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Grim Reaper Will Visit Modern Family

SOLVED!

[Entertainment Weekly] Modern Family will return for its 10th season later this month, and the creators of ABC’s veteran family comedy are hoping that the laughs aren’t the only thing that draw tears from viewers.

Yes, the grim reaper will visit the show in an episode airing in the first half of this season, co-creator Christopher Lloyd tells EW. “We’re handling some bigger life events in this season,” he says. “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.”

Not surprisingly, Lloyd isn’t revealing who is headed six feet under — or if it’s one of the main family members — but he promises that he/she is a “significant character on the series” and the death “will be a moving event — and an event that has repercussions across several episodes.”

Asked for an overall hint about season 10, Lloyd says, “There is a significant change in the dynamics of the family that people maybe thought was going to happen at some point down the line that is happening sooner than expected.” Is that clue related or unrelated to the aforementioned death? Well, that’ll be the joy of discovery that awaits you when Modern Family kicks off season 10 on Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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Character or Actor who will pass:

[Optional] Your favorite/least favorite characters on the show?

SOLVED!

Character or Actor who will pass: Dede Pritchett, played by Shelley Long

DeDe Pritchett, the ex-wife of Jay and the mother of Mitch and Claire, passed in her sleep.

From ABC.go.com:

Modern Family Deals with the Death of DeDe

We promised a season of change on Modern Family this year, and it’s already begun: Wednesday night marked the death of DeDe, Jay’s ex-wife and mother to Mitchell and Claire. She passed peacefully in her sleep, which was a relief to the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan, each of whom spent their Halloween reminiscing and honoring the goofy matriarch in their own ways. Some of them, like Claire, weren’t sure how to process the news, and some of them, like Jay, didn’t even realize that they were processing the news until they were overcome with emotion. Read on to watch highlights and see how everyone really felt about DeDe.

Mitchell and Claire

As DeDe’s kids, Mitch and Claire had a complicated relationship with their mother. It becomes apparent, however, that Claire’s relationship with her mother was far more complicated than Mitchell’s.

Claire later explains that her last phone call with DeDe was a fight, and a pretty nasty one at that. But Mitchell says DeDe told him about it, and that she said she would call Claire to apologize—which is when Claire remembers that DeDe had left her a voicemail. It’s the apology, and it’s rather sweet.

The Grandkids and the Kids-in-Law

Haley, Luke, and Alex just lost their grandmother, and they all handle it differently. Haley starts eating every last thing she can find in the house, Luke makes inappropriate jokes, and Alex seeks comfort with her new boyfriend (much to the dismay of Haley and Luke, who walk in on Alex finding said comfort). Phil and Cam married into the Pritchett family, so they had to win DeDe over, but both did so successfully. And once they did, they had happy memories of their loved ones’ mother.

It’s no secret that Gloria and DeDe didn’t get along. They even had a physical fight at Jay and Gloria’s wedding (though she did later apologize)(kinda). After DeDe passes, the kids find the dolls of herself that DeDe made as Christmas gifts, and soon Gloria is finding them all over the house. She’s sure that this is DeDe’s way of haunting her, so Gloria does something crazy—she tells “DeDe” how much she admires her.

The truth is out. And it turns out that Lily is planting the dolls everywhere to drive Gloria crazy, because it’s what her grandmother would have wanted.

Jay

Jay and DeDe were divorced, and not always on the best of terms. Jay spent most of the evening trying to track down just who exactly ate the hoagie that he brought over to Phil and Claire’s house—not exactly the preoccupation of someone mourning the loss of a loved one. But sometimes, a sandwich is more than just a sandwich.

More change lies around the corner for your favorite TV family this season. To see what comes next, watch new episodes of Modern Family WEDNESDAYS 9|8c on ABC!

The show tried to make DeDe’s demise funny. Everyone was dressed in Halloween costumes, so there were lots of visual gags, but the episode felt like it was lacking something. Perhaps it was DeDe herself? The character of DeDe was smartly played over the years by the fabulous Shelley Long of Cheers fame. It would have been great to have seen one last strong performance from her!

Congratulations to Kelno19 for being first with the correct response!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. They should have written the fat kid turning into a serial killer and doing away with the entire extended family.

  2. Ed O’Neill. They can then spin his wife’s character off with a new life in a new city. Sofia once again caught the right eye of the right producer. I say more power to her. She’s a good character and does a good job.

  3. Long shot, and I know he hasn’t been on since last season I think, but I was thinking Andy. Very popular story line and would affect most of the characters personally.

  6. The Grim Reaper should of taken out this rotting corpse of a show long ago -same with Big Bang Theory

  7. Um, can it be all of them? Perhaps another trip to Hawaii and the plane goes down? Vergara is easily the most annoying, followed by Lilly. That child isn’t an actor.

    • While it remains to be seen who will pass away on Modern Family, Ariel did in fact reveal that she has departed another show that the 20-year-old has been with for almost as much time as the ABC sitcom. She discussed the end of Disney Channel’s Sofia the First, where she played the show’s titular star for 107 episodes between 2013 and 2018.

  11. I just read an article that discussions have started for doing an 11th season. I think Ed O’Neill is going to be killed off and his salary will be used for raises to the rest of the cast.

  16. Julie Bowen – I thought there was another blind about her being absent from the show and having “personal issues”

  17. Yes, it’s probably Al Bundy who wants off early but let’s try something different:

    Ariel Winter’s character, because Ariel brings too much bad publicity to the show.

  18. De-De (Shelley Long). Impacts most of the characters.

    ( Frank’s father is an obvious choice, but I wouldn’t call him a “significant” character. His death really just affects the Dunphys.

    Jay (Ed O’Neill) also comes to mind, obviously, and I read somewhere last season that he was tired of the show. He’s also 72. But unless it is the show’s last season, I can’t see where they go without O’Neill.

    IMO, Modern Family ceased being funny seasons ago. )

  19. Either Stella, Phil’s dad or Shelly’s character (Claire and Mitch’s mother)

    Hailey married or pregnant

  20. Character: DeDe Pritchett (Shelley Long – actor). It makes sense as it affects all 3 families, but still allows them to keep the main characters and the same dynamic, which has worked for so long. Changing it in any way could be a death sentence for the show.
    I love all the characters. Lily would get on my nerves, but now I find her to be quite funny.

  25. jay Pritchett. Ed O’Neill wants off the show and is tired.
    I like them all, but really like Lily. She has a good future ahead of her.

  27. My guess is the father will die. Being a comedy, I don’t think injecting the realism of death is necessary.

    Most fave: the adopted daughter of the same sex couple. #WAAmbulance
    Least fave: The blonde wife, the nerdy daughter & Al Bundy

    Haven’t watched the show for a LONG time…but loved it when I did ☺

  30. I bet it will be Shelley Long’s character. She is “significant” and even though she isn’t actually in a lot of episodes, it will impact the characters

  35. Sad that they can’t all remain for the last season. Great ensemble cast. Don’t have one favorite.

    My guess Julie Bowen. Hope not.

  38. STELLA, Jay’s beloved dog. (Or is it dead already?)
    Gloria will realize how much she misses/loved the dog, making it all about her. Sofia will put on an annoying…..I mean, Emmy winning performance with loud crying & carrying on.

    I rarely watch the show but Joe screaming into his golf bag made me laugh so I guess he’s my favourite. Gloria is the worst!

    • Actually, the first thing I thought of was Fred Willard, who plays Ty’s TV dad. So I guess now we wait….