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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

'Modern Family' lacks characteristic charm, spark in sixth season

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Season six brings trouble in paradise for newlywed Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson).

For religious "Modern Family" (2009 - present) viewers, hopes and expectations were set quite high for the ABC series’ sixth season. Yet, within the first five minutes of the premiere, the show had already proven to be a disappointment. Now, only a few episodes into the new season, viewers are already nostalgic for the fresh laughs that were commonplace in previous years. Season six has become every viewer’s worst nightmare, with a stale, lackluster beginning.

Last season's finale left the Dunphy-Pritchett clan celebrating Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell Pritchett’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) wedding, and over the summer hiatus the newlyweds went on a honeymoon. Fast forward three months and the gang is now back to their everyday lives -- all except for Cam, that is. He's still stuck in the lovey-dovey honeymoon phase. Mitch has now begun to get tired of the endless back rubs, flowers and workday visits and now wants Cam to move on to the next phase of their relationship. Mitchell's sister Claire (Julie Bowen), however, tells him to keep that to himself. 

Meanwhile, the Dunphys have been enjoying an accident-free, blissful, nearly perfect summer, in which nothing has gone wrong. But when Alex (Ariel Winter) comes home early from her service trip, the family dynamics start to unravel. Elsewhere, Jay (Ed O’Neil) and Gloria (Sofia Vergara) butt heads when Jay no longer feels the need to dress in presentable clothes. Gloria decides she will have none of that and she decides to dress as a slob in order to prove her point.



Despite these mini-dramas, the season's new material lacks a certain energy. The anticlimactic premiere was thought to be resolved once the show got back into a groove, but now three episodes in, the spark of the show has not been reignited. The jokes seem predictable, forced and mediocre at best, the characters have become stagnant and little is happening in terms of plot development. Viewers were left chomping at the bit in anticipation of the new season after Cam and Mitchell’s fourth-time’s-the-charm wedding, but so far these expectations haven't been met.

The current sluggishness may stem from the fact that since the children have gotten older, the writers of "Modern Family" have not taken care to develop the characters further. For example, helicopter mom Claire has started to become redundant because her main function was looking after the kids, a one-dimensional role the writers gave her. Yet there are so many possibilities for ways to further develop the character.  Future episodes could include more scenes between Claire and Gloria or explore the former's relationship with her brother, Cam. Other topics to alleviate the tedium could include Phil (Ty Burrell) and Jay’s awkward encounters, Lily's (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) development or even Manny’s (Rico Rodriguez) quirks.

Ultimately, three episodes is far too long to wait for a show to pick up steam, especially considering the fact that "Modern Family" is not new to comedy or television.

Although "Modern Family" has been following a downward spiral, one can hope that it’s only temporary -- after all, the writers have so many options for new directions in which to take the show and its various characters. Hopefully, the creative minds behind "Modern Family" will take note of their current boring trajectory and spruce up their content. The fourth episode of the new season will air today and maybe, just maybe, the show will catch a light and start a new fire. Fans and critics alike can tune into ABC to see if "Modern Family" will break free of its funk and get back to being a memorable show that audiences can continue to love and adore.

Summary Season six of "Modern Family" has become every viewer’s worst nightmare, with a stale, lackluster beginning.
2 Stars