Anytime actors take on TV roles for upwards of a decade and beyond, it’s pretty much a guarantee that fans are going to continue wanting to see those characters back on the small screen forevermore. Such as it goes for the giant ensemble from Modern Family (one of CinemaBlend’s best sitcoms ever), which bid farewell to viewers in 2020 after eleven seasons, as Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s recent set photo tease to fans has now been followed up by co-star Sarah Hyland’s comments about a potential return to playing Haley Dunphy.
What Sarah Hyland Wants From A Modern Family Revival
Obviously, until execs from ABC or Disney+ rise up to publicly make the call to order another season of Modern Family proper (or a more targeted spinoff), there's no reason to get too excited about the prospects. But considering how many Modern Family-related happenings have occurred in 2024 so far, Sarah Hyland's comments to People hold far more weight than they might have in any previous year.
While on hand at the 2024 Drama Desk Awards, Hyland seemed only too positive about the idea of reprising her biggest TV role to date, albeit with the understanding that it isn't a total stinker of a project. In her words:
I would want to see a script first. I think creatively for me, I would want to know what was going on with Haley. I want to see her career back and stuff and her creativity and I want her to be able to do both. . . . [I want to see Haley] do what Claire [Dunphy] then set out to do and did as an amazing mother as well as businesswoman and CEO. And I would really love to see that creative side back for Haley.
A solid answer, and one that expands on ideas that she's voiced in the past, which could easily indicate that she's thinking about the prospect more and more. Or it could just mean that people are asking her about it more often, and she needed a pleasing go-to answer. But the latter is too cynical for anyone in that family but Alex.
More specifically, Hyland has spoken out about not being 100% pleased with Haley's storyline in the final seasons, in that the creative team wound up limiting her character arc somewhat by having her get pregnant with twins, which led to an abundance of "frazzled new mom" side-plots, rather than anything that played into Haley's creative energies. (Not to mention the idea that Hyland wound up gaining 20 lbs. to physically match up with the pregnancy arc.)
The takeaway here, to anyone listening, is that Haley better darned well have her professional goals on the front burner if Modern Family ever returns to TV in any shape or form. Because if it's not something hinging on Haley's creative side, the former Love Island host might not be too enthused.
All that said, Hyland does sound completely behind the prospect of reuniting with her former co-stars for any reason, whether it's an official TV return or not. Saying she adores the cast "with my entire heart and soul," she continued:
I mean, Jesse and I are so close, and his husband Justin and my husband Wells, the four of us vacation together. I would love to be back with everybody.
For all that we'd probably enjoy watching an unscripted series that followed Sarah Hyland, Wells Adams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita globetrotting in vacation mode, maybe that can be the companion series for an official Modern Family revival.
How Jesse Tyler Ferguson Already Got Modern Family Fans Hyped
First, let's not forget that early 2024 featured a full-on reunion from Modern Family's elite during the Screen Actors Guild Awards in February. And then Jesse Tyler Ferguson took Julie Bowen with him to see Lily actress Aubrey Anderson-Emmons' performance in her high school musical The Theory of Relativity.
So it was to an already eager fanbase that Ferguson shared an Instagram Story in late May that showed the staircase, rug and front door of the Dunphy family household, with the following caption over the image:
Haven't seen this view in a while.
It wasn't entirely clear whether the actor was sharing an old pic that he'd stumbled across on his phone, or if. he was actually standing within a still-erected Modern Family living room set. The latter would obviously be far more exciting for those anticipating its return down the line, which only makes Sarah Hyland's comments all the more interesting. Now what do Cam, Phil and Claire have to say about all this?
All eleven seasons of Modern Family are available to stream with a Hulu subscription and a Peacock subscription. Stay tuned to hear whether or not the Dunphy family will ever return to our living rooms in full, and head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see all the big shows that are popping up soon.
