Emmy-Award-winning comedy Modern Family is heading into its 10th season, and the show will be tackling a rather sensitive issue this year — death.
The series about the various members of one very close-knit California clan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009, stars Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Rico Rodriguez, Jeremy Maguire, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, and Nolan Gould.
Will it be a character played by a member of this large ensemble cast who gets killed off?
Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd would not say during a new interview with Entertainment Weekly , but he did reveal that it is a “significant” person who dies and that it will be a “moving event.”
Additionally, he said that the repercussions following this person’s death, which will occur during the first half of Season 10, will be dealt with across several episodes of the popular program.
“We’re handling some bigger life events this season,” he told the magazine about the upcoming season.
“We do deal with a death, which is certainly a topic that families have to deal with, and on television, it’s not easy to do because that’s a heavy subject. But at the same time, it would seem unusual for a family not to go through it.”
#standuptocancer with our #ModernFamily cast ? ?: @jessetyler @Sarah_Hyland @SofiaVergara @itsJulieBowen pic.twitter.com/peNY9N1LJ2
— Modern Family (@ModernFam) September 8, 2018
While talking to Entertainment Weekly , Lloyd also addressed the rumors that this will be the very last season of Modern Family since it is the final year on its current contract.
The optimistic executive producer said that there is “goodwill on both sides to make it happen,” but there are also some “complicated matters” that have to be taken care of sooner rather than later.
“From our standpoint, creatively, we’ve gotten excited writing this season and changing the lives of the characters — some in a significant way — and it’s made us think, ‘Wow, there’s a lot to explore in the lives of these characters,’” said Lloyd.
However, if the negotiations somehow don’t pan out, he promises that the series will have a “great final season for sure.”
In happier Modern Family news, in August TVLine reported that Schitt’s Creek star Daniel Levy will make a guest appearance this season in an episode titled “A Sketchy Idea.” He will play a courtroom sketch artist out for revenge who draws unflattering depictions of Mitch (Ferguson) and Cam (Stonestreet).
Season 10 of Modern Family premieres on ABC on Wednesday, September 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.