Taylor Swift is known to bring ordinary people together but she does the same for celebrities. The Eras Tour wrapped over the weekend after a year and a half, 149 shows, and memories to last a lifetime. It also gave us the Modern Family, Agatha All Along, and The Office crossover we didn’t know we needed.

Swift’s Eras Tour has been a magnet for celebrities since it debuted in March 2023. Every show has featured several celebrities of varying magnitudes, whether in the VIP area or the crowd. Be it Travis Kelce showing up to her, the attendance of close friends like Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Gigi Hadid, or frequent collaborators like Jack Antonoff, her concerts became the who’s who of celebrity swifties.

The final Eras Tour show took place in Vancouver and it was as much of a magnet for celebrities as expected. The first night included names like Michael Bublé and Leona Lewis; Chelsea Handler attended Night 2; and the final night featured the TV crossover of our dreams.

The Eras Tour VIP area gave the sitcom crossover of our dreams

Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband, Justin Mikita, were constant in their love for Taylor Swift, attending the final show. The couple was previously at the last dates of the first U.S. leg in 2023, attending the Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in L.A. on August 3.

This time, though, they also gave the best sitcom crossover: Modern Family meets Parks & Rec meets The Office. The couple hung out with Parks & Rec star Aubrey Plaza, who also stars in Agatha All Along, and Jenna Fischer, who played Pam in The Office.

Plaza was as cool as ever, with a sheer pink shirt, jeans, a red beret, and layers of friendship bracelets. Ferguson and Plaza appeared in the selfie with Fischer, who was there at the concert with her daughter. Fergurson also sneakily shared a picture with Taylor Swift’s successful longtime publicist, Tree Payne.

At their first appearance, Mikita wore a black T-shirt from Swift’s 2012 era with the cover of her Red album, and for the final show, he wore an official Eras Tour merch t-shirt.

The duo have a longtime relationship with Swift and even appeared in her music video for Lover‘s hit “You Need to Calm Down,” where Ciara officiated their marriage in the video.

In December 2020, Ferguson celebrated their friendship with an older picture of the couple and Swift, suggesting that he’s ready to continue their collaborations for a film with an adaptation of her Folklore song, “The Last Great American Dynasty,” alongside Reynolds and Blake. The project, unfortunately, never materialized.

If you’re thinking the last thing we needed was a Friends addition, that almost happened. The Modern Family actor met up with Friends‘ Lisa Kudrow for an episode of his podcast, Dinners on Me. Kudrow is currently promoting her latest Netflix series, No Good Deed, and marked the end of the most perfect sitcom crossover of all time. While Kudrow didn’t attend the Eras Tour with the rest of the sitcom stars, she shared the stage with Swift in 2015 for a magical rendition of Phoebe’s “Smelly Cat” during the 1989 World Tour.

In 2020, we said goodbye to Modern Family, and shortly after it aired, we also said hello to a global pandemic. Coincidence? I think not. After all, both events undeniably altered our brain chemistry for the worse — and to this day, we haven’t fully recovered from either.

Thankfully, the cast seems just as attached to the feel-good show as we are. From TV ads to Instagram shout-outs, they remind us that yes, the cast was — and still is — a family first and foremost. And what screams Modern Family more than a Thanksgiving emergency room trip? We’d argue nothing. So, imagine our surprise when Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson crossed paths in the most unlikely, yet totally Modern Family-esque, way.

This unexpected reunion happened in the ER on Thanksgiving Day. While the story sounds dramatic, it turned out to be quite wholesome. It all started when Bowen shared a Thanksgiving update on Instagram, revealing that her son had been itted to the emergency room.

Alongside a caption that read, “It’s not a holiday without a trip to the ER. (He’s fine, btw) HAPPY THANKSGIVING,” she posted a photo of her son outside the hospital. Thankfully, everything turned out okay, but the chance encounter with Ferguson — in a figurative sense — made the situation oddly heartwarming.

A few hours later, Jesse Tyler Ferguson shared his own unexpected holiday update: a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed with one of his sons in his arms. While the picture would’ve been undeniably adorable under different circumstances, it too was taken in the ER, much to everyone’s surprise.

Not to worry though, because Julie Bowen’s own trip to the ER made her sufficiently knowledgeable to offer plenty of advice to her former co-star from a distance. “I have received a lot of parenting wisdom from @itsjuliebowen, so seeing I wasn’t the only one with a kid in the ER on Thanksgiving was comforting. (He’s also fine.),” Ferguson wrote in his caption.

