Even the best sitcoms of all time, like wildly fun and fresh Modern Family, have to come to a close. The series ran for just over 10 Seasons, and while some may think that the blended family network hit went on for too long, it broke a lot of barriers and received rightful acclaim. They won so many awards for the show, in fact, that recently Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett, revealed an awkward moment the whole cast shared after their Emmy-winning years.
During a chat on Busy Philipps' podcast Busy This Week, Ferguson was asked about the cast’s awards, including their Emmy wins, and whether or not he was ever over-participating in the shows. He said he enjoyed his time at the ceremonies, but he divulged that the audience had other feelings, explaining:
No, but the audience got sick of us being there. We won five years in a row, which is some sort of a record. I think we tied with Frasier for the most consecutive Emmy wins in a row, and I remember the year we won for the fifth time, there was a collective groan in the audience.
The Modern Family award run was highly impressive and took center stage for a good half-decade before it all slowed down. For them to pull ranks with a classic sitcom like Fraiser is no joke, and it was deserved for at least a few of those years.
During the back half of the show, the awards slowed down. While speaking about the first year they didn't win, Ferguson shared nervously that a collectively awkward moment between him and his co-stars happened and it seems fitting for the entire Pritchett family. They didn’t know the right door to use when leaving the award show, because every other year they'd been ushered off stage through a different door. So, while explaining all this, the actor said:
But the funny thing is the first year we didn’t win – because when you win, you go up on stage and then you go backstage and do press. So the sixth year – we still were nominated a few years afterwards. I hope this doesn't make us sound too gross, but when we didn't win the sixth year, we didn't know how to get out of the building. We went to the exit and they were like, ‘This is not the exit, it's always been over there.’ We're like, ‘Well, we've never had to go out that door.’ A group of like 10 actors [saying] ‘Well, that's the way we went last year.’
Philipps, mouth agape, responded by saying that this story was ‘iconic,’ and it really kind of is. After a run like they had, it’s not incredibly surprising that the group wasn't sure how to leave since they went straight into press all the years before.
Now, as we look back and laugh over this moment and reflect on the massive success of the show, I can't help but think about whether Mitchell and his family could ever return. Many of us are hoping for that revival Ferguson and company have teased here and there. Meanwhile, other fans are still holding out hope for the Cam and Mitchell spinoff, which won't happen, but one can dream!
For now, we’ll have to stick with the original Emmy-winning series which is available to stream with a Hulu+ subscription or Peacock subscription.
