new mom" side-plots, rather than anything that played into Haley's creative energies. (Not to mention the idea that Hyland wound up gaining 20 lbs. to physically match up with the pregnancy arc.)

The takeaway here, to anyone listening, is that Haley better darned well have her professional goals on the front burner if Modern Family ever returns to TV in any shape or form. Because if it's not something hinging on Haley's creative side, the former Love Island host might not be too enthused.

All that said, Hyland does sound completely behind the prospect of reuniting with her former co-stars for any reason, whether it's an official TV return or not. Saying she adores the cast "with my entire heart and soul," she continued:

For all that we'd probably enjoy watching an unscripted series that followed Sarah Hyland, Wells Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita globetrotting in vacation mode, maybe that can be the companion series for an official Modern Family revival.

How Jesse Tyler Ferguson Already Got Modern Family Fans Hyped

First, let's not forget that early 2024 featured a full-on reunion from Modern Family's elite during the Screen Actors Guild Awards in February. And then Jesse Tyler Ferguson took Julie Bowen with him to see Lily actress Aubrey Anderson-Emmons' performance in her high school musical The Theory of Relativity.

So it was to an already eager fanbase that Ferguson shared an Instagram Story in late May that showed the staircase, rug and front door of the Dunphy family household, with the following caption over the image:

It wasn't entirely clear whether the actor was sharing an old pic that he'd stumbled across on his phone, or if. he was actually standing within a still-erected Modern Family living room set. The latter would obviously be far more exciting for those anticipating its return down the line, which only makes Sarah Hyland's comments all the more interesting. Now what do Cam, Phil and Claire have to say about all this?

All eleven seasons of Modern Family are available to stream with a Hulu subscription and a Peacock subscription. Stay tuned to hear whether or not the Dunphy family will ever return to our living rooms in full, and head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see all the big shows that are popping up soon.