13 Best Episodes of Modern Family and Why They’re Timeless

With so many episodes, it’s hard to narrow down the best. But the first season is by far one of the best seasons in Modern Family. The humor, the documentary-style acting, and getting to know all the individual characters are so exciting and entertaining. And for episode 24 in the first season, we have one of the best episodes of Modern Family.

In this one, Claire painstakingly plans for a new family portrait to be taken, but it seems like everything and everybody is working against her. Gloria and Manny go with Phil and Alex to a Laker game and end up having a very awkward moment on the jumbotron. Luke interviews Jay for a school project, and Cam gets a gig as a wedding singer while Mitchell is home along with Lily and a wayward Pigeon.

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Next up on the list of best episodes of Modern Family is season 3, episode 10. In this episode, as the name suggests, the entire family realizes that they can’t be together for the holiday, they opt to try and replicate the holidays on December 16th, but only for the next four hours. As you can imagine, the chaos and craziness within this episode is hilarious.

Their chore division gives us less-typical character pairings like Claire and Haley when shopping, Cameron and Jay with gift wrapping, Mitchen and Alex shopping for Christmas trees, Phil and Manny meeting someone on Craigslist, and Luke with Gloria. While the plan doesn’t really come together, it’s nice to see the unusual pairings and the awkward and hilarious adventures they go on.

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Some of the best episodes of Modern Family involve pure chaos. Just seeing the families interact with each other and everything goes wrong is hilarious. For instance, season 6, episode 16 focuses on an entire episode framed through various screens. It all starts with Claire being stuck at O’Hare and trying to digitally track down Haley after an argument.

When she can’t get ahold of her, she reaches out to Phil, Mitchell, Cam, and Jay through video calls only to discover that Haley is halfway to Vegas with Andy, and only assumes the worst. The interaction and chaos, and seeing the horror that Haley might be getting eloped with Andy while Claire is stuck somewhere is hilarious, especially when we figure out the reason behind Haley not picking up her phone.

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Season 4, episode 19 is one of the best episodes of Modern Family as it takes the audience through a whirlwind of storylines. First, the three Dunphy children, Luke, Alex, and Haley, visit their mom in the hospital since she has to have an angiogram. They soon meet three children exactly like them, only they are 10-20 years older. They start to freak out because this is what their future could look like.

Meanwhile, Gloria and Lily spend the day bonding until Gloria realizes that Lily knows nothing about where she was born, Vietnam. She is panicked because she knows what it’s like to live in America and feels her roots start to slip away. This leads to one of the funniest scenes in the show where Cam, Mitch, Gloria, and Lily go to a Vietnamese restaurant to try Pho. Many, many culturally inappropriate jokes are made, but they all come from a good place. Be prepared to laugh it off as Lily thinks she might be gay just like her fathers.

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In one of the funniest early episodes, season 2, episode 4 shows the intricate details of a sibling relationship involving Claire and Mitchell. They both find their spouses to do embarrassing things but don’t always want to be the bearers of bad news. Instead, they decide to get each other’s help to let down Cam and Phil easily.

The hilarious scenes in this episode include Cam wearing bike shorts and being incredibly sensitive about his appearance. Claire does her part, but Mitchell backs out, making Claire the bad person in both relationships. This is a trope that continues throughout the show and will keep you laughing at the way the family reacts to her “uptight” nature.

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This episode from season 6 is one of the best episodes of Modern Family because it shows Jay joining Cam’s bowling league and bonding with his son-in-law. However, he didn’t realize it was an all-gay bowling league. Once one of the enemies gets a crush on Jay, Cam sees it as an opportunity to win as long as Jay plays along. The self-awareness and unawareness are what make this episode hysterical.

Behind the scenes, Gloria and Mitch want to prove they are still young and fun because they want to go out on the town with Haley. It’s hilarious to see everything they do to try to keep up with her. Check out the episode to see exactly what breaks their spirit.

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In season 1, episode 15 begins a show-wide bit between Claire and Phil Dunphy. It’s Valentine’s Day and they desperately want to get some time away from their kids, so they check out a local hotel. Claire decides it would be fun for them to try something new in their relationship, which causes her to invent Juliana (Claire) and Clive (Phil). The slight awkwardness about Phil makes this entire episode hilarious and they bring back this same tradition for many future seasons.

If that wasn’t enough, Claire decides to dress in only a trench coat, which happens to get stuck in the escalator. Oh, and then, Jay and Gloria show up.

