The 20 best episodes of “Modern Family”, ranked

Entertainment Weekly looks back on ABC's beloved sitcom 15 years after its premiere.

Modern Family ended its 11-season run in 2020, but our fond memories of the Dunphys, Pritchetts, and Tucker-Pritchetts live on. Whether you were there from Lily’s first Lion King lift or are just discovering the joys of Fizbo the Clown, now is the perfect time to get cozy with one of the greatest sitcom families in television history.

Here are Entertainment Weekly’s picks for the 20 best Modern Family episodes, ranked.

20. “White Christmas” (season 7, episode 9)

After years of hot, loud Christmases in Columbia full of arguments, betrayal, and schemes, all Gloria (Sofía Vergara) wants is a “white people Christmas.” So the family packs up for a mountain cabin only to discover it’s very hot, there are at least a half dozen schemes and betrayals afoot, and everyone ends up yelling at one another. Also, Andrea Martin guest stars as the ghost of Alex’s (Ariel Winter) Christmas future.

Luckily, the holiday works its magic and all beef is squashed just in time for snow to fall — no, wait, that’s not snow. It’s a forest fire. Merry Christmas!

Best Phil sight gag: his look of disappointment when Jay doesn’t want to rent an RV and go to all the MLB parks with him.

19. “The Wedding Parts 1 & 2” (season 5, episodes 23 and 24)

Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) are finally getting married in a two-parter episode, so you know things are going to go very wrong before they get very adorable. The sheer number of things that go wrong is impressive, though, including wildfires at the first venue; the officiant going into labor; Cam’s parents breaking up after 45 years of marriage; and the second venue being reclaimed by a runaway bride, not to mention Jay and Mitchell being on the outs over Jay’s (Ed O’Neill) lack of enthusiasm for a gay wedding.

But then the adorable resolutions come — notably Jay saving the day by hosting at his golf club and walking his son proudly down the aisle, inspiring Cam’s parents to do the same. As Phil (Ty Burrell) says, the best marriages contain just a little bit of magic, and this one is no exception.

Best Phil sight gag: practicing his officiating complete with confetti sparklers shooting from each sleeve.

18. “Unplugged” (season 2, episode 5)

When Claire (Julie Bowen) has had enough of the family’s screen addiction, the Dunphys make a bet to see who can go the longest without tech. Haley (Sarah Hyland) goes all out, including carving a phone out of soap, leading to an impressed Phil exclaiming “Holy crap, we’ve been Shawshanked.”

The less said about Mitchell and Cam’s awkward preschool interview the better, but Jay investigating whether or not Gloria literally murdered the neighbor’s dog is one of the best bits in Modern Family history, if only because even after watching the episode, it’s still not 100% clear if she’s guilty.

Best Phil sight gag: turning a nod into a negative shake of the head to support Claire’s parenting decisions in real-time.

17. “Strangers in the Night” (season 6, episode 9)

Cam and Mitchell are the proud owners of a brand new all-white designer couch, which they can barely enjoy before Mitchell’s coworker, soon-to-be-divorcee Brenda, needs to spend the night. Kristen Johnston plays the messy, chocolate ice-cream-eating, hyper sweat-gland-having, night cream-wearing threat to the sofa with a full-bodied intensity only matched by the red wine she keeps waving around.

Meanwhile, Jay forces Gloria to attend a "barkmitzvah" with his friends from the dog park, complete with a gravy fountain, and Alex is getting the full “Sure, Jan” treatment from Phil and Claire about her mysterious boyfriend (who is not named George Glass, thankfully).

Best Phil sight gag: holding up a handful of leaves in dismay when Alex tells her parents to leave.

16. “Sex, Lies, & Kickball” (season 9, episode 4)

This episode features two of Modern Family’s best guest stars. Chazz Palminteri is Shorty, Jay’s best friend who has mysteriously returned after four years in Costa Rica just in time for Gloria to make him her replacement Manny (Rico Rodriguez), who’s now at college. Nathan Lane returns as Pepper, best frenemy of Mitch and Cam, along with his and Renaldo’s adopted son Lionel.

Of course, Mitch and Cam can’t help meddling with their parenting, leading to a blunt conversation that Pepper does not want to have (“I feel the sickening threat of brutal honesty, and I’m wildly uncomfortable!”). All that, plus a “passion paint kit” sets off a battle between Alex and Claire, artistically speaking.

Best Phil sight gag: squirming at the touch of cold passion paint.

15. “Queer Eyes, Full Hearts” (season 6, episode 7)

Cam goes full Friday Night Lights mode when a local news anchor leans into the “gay high school football coach” human interest story. Despite working on a trial involving an evil corporation underpaying unhoused employees, Mitchell is sidelined by the self-described “Belle of the (foot)ball.”

