8 Things We Want From Modern Family Season 8
Modern Family is kicking off Season 8, and a few secrets have been spilled already about what we can expect. There will be more of Cam and Mitchell, Jay and Claire will adjust to their new roles at work, and Haley will become an entrepreneur while Gloria’s hot sauce business takes off.
We’ll see Phil take on strange hobbies, Manny and Luke start their senior year of high school, Lily become a tween, and Alex…well, maybe she’ll be given another boyfriend?
Season 7 was not very successful in terms of comedy and character development. Coming up with fresh material on long-running sitcoms is difficult, so here are some suggestions for Modern Family to bring it back to Must-See TV status.
1. More Holiday Themed Episodes
The formula is simple: everyone is together in one place, something crazy happens, and hilarity ensues. Season 8 is starting with Father’s Day, which could be promising. And supposedly, there will be a controversial Halloween episode.
2. Unlikely Character Pairings
Pairing up characters who don’t always hang out brings another dimension of comedy to the show. Seeing Mitchell and Phil get stoned last season was a real treat. More of that, please!
3. Bring the Families Together
The cast is terrific and they play off each other really well. Family gatherings can be comedic gold but it’s also an opportunity for those unlikely character pairings and for tender moments to arise.
4. Give Modern Family its Heart Back
We love the Dunphys, the Pritchett-Delgados, and the Tucker-Pritchetts, but last season, it was a struggle to find a reason to keep watching other than familiarity. Episodes can’t have silly nonsense the whole time and then have a voiceover that’s supposed to tie everything up nicely and tug at the heartstrings. The emotions have to be real and they have to be earned.
5. Ban Contrived Comedy
Modern Family excels at both physical comedy and one-liners; however, episodes fall flat when the characters are put into situations that are supposed to elicit laughs and instead, produce groans.
The show doesn’t have to be over-the-top or outrageous to be funny. The characters are supposed to be relatable, but some of the situations and responses just do not resonate because they are forced.
6. Give Alex a Real Storyline
Phil and Claire never knew what to do with their intelligent middle child—and neither do the Modern Family writers. In Season 8, Alex will be in her second year of college. Surely, something must be happening with her that doesn’t feel like the writers suddenly remembered she existed.
7. Sometimes Less is More
We don’t need to see every character each week, especially if that allows characters to develop and stories to grow. Modern Family episodes last season were chaotic because so many plots were tossed into one episode and there wasn’t a big payoff or big laughs.
8. It’s Okay to Be a Little Serious
We all need relief from our lives and sitcoms let us escape for a half hour. However, it’s okay for Modern Family to be serious sometimes or to take on big issues. Black-ish does this with ease and Modern Family should take some pointers.
What are your hopes for Season 8? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Modern Family Season 8 premieres Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 9/8c on ABC.
Nora Williamson
Nora is pop-culture obsessed and has been since she was six years old-- writing stories about going to Hollywood premieres and dating Christian Slater. Her current favorite shows include House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, The Walking Dead and black-ish. She is a sucker for TV shows with forbidden love, bad boys and of course, a Big Bad. Nora may also be the only person on the planet who loves Fear the Walking Dead.