When it first started airing, Modern Family may have seemed destined to continue airing until everyone within the Pritchard and Dunphy families grew up and moved on. However, the past couple of years have been plagued by rumors of the show's plug getting pulled for one reason or another. Now, it looks like Modern Family will remain an ABC commodity for at least one more year, as the adult cast members are reportedly in contract negotiations tied to making Season 11, presumably its final one, a reality.
At this point, those negotiations are an ongoing affair, with some specific issues left to be figured out. But all signs are pointing to Modern Family returning for Season 11 with its six principal adult stars, including Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ed O'Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet. It does appear that these are final-season deals being made between cast members and 20th Century Fox TV
If the deal goes through as is, Deadline is reporting that Modern Family's final season is currently being set for 18 episodes. Of course, that number could increase by the time things are finalized and official.
While the specific money details haven't been shared, it's almost guaranteed that the deals will keep the actors high up in the list of highest-paid TV stars. ABC's licensing fee for a potential eleventh season would be equal to that of Season 10, so no mega-raises are expected to go through.
With all of the adult actors' deals now allegedly going through, the focus can now switch to the rest of the cast members, which includes the young adult ensemble. Sarah Hyland and Ariel Winter's celebrity status blew up in recent years, indicating their careers will expand beyond the ABC sitcom, but they, as well as Nolan Gould and Rico Rodriguez, are said to be going with the flow.
Similarly, early talks are being had with co-creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd about returning for Season 11. The duo have already voiced their commitment to keeping the show around as long as it makes sense, so both of those deals are expected to go through with ease. As well, it's been reported that Levitan and Lloyd are aiming to keep several key writers from Season 10 staffed.
Previously, the co-creators had expressed the desire for ABC to come clean as soon as possible with intentions for Modern Family's future, so that they could craft a suitable exit for both the long-running comedy and its plethora of characters. Considering TV"s biggest comedy The Big Bang Theory got a full season's notice about its cancellation from CBS, it's likely that ABC will offer a similar heads up to Modern Family.
Season 10 of Modern Family is still going strong, with highly publicized deaths and untimely pregnancies. Find it airing on ABC every Wednesday evening at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see what else is heading to primetime soon, head to our fall TV guide and our midseason premiere schedule.
