Although Modern Family ended almost four years ago, it is still one of the funniest shows on Hulu. The comedy wasn’t just funny on camera, but they also seemed to have had a lot of laughs off camera as well, whether they were trying to film or just hanging out. Sofia Vergara, who has been busy with her Netflix series on the 2024 TV schedule, Griselda, dropped the F-bomb while opening up about her favorite episode of the ABC sitcom and how hilariously tough it was to film.
Since Modern Family was a sitcom that starred an ensemble cast, there were bound to be times when it was hard to get everyone on the same page, especially since they grew close over the years. While promoting Griselda on Watch What Happens Live, Vergara was asked by host Andy Cohen what her favorite Modern Family episode is. While it’s hard for her to remember specific episodes since there are 11 seasons, she did bring up one that she and her co-stars remember often from the show’s early days:
There’s one that we, the co-stars, we always remember when we are together. I think it was on the second season, we did a Halloween episode, and it was all in the Dunphy’s house and we all had costumes. And for some reason, we couldn’t get it together.
The Modern Family Halloween episodes were always hilarious. On top of seeing the characters in their costumes or, like Hailey, trying on different costumes, the storylines were pretty out there. Season 2’s “Halloween” saw Claire trying to transform the Dunphy house into a haunted house for the trick-or-treaters, Cameron facing a childhood trauma related to the scary holiday, and Manny and Jay teasing Gloria about her accent. Due to the nature of the episode, between the storylines and the Halloween costumes, it seems like it was not easy to film, especially since Vergara blames her on-screen husband Ed O’Neill for breaking character:
Ed O’Neill was dressed as a gargoyle, I was a witch. So we would ruin [the takes.] The producers and the director and everyone wanted to kill us, because we could not hold it together. We couldn’t do a scene looking at Ed fucking… freaking dressed as a gargoyle. It was crazy.
Even though Sofia Vergara didn’t admit how long it took to film the episode, it wouldn’t be surprising if it took longer than usual. The fact that it was only the second season and already they were having the time of their lives shows how close they were. It’s fun that the cast has that episode to look back on together and likely many more, even though they did film over 200 episodes.
While “Halloween” was tough to film, the end result was so worth it. The episode was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, and won for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. It also became one of the highest-rated episodes of the second season, and it is arguably one of the best Halloween episodes in the entire series. It may have been difficult for the cast to keep it together, but even years after the episode premiered, it’s still being talked about, proving that audiences found it just as funny as the ensemble.
Modern Family may have lost its way by the end with some questionable storylines, such as Haley’s pregnancy, but there are so many high points, and fans can watch all 11 seasons with a Hulu subscription. There are also other shows like Modern Family to stream that have equally hilarious episodes and the stories behind them.