While we’re relieved and happy to hear both of their sons are healthy despite the emergency room visits, we couldn’t help but feel like this scenario was ripped straight out of a Modern Family episode. Picture this: Claire rushing Luke to the ER after he fell doing some magic trick with Phil — Bowen’s son even resembles an older Luke! — only to find Mitch and Cam there with Lily already for some stomach issues. The only thing missing would be Gloria and Jay, though not to worry, because Manny would surely have a hypochondriac flare-up just in time for the holiday chaos.

This may not have been the Modern Family reunion we were hoping for — or the one we could have predicted — but it sure is heartwarming (and hilarious) that the cast continues to find themselves in scenarios that echo their years on the show. Just last March, Ferguson and Bowen reunited with Aubrey Anderson-Emmons (who played Lily) at her school play. The trio even shared some Modern Family-worthy TikTok videos that perfectly channeled the sitcom’s iconic energy.

Former star of the ABC comedy Modern Family, Sarah Hyland, has recently tied the knot with Wells Adam, and it was none other than a former co-star who officiated the wedding.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson who played Hyland’s uncle in the long-running series was spotted at the wedding ceremony as the officiate as she married former Bachelor contestant Wells Adam after dating for five years and being engaged for three. The entire cast of Modern Family was invited to the wedding as they all celebrated their former co-star’s big day.

Sofia Vergera was one of the big names who returned to attend, with her posting several pictures from the wedding day on her social channels. Later on, photos were put online revealing Ferguson playing the role of celebrant which has warmed the cold cockles of the internet’s collective hearts immensely.

Hyland has gone through significant health issues in her life, with her requiring a kidney transplant as well as treatment for her endometriosis. She’s had 16 surgeries to try and improve her health, and often filmed Modern Family whilst going through the most gruelling eras of her health issues.

For those who grew up watching Modern Family, it’s quite bizarre to see Hyland all grown up. Now 31 years-old, she’s a long way from playing the slightly ditzy but lovable teenage daughter of Phil and Claire Dunphy. Modern Family went on for eleven seasons before its final season aired in 2020.

In 2020 there had been talk of a potential spin-off revolving around Ferguson’s character, but nothing more has been heard of this concept since.

Modern Family star Sarah Hyland and former Bachelorette contestant Wells Adam were married in Solvang, California, over the weekend in a ceremony surrounded by family and friends, as well as many of Hyland’s costars from her long-running ABC series.

Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen, Nolan Gould, and Ariel Winter were all in attendance, many of whom shared snaps from the reception on Instagram. Although sadly, there were, unfortunately, no photos of the bride and groom — but we can almost certainly expect those to pop up in a glossy People exclusive in the coming weeks.

“Wedding weekend,” Vergara captioned a photo of herself wearing party attire, leaning against a silver convertible. She likewise shared a handful of other candid snaps of herself, Ferguson, his husband Justin Mikita, Gould, Modern Family producer Rachael Field, and her son Manolo.

Mikita likewise shared an intimate photo of his husband and his onscreen niece and nephew, captioned simply “family” with a heart.

Likewise, Bowen shared a photo of herself, Ferguson, Gould, and Field sitting down for breakfast before the festivities started. “Yay! Just…yay. I love my fake family,” she wrote.

Hyland, 31, and Wells, 38, first became an item in 2017 after his stint on Jojo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette and the fourth season of Bachelor in Paradise. Over the course of the season, Hyland regularly tweeted about Wells, and eventually, he reciprocated the attention and slid into her DMs. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The couple first became engaged in 2019 but had to postpone their August 2020 wedding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Two years of would-be marriage bliss,” Hyland captioned a black and white photoshoot of their would-be wedding date just a week before they finally walked down the aisle. “I love you to Pluto and back,” she added.

Mazel tov to the happy couple.

Hey Wildcats! New-season trailer just dropped, and a new face will appear in Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: none other than the great Jojo Siwa. The two-minute-long trailer shows a new location and some familiar faces whilst also introducing some big names to the show.

Now back for a third season, the East High Wildcats are now shifting their endeavors to Camp Shallow Lake in California. The Wildcats will be now facing the new challenge of making an entire production of Frozen and facing off their competition at the Summer Camp of their dreams. Promising everyone a summer filled with curfew-less nights, ionate summer romances, and a tech-free zone, the new trailer promises a fabulously exciting third season of the best High School Musical homage series out there.

