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Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet has said it was “hurtful” to have his spin-off series rejected by the show’s network.
Stonestreet, 53, rose to fame playing Cam Tucker on the Emmy-winning sitcom, which ran for 11 seasons on ABC from 2009 to 2020.
In an interview with Deadline, the actor recalled how there had been plans to potentially develop a spin-off series that would focus on his character and his husband Mitch (played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson) living in Missouri.
Ultimately, however, the series was not picked up by ABC.
Speaking to the publication, Stonestreet suggested that the network’s decision not to move forward with the spin-off might have been related to the fact that he and Ferguson were thought of “as the old guys”.
He said: “I don’t think it’s potential anymore. They had their chance. Chris Lloyd and a couple of the writers wrote a really great script that spun Jesse and I off in our life in Missouri, and they said, ‘No.’ They just said, ‘We don’t want to do it.’"
Stonestreet continued: “I love my character. I love the show. I love Jesse. We had a great working relationship, we had amazing chemistry.
“I think Jesse and I maybe felt like they thought of us as the old guys, or something like that, that didn’t seem worthy of keeping those characters going. It felt a little hurtful. But people make business decisions.”
The spin-off series would have followed Cam, Mitch, and their adopted daughter Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) after they had moved from California to a farm in Missouri where Cam is from.
“I think it would have been a slam dunk,” Stonestreet said of the idea. “I don’t think it would have not been successful. Because you had one of the creators – who had really taken such great care of making sure that show was great for so long – willing to do it.”
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Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd had been on board as a writer. Lloyd created the show with Steven Levitan.
“We had the right people in place,” said Stonestreet. “It would have been great. If ABC would have said ‘Let’s do it,’ I think we’d be on right now.”
Although the Missouri-based spin-off series is now likely never to happen, fans are hoping for a potential reunion episode in the near future.
“I wish we’d do a Christmas special,” Stonestreet said. He is not the only cast-member to have spoken about the possibility of a special.
Ed O’Neill, who played Jay Pritchett in the series, previously said that he is “open” to the idea.
“I like everybody involved, so I wouldn’t be the guy who [says no if everyone else wants to]. I wouldn’t do that,” he said.
Across its 11 seasons, Modern Family won 22 Emmy awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series five years in a row from 2010 to 2014.
The series also won Outstanding Casting thanks to its brilliant ensemble cast, which also featured Julie Bowen, Ty Burrel, and Sofia Vegara.
