‘Modern Family’ Season 8 To Be The Last? Cast Demands Higher Salary Amid Ratings Drop
Modern Family Season 8 is set to return on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. following the series premiere of ABC’s new series, Speechless. A new report suggests that the award-winning series may end up getting cancelled after eight seasons.
According to Deadline, the cast of Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory, two of the top comedy series on television today, are gearing up for contract negotiations. Both casts are expected to ask for salary increases. While Modern Family bested The Big Bang Theory in terms of awards, the CBS series was 2015-16’s most-watched scripted series on television. TBBT reportedly drew more than 20 million views per episode. In the 18-49 demographic, it came in second, only behind Fox’s Empire.
#ModernFamily Season 8 Premiere Date Set for September 21, 2016 https://t.co/rFP0GQoVSA… pic.twitter.com/MNH3DJFlSu
— Wait With Us! (@waitwithus) June 28, 2016
On the other hand, Modern Family only came in at 36th spot, with an average of 9.8 million viewers per episode. In the 18-49 demographic, it came in at the 10th spot. Possibly due to the decline in viewership, insiders predicted that the series may come to an end after Season 8. Given ABC’s promising comedy lineup, which includes The Goldbergs, Black-ish, Fresh Off the Boat, and the newcomer, Life in Pieces, it was said that the network could do without Modern Family after all.
“I hear there has been some posturing by ABC, with the network sending signals that a renewal of Modern Family is not a given and that it could conceivably do without the praised comedy after next season.”
Sofia Vergara, who plays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the show, was hailed as the highest-paid TV actress for four consecutive years. She tied with The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco, earning $28.5 million pretax from 2014-2015. Vergara’s Modern Family co-star Julie Bowen took the No.3 spot with 12 million in earnings.
Amid the ratings drop, it is without a doubt that the Modern Family cast will be asking for a salary increase during their contract negotiations. Deadline speculated that the talks could go on for a few months until spring. While there were speculations that the show might be cancelled after Season 8, the outlet held that ABC might give the show two more seasons just to wrap things up.
“Most expect that Modern Family would go to a ninth season and could ultimately run for 10 seasons.”
Being the most senior and highest-paid cast member, Ed O’Neill is expected to go first followed by the rest of the cast. Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jessy Tyler Ferguson, and Eric Stonestreet reportedly received over $200,000 an episode, plus a small amount of the backend.
In another interview with Deadline, Modern Family co-creator Steve Levitan revealed that his personal goal is for the show to at least reach 10 seasons.
“I don’t know if it’s attainable or not; I think we’ll have to look at it every year, and if we feel like we’re just running out of things to say then it will be time to make that tough call.”
His co-creator Christopher Lloyd, however, admitted that stretching the show to a few more seasons is getting even more difficult since there are “fewer stories to tell.” Lloyd held that their main focus is to deliver a funny, quality show that reflects real lives and real family emotions.
Modern Family Season 8 immediately picks up where they left off last season. Mitch (Ferguson), Cam (Stonestreet) and Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) returns after their mini-vacation in Texas. Claire (Bowen) and Jay (O’Neill), meanwhile, continue to struggle with their new roles in the office. Elsewhere, Haley (Sarah Hyland) tries to move on from Andy (Adam DeVine).
Tell us! Should Modern Family continue after Season 8? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Facebook/Modern Family]