Although more information about Jojo’s role is still unbeknownst to the audience, the dancer and actress will be ing the cast alongside the familiar faces from previous seasons, including Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Basset, Matt Cornett, Larry Saperstein, Sofia Wylie, and Julia Lester. ing the cast are also High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu alongside Modern Family and Tony-award winner Jesse Tyler Ferguson, likely in mentor roles.

Even though no new information has been leaked regarding Jojo’s new role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, everyone can expect the actress’ hypnotizing presence to gather a handful of Wildcats around her during the show’s premiere on July 27.

I love when Modern Family explores a little of what Jay (Ed O’Neill) was like as a father to Claire (Julie Bowen) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). In just over two seasons the writers of Modern Family have told us enough about these characters that we feel as if we’ve known them forever. Yet, when they tell a story like the one in “Egg Drop” we’re able to discover something new and meaningful about them. Part of Jay and Claire’s dynamic is that they are highly competitive with one another and they always have been. Competing is part of their bond so when Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) have the same school science project to complete, an egg drop in which the egg is dropped and must land without breaking, it gives Jay and Claire the chance to compete to see which who can create the better project. Turning Claire and Jay against one another was Luke’s plan all along; get the parents to do the homework for them. His plan works until, of course, Manny cracks just before they’re able to finally get away with it. The resolution to this plot is a bit of recycling from the Alex and Haley dent in the van door story from “Punkin’ Chunkin” but the Jay-Claire dynamic gives the story more resonance. We’ve heard from the beginning how Jay treated Claire like the son he never had; sorry Mitchell. “Egg Drop” explores that idea a little with a sweet moment where Jay its to nurturing Claire’s competitive side because it was part of her that he could relate to beyond gender. He couldn’t help her with aspects of life that father’s don’t understand but he could relate to being driven and competitive and he used that to forge and maintain their bond. Jay and Claire’s story isn’t as laugh out loud funny as the other stories but it is still the best story of “Egg Drop.” The other two stories are more comic and less resonant. Phil (Ty Burrell) is now a partner in his own real estate firm and he’s putting on his first major promotion; a major seminar. Enlisting the help of Haley (Sarah Hyland) and Gloria (Sophia Vergara), Phil has planned a fast paced multimedia presentation; including confetti cannon. Of course, the seminar is a debacle as Gloria and Haley fail to show up on time and Phil ends up running everything himself from his introduction, to his closing question to his banner and that blasted confetti canon. The resolution of the story finds Phil bonding as family with Gloria in a way she understands; anger. Gloria’s family is hot-blooded and she’s often criticized her new family for repressing such emotion. When Phil finally explodes at her she feels as if she’s really part of the family. Finally, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) are trying to adopt a baby but first they must endure a clueless young pregnant girl named Lindsey (Zoe Jarman, Huge) who pushes every one of Mitchell’s buttons. Watching Mitchell hold back from insulting Lindsey is like watching a man trapped in a burning building try to endure the heat of a flame. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is wonderful at comic fuming. Once Mitchell is back on his best behavior it’s Cam’s turn to get upset. Lindsey wants her baby to grow up in a musical environment; the baby daddy is a musician. So, she asks Mitchell and Cam to perform a song. When she prefers Mitchell’s singing on “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” over Cam’s his facade of calm begins to crack until he’s accidentally crooning a tune that convinces Lindsey that she should keep her baby. Random notes:

• I enjoyed the runner about Haley being unwilling to give up her egg drop design secret. It was a small but funny showcase for the oft-underutilized Ariel Winter.
• No big name guest stars this week unless you count Huge actress Zoe Jarman. This left plenty of room for the main cast which is always a good thing.
• Best joke of the night was undoubtedly Cam and Mitchell’s literal song and dance act for Lindsey. It wasn’t a great version of the Elton John–Kiki Dee disco classic but the set up and payoff were quite funny.
• I also loved Phil’s slow burning realization that his seminar is so thorough that attendees may not need a realtor afterward. Ty Burrell is wonderful at arriving at comic conclusions at just the right moment; brilliant timing and facial cues.