Meanwhile, Andy and Haley coach each other for job interviews, but when a mean receptionist refuses to let Haley in for her appointment, she merely replies “‘Kay!” and leaves to go sob in her car, yell at herself (“WHO SAYS ‘KAY?!), and then pump herself up to march back in and get the job. Forget Texas — Haley forever!

Best Phil sight gag: trying for a cool exit and walking backwards into a coat rack.

14. “Pilot” (season 1, episode 1)

What’s remarkable about watching this pilot 15 years later is how fully realized every character was from the jump. There’s Manny staring wistfully at a girl instead of playing soccer; Gloria threatening another mom; Jay being mistaken for Gloria’s dad; Mitchell giving a stranger an impromptu anti-hate lecture; Cam wanting to make friends with his fellow plane passengers; Haley needling her mother over Dylan; Claire freaking out over Dylan; Phil explaining he’s a cool dad who texts; Alex being the smartest in the room; and Luke (Nolan Gould) getting his head stuck in the stair rail. Again. All of this in the first five minutes! It’s the perfect start to a legendary show.

Best Phil sight gag: performing High School Musical in a Wildcats letterman jacket.

13. “The Party” (season 7, episode 8)

All you really need to know about this episode is that Phil and Mitchell get stoned. Meanwhile on babysitting duty, Manny and Luke bribe Lily with soda so they can throw a party. Everything is fine until Manny’s pipe sets off the smoke alarm, bringing Claire and Gloria back from the spa and Mitchell and Phil back from their all-male showing of the Defenders of Infinity movie.

It’s great, particularly Claire playing a bad cop trying to get the boys to admit they threw a party, but the important thing to remember is that Phil and Mitchell spend most of the episode higher than kites.

Best Phil sight gag: wearing a Torf the Ancient costume.

12. “My Funky Valentine” (season 1, episode 15)

This is a celebration of love, poetry, and escalator safety. One of the great facets of Modern Family is its ability to make well-worn sitcom tropes uniquely hilarious — and Phil and Claire’s romantic hotel roleplay as Clive Bixby and Julianna is a work of slapstick art.

After a couple of too-truthful attempts, Clive gets his seduction game going and Julianna returns from the bathroom only wearing a trench coat… which gets caught in the escalator on the way to the hotel room. From there, things only get more awkward as a virtual Valentine’s Day parade of people they know from work and their kids’ schools appear. And that’s all before Jay and Gloria arrive. It’s a perfectly composed love letter to comedy.

Best Phil sight gag: his silent and horrified reaction to the taste of a martini.

11. “Manny Get Your Gun” (season 2, episode 8)

Age is just a number, but childishness can last forever. On his birthday, Manny has a midlife crisis about 40 years too early and tries to embrace his fleeting childhood. (It might have been more effective if he wasn’t wearing a three-piece suit). Meanwhile, every adult leans into their most juvenile behavior while trying to make it to the restaurant in time for the birthday dinner.

This is also the infamous episode where Mitchell joins a flash mob (the absolute grip flash mobs had on us for about five years needs to be studied in a laboratory!), but the most memorable moment is Cameron referring to a mall security guard as “Constable.”

Best Phil sight gag: wearing a not-racist-in-context “If you ain’t white, you ain’t right” t-shirt.

10. “Legacy” (season 11, episode 11)

The late, great Fred Willard received two Emmy nominations for his turn as Phil’s loveable, goofy dad on Modern Family — and rightly so. In this last appearance, Phil flies to Florida and spends a very Dunphy day with his parenting role model, eating pancakes, hitchhiking, and learning family lore.

There are other sweet stories in this episode, including Mitchell and Claire discovering new information about Jay, and little Joe becoming a business tycoon, but what sticks is Phil giving his father a haircut and bonding one last time with the original Dunphy Dad.

Best Phil sight gag: glancing at the camera when he finds out his mom loved watching hot dog eating contests.

9. “Las Vegas” (season 5, episode 18)

The most important part of this Modern Family episode is the reveal that Barkley the dog butler has a counterpart: the French maid dog, Rebarka. Everything else is just icing on the Vegas seafood buffet.

An adults-only trip (They didn’t leave Haley in charge of the kids, right? Joe’s still a baby!) leads to adults-only hijinks. Mitchell’s ex thinks a threesome is on the table; Claire can barely stand to be away from the craps table; Jay won’t table a potential upgrade; and Phil’s naughty-looking magician’s accessories leave Leslie Higgins, discrete human butler, thinking he’s got something going under the table. It’s a jackpot of an episode.

Best Phil sight gag: his entire magic act. Metamorphosis!

8. “The Incident” (season 1, episode 4)

In her first appearance as Jay’s ex-wife, Shelley Long is a delightfully destructive emotional wrecking ball. She’s in town to apologize for “the incident,” code for having a public meltdown at Jay and Gloria’s wedding (including a speech mocking Gloria as a gold digger that ends with her being physically carried out), but she can’t quite accept Gloria’s forgiveness.

