‘Modern Family’ Season 11: Why a lack of originality means the show's ending at just the right time
‘Modern Family’ fans were taken aback when the creators of the hit sitcom announced earlier this year that the show is returning with its 11th and final season. Following over a decade of run, Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan’s brilliant creation not only provided us with great laughs but also revitalized the television scenario with its multi-cultural representations. The show over the years, by riding socially relevant premises has garnered numerous awards, including an Emmy for outstanding comedy series.
True that ‘Modern Family’ Season 11 marks the end of an era of one of the most-watched sitcoms in the world, which is sad indeed, but for several reasons, the conclusion of the series at this point makes a lot of sense. It seems like the latest season was created only to experiment with the characters as the creators try to bring closure to the newfangled family.
Now, the question remains if they were able to do justice to the characters, we grew up with all these years. In Season 11 of ‘Modern Family’, we’ve seen a lot happen in the lives of our beloved characters, and we wonder if that was necessary.
For instance, Haley’s pregnancy was revealed at the very beginning of Season 10. Towards the end of the same season, we realized that Alex is still bound by academic interests and is all set to travel to another part of the world to pursue her dreams. Meanwhile, Lily had already grown to be a self-sufficient teenager and Manny as always, continued to remain an old soul.
Season after season for 10 years, ‘Modern Family’ teased us with new possibilities in the lives of the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker family members, and we looked forward to witnessing something new owing to the show’s reputation for its rather unusual portrayals.
As we’ve seen, Season 11 had nothing different to offer, besides focusing on the emotional elements woven in the fabrics of the ‘Modern Family’ dynamics, which we have already had enough of. The makers have definitely tried to do with the characters all that they ever wished to, but couldn’t risk experimenting, considering its popularity as one of the highest-rated sitcoms of all time.
Therefore, the decision to bring ‘Modern Family’ to an end with Season 11 makes sense, but it would have made us happier if the show concluded in the previous season without an extension, as certain changes incorporated in the current season seem to be forced on the characters only for the sake a conventional ending, which is ironic as ‘Modern Family’ holds a reputation for being highly unconventional.