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Benjamin Bratt is a great addition to any cast and ing Modern Family for “Lifetime Supply,” Bratt proved to be the MVP of a solid if not spectacular outing for Modern Family. Bratt took a break from his smoldering performance on ABC’s Private Practice for a little cross-network synergy playing Manny’s bio-dad, Javier. Javier is part con-artist and all charmer as he drops in on Jay (Ed O’Neill), Gloria (Sophia Vergara) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) just In time for Manny’s birthday. Jay and Manny were planning to go golfing but Javier ropes them into going to the horse track where Javier has a system for winning big. Every TV gambler has a system but Javier’s system is perfectly suited not only to win but to cause Jay endless irritation. While Jay follows the racing form Javier convinces Manny that he can sense which horse is going to win by listening to them and looking them in the eye. Naturally, Javier wins big and Jay is left flabbergasted by his continued failures culminating in a dumb luck win that gets overturned. The subtext here is thick and eventually becomes text when Jay finally levels with us and tells us that while Manny isn’t really his son with Javier never around Jay feels like Manny’s real father. Seeing Javier, spending time with him and Manny, serves to remind Jay that he’s not Manny’s dad and it’s a realism that is sadder than Jay lets on. This week’s runner story, the one that coalesces all three tracks of story into one, finds Phil (Ty Burrell) getting bad news from his doctor; or so he thinks. On a routine doctor visit Phil’s doctor tells him he needs further tests and promises a call with the results. When Phil misses the doctor’s call the following morning he begins to panic. This sounds pretty basic until you add on the layers of loopy that are the bread and butter of Modern Family. On the same day that Phil misses a call from his doctor he also runs out of what was supposed to be a ‘lifetime’ supply of razors that he won on a game show; “Smarty Pants.” Naturally, Phil is convinced that the end of a lifetime supply is a sign that his life may be ending. Gloria only adds to Phil’s superstition with her random dream about a mouse and a staircase; the idea of which is funnier than any explanation I might attempt. A mouse also has a role in Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam’s (Eric Stonestreet) story this week. When Mitchell wins an award for his work in environmental law and places the award on the mantel, it inspires Cam to pull out one of his old fishing trophies to also place on the mantel. This leads to an escalating feud over the size of the trophies and Cam’s rather large collection of trophies. I loved the way this story was tied up. As Mitchell is considering ways to further the feud he has a conversation with Alex (Ariel Winter) that reminds him, by chance, that he’s acting like a 14 year old girl. Unfortunately, when Mitchell tries to mend fences with Cam by displaying his many trophies he uncovers a mouse and accidentally destroys Cam’s trophies in the process of freaking out. Phil’s story plays out with the whole family on hand for the news. The fact that the doctor was calling on a Saturday has them convinced that it must be bad news. Instead, the doctor is calling about a real estate listing; and Phil’s tests came back normal. Random notes:

• As Phil is getting a colon cancer test his natural, perfectly Phil Dunphy response to the rubber glove is:
• “Dim the lights, crank up the Norah Jones and let’s get this over with.”
• Benjamin Bratt’s Javier set Jay up for the best insult of the night…
• Javier: “I feel that in a past life I was a horse.”……..Jay: “Or part of a horse.”
• Bratt settled perfectly into the rhythms of the Modern Family cast. His relaxed charm mixed with the smarm of a deadbeat dad con-man is the perfect irritant for Jay and the two bounce off each other with comic precision.
• As Gloria is trying to help Haley (Sarah Hyland) with her Spanish homework Haley’s exasperation offered this gem…
• “Why do I need to learn Spanish? I live in California; it’s not like I’ll ever need it.”
• Cam’s Missouri background is a bottomless well of comic gold. I cannot wait to find out what other events he’s won awards for. His fishing trophy alone produced terrific comedy.
• This was a very Claire-lite episode. With a cast the size of Modern Family cast, with a guest star on top, it must be hard to give everyone equal time. This week it was Julie Bowen who made room for Benjamin Bratt and a brief appearance by Luke’s (Nolan Gould) old friend Walt; played by the literally old Phillip Baker Hall.

