The essential episodes of Modern Family
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Modern Family — each pick states its reason.
- 01
A new half-hour comedy that takes an honest and often hilarious look at the complexities of modern day families.
- 02
Jay could not be more excited to do nothing but indulge and relax in this tropical paradise, but then an unexpected reality check dampens his plans. Meanwhile, Phil is determined to make this trip romantic for Claire, Mitchell and Cameron have opposing views on whether to sightsee or not to sightsee, and the kids get into a little bit of mischief when left to their own devices.
- 03
Claire painstakingly plans for a new family portrait to be taken, but it seems like everything and everybody is working against her. Gloria and Manny go with Phil and Alex to a Lakers game* and end up having a very awkward moment on the jumbotron; Luke interviews Jay for a school project, and Cameron gets a gig as a wedding singer while Mitchell is home alone with Lily and a wayward pigeon.
- 04
Claire loves Halloween and is gearing up to spookify the Dunphy house for the trick or treaters. She gives each family member a role to play, but none of it goes quite right... Cameron can't shake a traumatic childhood experience and hates the holiday, Mitchell has had a terrible day at work, and Gloria is acting weird after Jay and Manny teased her about her accent.
- 05
Plans backfire when the kids go to surprise their parents with breakfast in bed on their anniversary, only to catch Phil and Claire in a compromising position. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria's Vegas getaway is thwarted by a brutally honest email that was accidentally sent to Claire, and Mitch and Cam desperately try to get an "in" at the hot new neighborhood restaurant whose owner happens to be a mom at Lily's preschool.
- 06
Nothing is more quintessential to good ol' family fun than a trip to Disneyland -- but not without a side of motion sickness, achy feet and a wayward toddler -- when the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan hits the park! Phil tries to keep up with Luke, Claire's shocked when they run into Dylan, Jay and Gloria disagree about what are sensible shoes for the day, and Mitch and Cam must contain Lily's new affinity for running.
- 07
The day has arrived for Phil and Claire to drop Haley off at college, which is a difficult moment for any parent, but it's made worse when they manage to really embarrass Haley. Meanwhile, Manny forces Jay and Gloria to take a baby class - they humor him and go, but end up being a bit of a disruption; and Mitch and Cam drop Lily off for the first day of kindergarten, but when she gets into a tussle with another little boy, they end up having a meeting with the boy's confrontational lesbian parents.
- 08
In the first half of the hour -- "Suddenly, Last Summer" -- the family is in the throes of summer activities: Phil and Claire are trying to orchestrate a kid-free week by coordinating Luke's camp with Haley's beach trip and Alex's volunteering excursion; Jay and Gloria are getting Manny ready for his first solo trip back to Colombia; and Mitch and Cam make it a summer to remember. In the second half-hour - "First Days" -- Luke and Manny have their first day at high school, which proves to be harder for Phil and Gloria than for the boys. Elsewhere, Claire makes her big return to the workforce at Jay's closet company and is a little rusty on her first day, and Cam starts a new substituting gig at the high school, leaving Mitch to try to juggle Lily's first day of pre-school and a very important meeting at work.
- 09
Phil cooks for Thanksgiving and enlists Luke as his sous-chef, but Claire secretly prepares another turkey when she doesn't trust them to get the job done. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria's holiday travel plans fall through, though they come to regret not telling anyone about it; and Cameron comes up with an unusual idea to make Lily wear a dress for dinner.
- 10
Phil has the crazy idea of going on a spontaneous trip to Paris with Claire; the only problem is that they are both so ridiculously tired but try to push through it. Meanwhile, Jay has taken over their bathroom remodel, which proves to be pretty hazardous for Gloria, Manny and Joe. Cameron's sister Pam is staying at the house after her husband has left her, but her emotional outbursts are driving Mitchell crazy, and he's afraid it's setting a bad example for Lily. And Haley and Andy go on a wild night bender.
- 11
After recent trips take the Dunphys to New York; Mitch, Cam andLily to the Midwest; and Jay,Gloria, Manny and Joe to Juarez, Mexico; the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan reunites.
- 12
During Jay's Thanksgiving toast, he honors the entire family on their recent successes, even though everyone knows that isn't quite true. As everyone desperately tries to hide the facts about their perceived triumphs, Phil works hard to master a classic magic trick and prove he's not the family failure.
- 13
Haley and Dylan's plan to quietly elope before the babies are born doesn't go as smoothly as they had hoped. Meanwhile, Jay continues to try and get his new business off the ground by courting an Instagram celebrity.
- 14
Cameron is hoping to keep everyone happy for their annual Christmas dinner as he hides and prepares for his big interview for a head coaching position out of state. Meanwhile, Haley is excited to finally be reunited with wine; and Mitchell is suspicious of Cam's holiday trip to visit his family in Missouri.
- 15
In part 2 of the series finale, the entire family discovers saying goodbye is much harder than it seems.
Shows like Modern Family
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of The Simpsons1989–present·FOX
The Simpsons is the longest running scripted show in US television history. - 02Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of Family Guy1999–present·FOX
Family Guy follows Peter Griffin the endearingly ignorant dad, and his hilariously offbeat family of middle-class New Englanders in Quahog, RI. - 03Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of American Dad!2005–present·FOXIn American Dad!, Stan Smith leads the all-American family in this animated sitcom filled with wild and crazy extremes.
- 04Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of Bob's Burgers2011–present·FOXThe series follows Bob who runs Bob's Burgers, with the help of his wife and their three kids.
- 05Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of Mom2013–2021·CBS
Christy is a single mom who, after years of questionable choices, is now sober and trying to get her life on track. - 06Comedy·Family·DramaThe essential episodes of Shameless2011–2021·Paramount+ with ShowtimeShameless is a fiercely engaging and fearlessly twisted series.
