After spending more than a decade playing Mitchell Pritchett on “Modern Family,” Jesse Tyler Ferguson admits he wasn’t eager to jump straight back into the same world. The actor recently revealed that, while talks of a potential spinoff featuring Mitchell and Cameron were underway after the hit sitcom ended, he felt a strong pull to explore new opportunities rather than continuing the story right away.
No ‘Modern Family’ Spinoff
Ferguson currently hosts the “Dinner’s On Me” podcast. During a recent episode with Wendy McLendon-Covey, the actor, 50, shared why a spinoff of “Modern Family” never happened. To sum it up, Ferguson was ready for something new after 11 seasons of playing Mitchell Pritchett, a lawyer-turned-district attorney on the hit ABC sitcom.
While the show was coming to an end, Ferguson said the world was entering the pandemic. He said, “I was so excited for this next chapter of my life, and then it was like, everyone go inside.”
It seems like the powers-that-be did want the story between Mitchell and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet)
Ferguson added, “During that time, they were brewing this idea of maybe doing a ‘Modern Family’ spinoff with [Eric Stonestreet] and I, which I was interested in, but I was also supposed to do this play in New York.”
He went on to explain that he wasn’t sure if he wanted the story of Mitchell and Cameron to continue. Ferguson said he was hesitant to sign up for the spinoff.
He said, “It sort of felt like, as the reality of, maybe the spinoff was actually going to happen, I literally felt like, ‘Oh my god, I want to date other people.’”
Spinoffs happen all the time, especially for those TV shows fans love. However, Fergson said he had “to feel what it’s like to not do that.”
‘Modern Family’ Reunion Will Happen
While Ferguson explained his reasoning behind not signing on for a “Modern Family” spinoff, it sounds like McLendon-Covey believes they will all come back.
“Modern Family” ended six years ago. There have been discussions of a spinoff series, but McLendon-Covey said on Ferguson’s podcast that she thinks the cast will reunite one day.
The “St. Denis Medical” star said, “‘Modern Family’ will come back. And it’ll be the right time because enough time will have happened for new ideas to germinate, and you’ll all want to do it.”
Meanwhile, Stonestreet talked about the idea of a Cam and Mitchell family spinoff during an appearance on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” in 2024. While he was initially on board with the idea of a spinoff, he no longer thinks it could happen.
Stonestreet said, “They had their chance. [Co-creator] Chris Lloyd and a couple of other writers wrote a really great script that spun Jesse and I off in our life in Missouri, and they said ‘No.’”
He continued, “I love the show. I love Jesse. We had a great working relationship. We had amazing chemistry… I would’ve kept going. I think everyone would’ve kept going a year away from everyone being done with the show.”