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“Dreamer’s versus Pritchett’s”

Phil (Ty Burrell), Cam (Eric Stonestreet), Manny (Rico Rodriguez) and Gloria (Sophia Vergara) are creative souls who thrive on dreaming of bigger and better things. Jay (Ed O’Neill), Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Claire (Julie Bowen) are realists who find flaw in most things but they mean well. The Modern Family episode “Punkin Chunkin” explores why these two sides need each other and how, in the end, no one is just a dreamer and no one is just a realist. For year’s Cam has told a story about ‘Punkin Chunkin’ that Mitchell is convinced isn’t true. As Cam tells it, with the dramatic fervor of Nicholas Sparks meets Ernest Hemingway, he and friends that Mitchell has never met, once loaded a pumpkin into a sling and shot it across a football field, over the goal posts and landed it through the sunroof of a car. Claire and Phil have a visitor. Kenneth (Josh Gad) is a creepy kid who used to live across the street. To be fair, only Claire thought he was creepy; Phil was the kid’s hero and thus Phil loved the kid. Today, Kenneth is a multi-millionaire college drop-out who claims that he owes all of his success to one very ive friend, Phil. This revelation, along with an intuitive question from Lucas (Nolan Gould), sets Phil off to figure out why someone who took his advice is a multi-millionaire and he isn’t. The answer is Claire. After little consideration Phil pegs his troubles to his wife who has shot down each of his potentially lucrative ideas including:

“The Rice Pudding Franchise” (“Works for all chewing abilities”) “Adult Tricycles” (“Just try to fall off”) “The Aspirin Gun” (“Some people have a hard time swallowing”)

The one idea that Phil has maintained over the years, even having created a working prototype, is “The Real Head-Scratcher” TM. It’s a helmet that gently scratches your head for you. Yes, it’s as dopey an idea as it sounds but Phil believes in it, even after it nearly takes a chunk out of his scalp. Manny has created a centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s hideous but Gloria doesn’t want to tell him. Jay, on the other hand, feels that a little helpful criticism is part of growing up. This subplot isn’t nearly as funny as the other two plots which is likely why it was the most truncated of the three main storylines. The Jay-Gloria debate over Manny’s centerpiece was likely the story that lost the most time to Alex and Haley’s completely unnecessary D-story about putting a dent in Claire’s car. I can’t think of one good reason this plot even exists aside from filler and a wont to get Ariel Winter and Sarah Hyland some screen-time. The three main plots come together at Thanksgiving when Mitchell and Cam’s fight spills over into a challenge: Cam is to chunk a punkin’ across the local High School football field. This is where Modern Family is able to things in a story that other shows struggle with. After creating stories that draw on often broad themes, like Phil’s wacky business ideas, Modern Family has the capability to come back around and deliver honest sentimentality. The closing moments of “Punkin Chunkin” in which the realists finally come around to the side of the dreamers and in the fun of chunkin punkins was well-earned. One of the great things about Modern Family is how unforced the stories are and “Punkin Chunkin” is a great example of how the show moves deftly from broad farce to honest, heartwarming, sweetness. Random notes: Josh Gad’s Kenneth had no arc. He was introduced, he inspired Phil’s story and then he disappeared without resolution. I understand that Kenneth is going to be brought back in the future but this was a rare moment of clumsiness on the part of the usually cleverly careful Modern Family writers. How many takes do you think he and Lucas did on their commercial for “The Real Head-Scratcher” TM? I imagine Phil wanting multiple takes for some reason. In the Alex and Haley story, I did enjoy the bit of physical comedy employed by Haley to keep Claire from seeing the dent in the van. It was a little thing and not so funny that it justified this unnecessary subplot but it was amusing. Sorry, the video is currently unavailable. 

“After the Fire” is yet another mix and match episode of Modern Family in which typical pairings are putting aside in favor of unusual groupings of our favorite characters. Thus, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) heads off with Alex (Ariel Winter) and Haley (Sarah Hyland) while Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is teamed with Claire (Julie Bowen) and Gloria (Sophia Vergara) and, best of all, Jay (Ed O’Neill) and Phil (Ty Burrell) share the love together. Claire and Phil’s neighbors have been forced out of their home after a fire. So, the entire Dunphy clan rallies to help out with Claire organizing a charity to gather clothing and other needed items and Phil uses his real estate connections helping to find the neighbors a place to stay. As I said however, this is a whole family effort which means Jay, Gloria, Mitchell and Cam are all on hand to help pack and load the moving truck. The story shifts into gear when Jay throws his back out lifting a box. This means Cam will have to put his farm boy skills to use driving the big truck while Jay is forced to allow Phil to give him a back massage; including scented candles, massage oil and relaxing music. Finally, Claire, Mitchell and Gloria are left to do the packing and Claire is forced to a horrifying conclusion. The brilliance of “After the Fire” is in the slight twists on convention. When Cam is forced to take Alex and Haley with him in the van he’s determined to prove that a gay man can drive a big truck. What he fails to realize is that the girls don’t distrust his truck driving because he’s gay but because he’s Cam. Phil, it turns out, does have magic fingers. His ability to deliver a massage is not overstated and even Jay is forced to it it. Even better however, is Jay accidentally enjoying his massage so much that he tells Phil that he loves him. Fans, of course, are aware that Phil has sought Jay’s love and approval for so long that even the tiniest compliment lingers and festers into a constant irritation for Jay, to the point that he can only be even more withholding. That Phil missed the ‘I love you’ was a terrific twist that allowed Jay and Phil to maintain the balance of their relationship and set up an even better, and truer, moment when Jay gives Phil advice about breaking out and founding his own real estate company. Modern Family balances comedy with honest pathos like no other show on TV. Claire’s revelation in “After the Fire” is remarkable. When she makes a snarky comment behind Gloria’s back, Claire is hurt when Mitchell doesn’t laugh and even goes on to defend Gloria. When Claire finds out that her little brother has been spending time with their step-mother her wound is deepened. Claire’s mistake comes in believing that Mitchell is projecting his feelings for their absent mother onto Gloria. The reality is that it’s Claire who is projecting onto Gloria, a revelation that the wonderful Julie Bowen arrives at in a wonderfully funny one-sided conversation with her daddy. Random notes:

• I know I failed to spend any time in this review on Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny’s (Rico Rodriguez) subplot but there wasn’t much their beyond the Alex inspired punch line. Alex Dunphy as goddess of the nerd herd is a terrific reveal and the way she used it to stick it to Haley was a great moment for Ariel Winter.
• Funniest line of “After the Fire” goes to Gloria: “In my country it’s considered very, very bad luck when your house burns down.”
• Cam is not allowed to take Ambien because he sleep-clowns. This somehow could only work on Modern Family.

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The difference between an average sitcom and a great sitcom is demonstrated when the characters on a great sitcom have you laughing without even trying. Modern Family is a great sitcom. We know this because “Treehouse” has you laughing from the moment Phil (Ty Burrell) mentions that he is building a treehouse. Fans of the show know that the treehouse will be a debacle but we can’t wait to see how it turns out. Phil’s story isn’t even front and center in “Treehouse.” Cam (Eric Stonestreet) is the star of this episode. When he decides that he could have been a ladies man if he weren’t gay, he and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) make a wager in which Cam is challenged to get a woman’s phone number. Loser has to do laundry for a month.

Mitchell: “Seriously? You got her number? ” Cam: “Sure did and all my shirts get ironed and the seams should appear straight, just like their owner.”

The woman is played by the brilliant Leslie Mann and she and Cam make a fabulous pair. Better still is Cam’s newfound confidence which has him convinced that the poor girl is waiting by her phone waiting for him to call. Of course, she’s aware that Cam is gay, all she really wanted was a gay best friend, but thankfully she’s a good sport about it, helping Cam convince Mitchell that she had fallen for him. Gloria (Sophia Vergara) is frustrated with Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) unwillingness to take her places; especially after a visit from friends, Chazz Palminteri and Jennifer Tilly, who talk endlessly of their nights on the town including salsa dancing. Jay’s storyline played out pretty well as expected, with Jay eventually coming around and ing Gloria for a dance. That said, Manny (Rico Rodriguez) attempting to teach Jay to dance with the aid of a video of a farmer teaching a pig to dance was terrific. Elsewhere, Haley (Sarah Hyland) is trying to write her college essay but finds herself lacking in the kind of life altering obstacles that impress college entrance committees. So, Claire (Julie Bowen) sets out to give her an obstacle to .

Haley: “Didn’t my third grade teacher say I had A.D.D?” Claire: “No honey, she said you couldn’t A.D.D because she also knew you couldn’t S.P.E.L.L”

I really didn’t think Claire was going to leave Haley to walk home from wherever she dropped her off. I was convinced that she had some elaborate plan to give Haley a story to tell. The twist was beautiful, as was Haley and Claire’s argument when Haley finally made it home. It was really fun to see Claire pull one over on the kids for once. Random notes:

• Was I the only one who needed Wikipedia to get Cam’s “Gift of the Vagi” joke? I’m not embarrassed that I had to look it up; finding out why the joke was so funny was worth it.
• Nice Modern Family debut for Kevin Hart. The popular comic debuted late in ‘Treehouse’ after spotting Phil in the tree continuing to work on the treehouse. I especially loved the toss-off line “Honey, the dude in the tree is cool.”
• There is some rich territory to explore in the fact that the Dunphy’s have lived next door to Hart and his wife for eight years without speaking to them. As a suburbanite, only vaguely aware, and mostly suspicious of my neighbors, I can relate to this story.
• How about the seamless use of guest stars on Modern Family. Chazz Palminteri, Jennifer Tilly and Kevin Hart each settled right in and got the vibe of the show right away and the show never missed a beat. Another mark of a great series.

