15 TV shows that need to end already

MODERN FAMILY – “Clash of Swords” – Mitchell sneaks out to “Hero-Con” with fanboy Phil, dressed as their favorite characters from the show “Clash of Swords.” It’s great until Phil commits the ultimate fan faux pas. In a clash of another kind, Gloria’s dinosaur party for Joe is ruined when her nemesis, Dr. Donna Duncan (Jane Krakowski), upstages her with a far bigger and better party right next door, on the season finale of “Modern Family,” WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Tony Rivetti)

SOFIA VERGARA

Modern Family (ABC)

We almost hate to say it, but Modern Family has run its course.

For the last nine years, we have enjoyed watching the misadventures of the Dunphy and Pritchett families. Modern Family came along at an important time, when diversity on television wasn’t as much of a priority to networks, and LGBTQ representation in the media was practically non-existent.

Then came along the quirky family sitcom about a family featuring a white gay couple, Mitch and Cam, with their adopted Asian daughter, Lily; Mitch’s dad Jay, an older white man married to a younger Latina, Gloria, with a young son, Manny; and Jay’s daughter Claire, her husband Phil, and their three children, Haley, Alex and Luke. Phew, that was a mouthful.

Despite some criticisms for its representation of gay stereotypes and somewhat harmful tropes (the dopey husband vs. the controlling wife, and the fact that the female characters were stay-at-home moms while the men all worked), the show was a smash hit. Throughout its nine-season run, it has received a whopping 21 Primetime Emmy Awards and has even been listed as one of the best written TV shows ever by the Writer’s Guild of America.

We all grew to love the characters over the years, from Gloria’s struggle to fit in with her new, American family, to Cam and Mitch’s journey to adoption and eventually having the legal right to get married. It was fun to watch the younger characters like Luke, Lily and Manny grow up in front of our eyes, and see them move on to bigger things like dating and college. But after almost a decade, the jokes are getting old and the show isn’t so modern anymore.

It’s time to send Modern Family off in a respectful way before we grow to resent it, and tarnish the amazing legacy the show has built.