With its tenth and final season already halfway through, Modern Family has undoubtedly evolved over the years. Fans have seen the Dunphy children go from preteens to teenagers to young adults to parents (in Haley’s case, at least) and the parents to grandparents. This zany gang has never failed to amuse viewers with its endearingly crazy antics through the ups and downs of careers and relationships.
You can find the best comedies here if you’ve already watched the first eleven and a half seasons of Modern Family and are seeking something new to watch. These eight series include everything Modern Family viewers might want, from dramatic family adventures to lighthearted cartoons about coming of age.
Top 10+ Shows Like Modern Family
1. The Middle
ABC aired the American sitcom The Middle (stylized as the middle.) from September 30, 2009, through May 22, 2018. Set in Indiana, the show centers on a middle-class family as they deal with the everyday challenges of adulthood. Former Roseanne and Murphy Brown writers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of Blackie and Blondie Productions produced The Middle, starring Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn. Warner Bros. Television produces the show. Blackie and Blondie Productions, Inc., and Television. Critical acclaim was widespread for The Middle on television, and the show was nominated for several prizes.
Meet the Heck family, a lower-class family in Indiana doing their best to make their way through life as a complex (but humorous) family of five. Frankie, a mother of three (Axl, Sue, and Brick), narrates the show. Axl suffers from fame and a lack of interest in school, Sue has trouble making friends, and Brick is an introverted bookworm.
Frankie, the mother, is an underachieving car salesperson, and Mike, the father, is the manager of a nearby quarry; both provide their share of comic relief and dilemmas. The scenarios the Hecks get into are equally as entertaining as their connections are comforting and relatable.
2. Friday Night Dinner
Friday Night Dinner, a hidden treasure of British television, follows the Goodman family as they celebrate Shabbat weekly with their boys, Adam and Jonny. In typical dry British comedies, supper is disrupted by zany situations such as uninvited guests, practical jokes, or other family antics.
Writing about the Goodman family brought up memories of Robert Popper’s secular Jewish childhood, offering the story a genuineness that would be difficult to fake. With 6 seasons under its belt, this comedy has earned two BAFTA nods: one for Best Situation Comedy and another for Tamsin Greig’s portrayal of mother Jackie Goodman.
3. Single Parents
ABC’s new series Single Parents, which premiered in 2018, centers on a divorced father in his 30s named Will. After devoting so much of his time and energy to becoming a father to his daughter, Will has begun questioning who he is. His fellow single parents at school are motivated to assist him to emerge from his “father cocoon” and join the dating pool. Excellent writing and exciting situations for the cast (including Leighton Meester and Brad Garrett) make this a unique spin on the typical comedy format, subverting the family-friendly and the guys-night-in conventions.
4. The Mick
It’s high time that Kaitlin Olson, who rose to fame as Dee Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, got her comedy show, and The Mick is just the ticket. When the FBI imprisons Mickey’s sister and brother-in-law for fraud and tax evasion, Mickey’s aunt Mickey (Olson) moves to Greenwich to raise her estranged niece and nephew.
Mickey is left with her three spoilt children, who have only known luxury and privilege, after her affluent sister calls and announces she and her husband are leaving the country. With Mickey’s fake boyfriend Jimmy and the Pembertons’ maid Alba by his side, the plot thickens, and the comedic and outrageous possibilities multiply.
5. One Day at a Time
Fans of the 1970s show may recognize the term One Day at a Time in Netflix’s updated version, which focuses on a different family. Penelope, a Cuban-American army veteran and the newly single mother of Elena and Alex, is the show’s protagonist. Penelope’s mother, Lydia, is helping her as she balances her new career as a nurse with being there for her kids as they grow up (played by Rita Moreno).
The show focuses on the typical problems and events that this family faces, such as Penelope’s job, their persistent landlord, and the struggles of her kids. One Day at a Time is great for those times when you want to watch a sitcom with your loved ones that are both funny and distinctive.
6. Malcolm In The Middle
The most basic explanation is… Although the humor of Malcolm in the Middle may seem old now (the show ran from 2000 to 2006), it shares the same central plot device as that of Modern Family: a family dealing with the trials and tribulations associated with raising children. Malcolm, the aforementioned middle child,’ tells his story since he is the narrator of this series. Malcolm has two older brothers and one younger brother. This humorous show speaks to anyone who experienced the ups and downs of growing up in a less-than-ideal family unit, whether they were a preteen, a teenager, a parent, or an adult child.
7. Kim’s Convenience
Three seasons in, this Canadian comedy about a Korean-Canadian family running a quick shop in Toronto is still going strong. Though the new humor and quick wit make this a fantastic movie no matter where you are from, Kim’s Convenience will appeal to anyone who understands the experience of growing up with immigrant parents (and the difficulty of merging those two cultures).
8. Black-Ish
It’s easy to see why fans can’t get enough of this critically acclaimed comedy, which has already generated two spin-offs (Grown-Ish and Mixed-Ish). Black-Ish depicts a middle-class African-American family dealing with the usual interpersonal conflicts while trying to establish its place in its community and the wider world. The show is well worth your time because it deals with some serious issues (primarily the issue of race) in an entertaining and thoughtful way.
9. Life In Pieces
Given that the final episode of Life in Pieces has only just aired, this is the ideal moment to watch the entire series in one sitting. Like Modern Family, this show focuses on one nuclear family and all of their triumphs and tragedies, presented through the eyes of several family members. You can count on the same range of ages and the same level of comedy as in Modern Family, but with a brand new cast of eccentrics.
10. This Is Us
Even though it’s not a comedy, This Is Us is a must-see for anyone interested in a realistic portrayal of a typical American family on television. This Is Us follows the lives of three identical triplets over multiple eras, from adulthood to childhood, to their parents’ love story before they were even conceived. This series, which premiered in 2016, is devastating while also uplifting in some ways.
11. Big Mouth
The American animation coming-of-age sitcom Big Mouth is supplied by Netflix and was produced by Andrew Goldberg, Nick Kroll, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett. Kroll voices his made-up younger self in this series about New York suburban teenagers based on his and Goldberg’s experiences growing up. Big Mouth delves into the complexities of adolescence while embracing an unabashed honesty about the human body and s*x.
Netflix’s animated series about the struggles of adolescence provides a return to more straightforward comedic fare. In Big Mouth, we see a group of preteens as they learn to navigate the many challenges that come with growing up. Brilliantly, though, the series also ventures into fiction, introducing Hormone Monsters (among other larger-than-life creatures) who exist to “assist” lead children through puberty. The perfect animated series for anyone who wants to laugh out loud at their foibles and be thankful they no longer have to go through THAT is here.
12. Fresh Off The Boat
Conflicts within the family, foreign culture shock, and a touch of nostalgia all come together brilliantly in this comedy. Based on Eddie Huang’s autobiography, Fresh Off the Boat tells the story of a Taiwanese family’s relocation from Washington, D.C., to Orlando, Florida, in the 1990s. The father is fighting to keep his uber-American cowboy restaurant afloat while his family deals with the repercussions of cultural shock on all fronts. Anyone who had to move as a kid can identify with the fresh, lighthearted comedy and ’90s music that permeate Fresh Off the Boat.
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