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Go Bullfrogs! Dogs, Bulldogs! On this week’s Modern Family, Haley (Sarah Hyland) is visiting Phil’s (Ty Burrell) alma mater for her first college and naturally, Phil is taking the opportunity to relive his college experience, cheerleading, darts at the local hangout and music on the quad from “Tenors Anyone.” With Phil off with Haley and both Lucas (Nolan Gould) and Alex (Ariel Winter) at sleepovers, Claire (Julie Bowen) is going to enjoy a night on the town with Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), but first she has to lie her way out of spending the evening at Lucas’s sleepover with a group of fellow moms. With that out of the way, though almost guaranteed to come back around as all lies on Modern Family do, Claire heads off for a night what she thinks will be stereotypical gay guy fun, nightclubs, boys in cages and lots of drinks. For their part, all Cam and Mitchell want are takeout pot pies, a bottle of wine and their couch. Pushed by Claire they head out to a boutique opening but they’re ready to head home by 9:30. Claire, on the other hand, is having way too good a time away from her family to go home early. So, Claire enlists Julian (Gilles Marini) to be her gay best friend for the night. No points for guessing ahead that Julian isn’t actually gay. Manny (Rico Rodriguez) has a crush on a girl at school and it’s caused him to become secretive, much to Gloria’s (Sophia Vergara) dismay. Manny has received a package in the mail but he refuses to tell his mom what’s in it. Jay tries to get Gloria to let Manny be, intimating that Manny may be… learning about himself and that they should give him some privacy. Jay has an ulterior motive in letting Manny alone though, he has become enthralled with a Colombian soap opera that he only started watching because of Gloria but now he can’t get enough of it, even if he doesn’t understand a word of what’s said. Last week Cam and Mitchell were involved in a hit and run accident, this week saw more car trouble for our favorite adorable couple. After leaving Claire at the Boutique opening, Mitchell and Cam are accidentally given the wrong car by the valet. Just as the hit and run didn’t really lead to anything, the wrong car incident also offered little of anything of note for Cam and Mitchell. Yes, many things in the car forced Cam and Mitchell to consider whether they were in a rut, staying home on the couch to often but, the coda to the whole incident, a bizarre and confusing encounter with the wife of the owner of this car, only served to reinforce for both how happy they are not going out anymore. Phil and Haley had the best ending this week. After Phil humiliates Haley at a frat party, father and daughter share a rare moment of honesty and warmth. Haley is one of the most realistic teenagers on television for the way she tries to break from what she believes is her parents’ inherent lameness. Yet, like most normal teenagers, Haley also has that longing to still be a little kid and feel that her parents will always love and protect her. Phil’s earnest confession of his fears about not being able to protect Haley anymore and Haley’s bonding moment, lunch tray racing with dad, were two perfect moments, not laugh out loud funny, but joyous in their way. Manny’s conclusion was the unusual one. While Jay becomes so obsessed with his Colombian soap opera that he calls the maid to get a translation of what happened, Gloria can finally take no more of not knowing what Manny is doing. Just as Jay is about to convince her to leave Manny alone, Manny needs some help. Manny bought a device on the internet that he hoped would help him get taller and now he’s stuck hanging upside down in his closet. Yes, Modern Family lifted a classic Brady Bunch story, Bobby hanging from a bar in his closet hoping to stretch himself, but the masturbation implication gave the plot just the edge it needed to make the plot an awkwardly funny homage. If I have a complaint about this week’s show, titled “Go Bullfrogs,” I wish the reveal of Julian not being gay had been funnier. Sure, Claire was humiliated, in classically Modern Family fashion, in front of people she was trying to avoid, but the scene just wasn’t as funny as I wish it had been. Random notes from “Go Bullfrogs”

• No real stand out one-liners from this week’s Modern Family, a first for this season.
• Jay’s obsession with the Colombian soap opera wasn’t much of a subplot but Ed O’Neill’s selling of Jay’s denial in enjoying the “Fire & Ice,” or “Big Hair and Yelling” as Jay calls it, was priceless.

