ABC's Modern Family recently released its 11th and final season. Watching the Dunphys, Pritchett-Delgados, and Tucker-Pritchetts grow over the past 11 years has made for transformative television. Before Modern Family's pilot episode released in 2009, there wasn't any show like it on TV. Watching three very different households grow and fight with each other on-screen normalized many families at home.
The award-winning TV series released its first episode in September of 2009 with rave reviews, and viewers wanting more of Phil and Claire, Cam and Mitchell, and Jay and Gloria. Now, that the series is over, here's a look back at things fans didn't know about series' pilot.
10 Julie Bowen Was Eight-And-A-Half Months Pregnant In The Pilot
If you re-watch the pilot, you'll realize that Claire wears more sweaters and shirts that don't suit her usual style. As it turns out, the actress who portrays Claire, Julie Bowen, was pregnant with twins while filming the show's pilot. At eight-and-a-half months pregnant, Bowen auditioned for the part of Claire multiple times and wanted it so bad she cried! She didn't think she'd get the part because of her belly, but low and behold, they hired her. In the pilot, Claire is seen wrapping her sweater around herself, placing pillows in front of her, and holding the laundry basket to cover her belly.
9 This Episode Is An Emmy Winner
The pilot episode of Modern Family was directed by Jason Winer and written by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd. Viewers met all three families and since the show is in a mockumentary style, they all introduced themselves, what they did, and about their family.
The pilot was so fantastic that it won two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing In A Series.
8 There's A Cosmic Twist To An Episode In Season 4
In the pilot episode, Haley tells Phil and Claire that her new boyfriend Dylan was coming over. The only problem was that Dylan was much older than Haley, a senior in high school. As the over-protective and controlling mom, Claire had a huge issue with this and wanted to meet Dylan before welcoming him into their home. After introductions were done, the two went up to Haley's bedroom, doing who knows what.
Claire begins to panic and uses Haley's laundry as an excuse to barge in and keep the door open. Funny enough, fast forward to season 4, Haley has a mirroring moment when she feels the need to barge into Luke's room when he has a girl over for New Year's Eve. It's then that Haley gets her first taste of motherhood.
7 The Dunphy And Pritchett Households Looked A Little Different In The Pilot
Diehard Modern Family fans noticed something a little different in the Dunphy household. In every episode but the pilot, there's an office to the right of the door, next to the stairway.
But in the pilot, there's a solid wall. Another household that looks different is Jay and Gloria's. In their interview, the stairs are different and so is their living room furniture.
6 A Camera Man Makes An Appearance
With Modern Family being shot in a mockumentary style, the families are constantly being followed around and filmed going about in their normal life. But just like every TV show, there are a few goofs throughout the series. In the pilot episode, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-moment where viewers can catch a glimpse of a cameraman in the mirror next to the Dunphys' staircase. No one else in that scene was wearing what the man in the mirror was, proving he's someone behind the scenes.
5 Baby Lily Is Portrayed By Twin Siblings
Most cinema buffs know that filming with a baby is incredibly hard. There are child labor laws that limit the number of hours a kid can work in a day. Since babies can be fussy, Modern Family hired twin babies Jaden and Ella Hiller for the role of Lily. But by the third season, the twins were replaced by the actress Aubrey Anderson-Emmons. Anderson-Emmons continued playing Lilly from season 3 through the end.
4 Two Networks Turned Down The Pilot
After winning two Primetime Emmys for the pilot episode, it's shocking to think there were networks who weren't interested. With the screenplay in hand, the creators of Modern Family pitched the sitcom to NBC, CBS, and ABC. NBC passed because the network already had The Office and Parks and Recreation, two mockumentary-style shows. CBS turned down the pilot because they reportedly weren't ready for the series, so next up was ABC. Luckily for them, the sitcom was gold.
3 Haley And Phil’s On-Screen Connection
After the creators hired Sarah Hyland and Ty Burrell as Haley and Phil Dunphy, they did a screen test at Steven Levitan’s home. Apparently the on-camera connection between Burrell and Hyland was so strong that they knew they had a hit on their hands. Just think of how many times Haley fought and screamed and cried to her parents throughout the course of 11 seasons!
2 Eagle-Eyed Viewers Noticed Which Airline Mitchell And Cam Were On
When we first meet Mitchell and Cam, they're on an airplane coming back from Vietnam after adopting their baby Lily. As an openly gay couple who just adopted a baby, Mitchell felt like people on the plane were judging them and making derogatory comments. He later stands up and gives a speech to the plane about love and acceptance but it backfires because nobody was being homophobic in the first place.
During this scene, one fan tweeted that the markings on the plane appear to be for the airline WestJet, which the airline confirmed.
1 My American Family
When writers pitched the pilot episode to NBC, the show was originally called My American Family. This series was supposed to have a connection between the families and the camera crew, kind of like a side project. However, as development went on, that idea was scrapped and the title was changed to Modern Family.
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