Country of origin United States Original network ABC | No. of episodes 16 | |
Starring Ed O'Neill
Sofía Vergara
Julie Bowen
Ty Burrell
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Eric Stonestreet
Sarah Hyland
Ariel Winter
Nolan Gould
Rico Rodriguez
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons
Jeremy Maguire Original release September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21) – present | ||
The eighth season of Modern Family was ordered on March 3, 2016, by ABC. The season premiered on September 21, 2016. The show airs on ABC on Wednesday nights and is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Steven Levitan Prods., and Picador Productions, with creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd as showrunners.
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Cast
Modern Family employs an ensemble cast. The series focuses on Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill), his daughter Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), and his son Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) who live in Los Angeles. Claire is a homemaker mom married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell); they have three children, Haley (Sarah Hyland), the typical teenager, Alex (Ariel Winter), the smart middle child and Luke (Nolan Gould), the offbeat only son. Jay is married to a much younger Colombian woman, Gloria (Sofía Vergara), and is helping her raise her pre-teen son, Manny (Rico Rodriguez). Mitchell and his husband Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) have adopted a Vietnamese baby, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons).
Production
Modern Family was renewed for an eighth season on March 3, 2016, with several other ABC shows. Sofia Vergara shared a photo on Instagram of the cast doing a photo-shoot for the eighth season on July 26, 2016. The table read for the season occurred the same day, with filming beginning shortly after. The Hollywood Reporter announced on August 4, 2016, that Castle-alum Nathan Fillion had been cast in a recurring role of three episodes as the weatherman Rainer Shine. It was also announced that Martin Short will appear in a guest role in the second episode of the season as a promotional maven. A promotional poster was released on August 23, 2016. Variety reported on September 26, 2016, that Modern Family would feature the first openly transgender child actor on network-television. The 8-year old actor Jackson Millarker will appear in the second episode as Lily’s playmate Tom. "The Hollywood Reporter" reported on November 7, 2016 that Peyton Manning will guest star in the 12th episode of the season. "Manning will play Coach Gary, baby Joe's sports tutor, whom Gloria (Sofia Vergara) brings in to help teach Joe how to throw and catch. When Coach Gary also starts doing things around the house, Jay (Ed O'Neill) is left feeling a bit emasculated." Kelsey Grammer guest-starred in a January 2017 episode of the series, portraying Cam's ex-boyfriend Keifth. The Hollywood Reporter reported that NBA stars Charles Barkley and DeAndre Jordan will guest-star in a late January 2017 episode, playing themselves. The source stated "For their part in the show, Barkley and Jordan will be attending a charity basketball game that Phil (Ty Burrell) has been training all year for in an attempt to redeem himself after a disastrous turn at the previous year's game. When they both start getting a little too involved, Phil tries to not buckle under the pressure."