Finally, quick question: When did hats come back?

Even an average Modern Family is likely the funniest show on TV in any given week. The ABC comedy is on such a creative high at the moment that individual plot strands in an episode can falter and the episode still comes off brilliant because the other pieces are so strong. This week’s episode, “Hit and Run” had two so-so plots, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) trip to the movies and fender bender and the beginning of Claire’s (Julie Bowen) run for town council. Though neither is a standout plot on Modern Family, on most other sitcoms, these two plots would be an improvement. Claire still wants a stop sign on the intersection that began the plot of last week’s episode. Encountering Dwayne Bailey (David Cross) on the street she’s quick to confront him about the issue while Phil (Ty Burrell) is quick to accept campaign buttons, Dwayne is running for town council.

“Dwayne Bailey: Councilman, Citizen, Puggle Breeder”

Inspired by her dislike for Dwayne, Claire considers running for town council herself but only if Phil can show that he can handle being alone with the kids every afternoon. Phil encouraging Claire to run by offering to push her off the cliff so she could fly was brilliant but even better was Phil’s explanation about being attracted to powerful women.

“I’ll it it; I’m turned on by powerful women. Michelle Obama, Oprah, Condoleeza Rice, Serena…Williams…wait a minute.”

Haley (Sarah Hyland) is asking her siblings if she can borrow 900 dollars but she won’t say why she needs it. Alex (Ariel Winter) is quick with a no, Lucas (Nolan Gould) however, would help her out but he claims that he is not exactly ‘liquid’ at the moment. This turns out to be a literal statement from Lucas who has saved over 1200 dollars but has frozen the money in a block of ice after hearing about a rich guy with ‘frozen assets.’ Gloria (Sophia Vergara) is upset because the men in her life won’t let her help them. Jay (Ed O’Neill) is irritated by his new boss (Samm Levine, Freaks and Geeks), the entitled son of his former boss. Rather than talk to Gloria about his troubles, Jay blows her off and suffers in silence. Manny (Rico Rodriguez) is irritated with his school which he feels is antiquated. Rather than let his mom help him however, he also chooses to suffer in silence though not before asking to be home schooled.

“Really Manny, you want me to learn you English?”

Vergara was by far the MVP of “Hit and Run.” Early on she caught us off guard when Jay complained that businessmen in his day never kept people waiting and out of nowhere Gloria hit Jay with “Yeah and soda was a nickel.” Gloria then went on to help inspire Claire to run for town council and when Jay finally let her help him at work it led to a genius closing joke that worked on multiple levels. Sophia Vergara’s beauty and thick accent lead critics and audiences to underestimate her at every turn. “Hit and Run” offered sly, Meta comments on both and gave Vergara the chance to show everyone that she’s in on the joke more than we give her credit for. Yes, Claire is running for town council but it didn’t look like it was going to happen after Phil’s one afternoon of being in charge of the kids. In the space of a few hours, Phil drugged Alex, gave Lucas a black eye and let Haley disappear long enough to throw away 900 dollars on fake IDs for her and her friends only to get ripped off. The fake ID plot tied into Mitch and Cam’s plot this week which found them confronting Cam’s charge forward approach to confrontation and Mitchell’s calm, wait and see approach. First Cam confronts a man who brought his kids to a violent movie, though in reality, it was The Muppet Movie, Mitch and Cam had been sitting in the wrong theater. Later, Cam and Mitchell get rear-ended and the driver of the car that hit them drove away. Cam wants Mitchell to get in the car and chase the guy down while Mitchell calmly calls police. Cam’s attempt to chase down the hit and run driver on foot created one of the more questionable gay jokes the show has ever offered, still funny, but a little questionable. When Haley’s 900 dollar loss is revealed at a family dinner at Jay’s, it’s a chance for Cam to once again be confrontational, while Jay takes the opportunity to confront the young punk who took Haley’s money as another chance to stand up to his young boss and Phil takes it as another chance to prove how responsible he is as a dad. The resolution of this plot was so-so but hearing Phil refer to his fists as “England Dan and John Ford Coley” is one of those priceless Ty Burrell moments. Great comedy minds apparently think alike, the punk who took Haley’s money for the fake ID’s was played by David Neher who was brilliant in the role of Todd on NBC’s Community less than a week ago. Overall, another relatively strong episode for one of television’s funniest shows that only keeps getting funnier.