Modern Family's Farewell Heralds End of Broadcast Sitcom Era

Beloved by audiences and Emmy voters, the comedy signs off Wednesday after 11 seasons

During its upfront presentation in May 2009, ABC was so confident in the quality of its new sitcom, Modern Family, that it screened the entire pilot episode for buyers at the event—a show of faith that hasn’t been repeated since by any network at an upfront.

When the show premiered four months later, millions of viewers quickly discovered the same thing that ABC’s upfront audience had: They were watching TV’s next blockbuster sitcom, about three seemingly separate families who—as was revealed in a final twist—were all actually related.

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