Her arrival also explains a lot about Claire’s perfectionism and Mitchell’s people-pleasing, as DeDe methodically pushes her children’s buttons with enviable skill. We also get Dylan’s surefire hit number “Do You,” an earworm that ruins any chance of Haley getting permission to go to an overnight concert.

Best Phil sight gag: absolutely melting at Dylan’s heartfelt monologue about family.

7. “Halloween” (season 2, episode 6)

Claire’s favorite holiday is back, and most of her family is trying to ruin it, bringing their baggage rather than their A-game to her perfectly constructed haunted house. Cameron is spooked (heh) by childhood Halloween trauma; Mitchell is caught in costume at an extremely no-fun office; Gloria has had enough of Jay making fun of her accent and slightly incorrect aphorisms (we’re on her side, the word should be vo-lump-tuous!); and Phil is overcorrecting trying to avoid becoming the divorcé next door. It’s a frighteningly gag-filled episode culminating in Claire’s favorite sound: children screaming in fear.

Best Phil sight gag: the jump scare every time he passes his own screaming pop-up skeleton.

6. “Fulgencio” (season 4, episode 13)

Stephanie Beatriz and Elizabeth Peña are great as Gloria’s neglected sister and pushy mother (and Jay exclaiming “Son of a bitch, I’m Phil!” is an all-time great line), but this Modern Family episode is mainly remembered for the Godfather spoof no one can refuse.

When Phil’s nice-guy strategy fails to fix his or the kids' various problems, the literal godfather to baby Fulgencio Joseph Pritchett renounces the devil in church while a cinematic stream of consequences is unleashed on various enemies. Don’t ask him about his business, Claire. You don’t want to know…

Best Phil sight gag: his “I do renounce him” face.

5. “Family Portrait” (season 1, episode 24)

The season 1 finale is fondly remembered for its titular family portrait, but that’s just the last scene of a hilarious Modern Family episode complete with a Kobe Bryant cameo and a John Woo tribute where Mitchell destroys his house trying to kill a pigeon.

Claire, already angsting for her future empty nest, is determined to get a wholesome family picture — despite a broken stair step and Luke’s inability to keep an all-white outfit clean. Meanwhile, Phil spirals after being caught on the Laker kiss cam with Gloria. All of that, plus the mud fight, make a perfect capper to a stellar first season.

Best Phil sight gag: the equal amounts of joy and horror on his stunned face after Gloria kisses him.

4. “Express Christmas” (season 3, episode 10)

After realizing they can’t be together for the holiday, the family has just four hours to turn Dec. 16 into Christmas. Their chore division gives us less-typical character pairings with high payoffs: Claire and Haley super-shopping at Target; Cameron and Jay’s gift-wrapping rolling cart; Mitchell and Alex at the tree lot; Phil and Manny meeting a Craigslist seller; and Luke finally getting Gloria to understand that he can’t tell when she’s saying “look” versus his name.

In the end, the plan does not come together, but the family manages anyway, and a classic Christmas episode is born.

Best Phil sight gag: suffering from the aftershocks of getting tased by Manny, crumpling an expensive baseball card from mint condition… to near mint condition… to fair condition… to garbage.

3. “The Day We Almost Died” (season 6, episode 11)

An almost-collision inspires the fam to make some changes. Claire stops sweating the small stuff; Phil teaches Cameron to take care of business; Haley appreciates Alex; Alex gets a makeover (and possibly an infected upper lip); Manny gains and then conquers a fear of driving; and Luke tackles his bucket list.

Every mini-adventure is neatly aligned with one another, and even the predictably sweet ending is saved from becoming too saccharine by a callback to the many, many shades of white available for a dryer.

Best Phil sight gag: wearing a tank top and dousing himself with water while Cameron is overcome with confusing lust.

2. “Connection Lost” (season 6, episode 16)

Long before John Cho went Searching, Modern Family framed an entire episode through various screens. Claire, stuck at O’Hare on the way home from a client meeting, uses various Apple applications to figure out if Haley has run away to elope with Dylan (Reid Ewing).

With family members texting, emailing, Facetiming, and calling each other throughout like a digital British farce, the humor elevates what could have been a gimmick into a loving spoof of how all these devices can feed into parental paranoia.

Best Phil sight gag: weeping in response to overhearing Jay say nice things about him.

1. “Caught in the Act” (season 2, episode 13)

The Dunphy kids get permanently scarred in this tale of unlocked doors, parental anniversary sex, and a surprise breakfast-in-bed tray launching into the air amid screams of horror. While Phil and Claire panic, the kids flee the house in disgust before realizing that their parents still being in love isn’t the worst thing… even if they didn’t need visual proof.

In the end, they smile and nod their way through an awkward family discussion (“You talked to us on our level but without being condescending!”) before gifting them the perfect anniversary present: a new deadbolt for their bedroom.

Best Phil sight gag: Phil happily eating his anniversary English muffin off the floor.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.