In season 5, episode 24 is not only one of the best episodes of Modern Family but arguably one of the most heartwarming in the whole sitcom. Mitch and Cam have been engaged and finally, their wedding day arrives. In true Modern Family form, no major event would be complete without a series of chaotic moments. After a nearby wildfire, a failed replacement venue, and a guest going into labor, Mitch and Cam finally get to walk down the aisle in their home.

The scene where they are surrounded by family in the home where they first moved in together and welcomed home Lily is enough to make you cry. It’s a huge moment in the show that begins with laughs and ends with true love.

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Going back in time to season 1, episode 9 is the very first time we see Fizbo, but not the last. If you’re new to the show and want one of the best episodes of Modern Family, you may want to experience Cam as a trained clown called Fizbo, as it can be a touchy subject with the rest of the family, especially Mitch.

He breaks out his clown side for Luke’s birthday party, but Phil is terrified. Meanwhile, Claire and Phil are going head to head with party activities until Luke gets injured. It’s not only amusing but also sets up the rest of the show for Fizbo’s appearances and Claire and Phil’s feuding nature.

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Another hilarious episode, and considered one of the best episodes of Modern Family is from season 2 where the Dunphy children try to do something nice for their parent’s anniversary. But, in the worst fear of all children, they walk in on something they shouldn’t have.

While the Dunphys are dealing with this, Gloria sends a mean email to Claire and tries to distract her so she can delete it and avoid an argument. Also, Mitch and Cam try to befriend a celebrity during a playdate, but they spill juice on an expensive rug and panic about how to fix it. It’s got three plot lines going on at once, so it’s a great episode to watch this extended family sort through mass chaos yet again.

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So much happens in season 6, episode 24 that it’s considered one of the best episodes in Modern Family. The highlight is what this sitcom can do with a bit. In this case, Phil is stuck in Seattle, but instead of just leaving him out of the episode, he is even more present. He uses a rolling prop to place an iPad while on FaceTime so that he can interrupt or be a part of the conversation as usual.

There is something about Phil’s humor that becomes even more hilarious when on video around everyone else fighting. He even continues his bodily humor when the robotic camera gets stuck in the bathroom. In the background, one of Haley’s biggest love stories is coming to a head as Gloria and Jay’s nanny debate what to do with his on-and-off girlfriend, Beth.

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Season 9, episode 1 starts a new season with an absolute bang and is one of the best episodes of Modern Family. Jay takes the whole family to the lake as he starts to contemplate his bonds with each member of his family and worries about what they will think when he dies. That’s where the darkness ends. When Gloria and Cam take to nature, there is pretty much not one natural thing about it. There are several moments between the two of them take make them stand out and embarrass themselves.

Mitchell also makes a fool of himself when he runs into an ex-crush. He goes back to the bait shop several times to say hi and then ends up confronting him about his sexuality. The children get stranded on an island and fight as per usual. You’ll never want to go on a family vacation again until you see the ending.

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Last, but certainly not least, season 3, episode 13 is by far the best Modern Family episode. Within this plot, you have Lily who is at a very cute age learning new words. One of them is the F word, which she starts saying conveniently right before she is the flower girl at a wedding. You can guess how that turns out.

Then, you also have the Dunphys trying to help Claire prep for her debate while she is running for town council. Claire is always a bit uptight and her prep for the debate brings out that side of her and her family that you can’t help but laugh at.

Last, but not least, Gloria and Jay are not getting along because Jay adores Stella, his new French bulldog. Stella keeps jumping in their pool even though she can’t swim, so they start to think she’s suicidal. Before Gloria tries to save her, she gives a speech trying to convince Stella to stick around. You’ll be howling and laughing because “there is so much left to smell.”

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Now that we’ve covered which are the best episodes of Modern Family, let’s dive into which is the best season. While the last season usually has people jerking back tears because many things come to an end, the first season is still a favorite amongst viewers. It’s the best not only because it is nostalgic once you have seen the show, but the jokes are on point and the documentary-style interviews are more frequent, reminding us why the show is so unique in the first place.

Any season of this show will be funny, heartwarming, and entertaining, so you really can’t go wrong. The humor pokes fun at the “modern” and progressive nature of the show, so everyone can see themselves in this extended family and the troubles they face. But, like most things in life, you have to laugh at the silliness of it all. If you haven’t seen Modern Family before, now is the perfect time to start.