Season 1

Season 1
Country of Origin	United States
Episodes	24
Original Channel	(USA - ABC Family) (UK - Sky1)
Original Run	September 23, 2009 - May 19, 2010
Premiere	Pilot
Finale	Family Portrait
DVD Release Date	September 21, 2010
Season Chronology
← Previous	"None"
Next →	"Season 2"

Season 1 of Modern Family premiered for the first time on September 23, 2009, with "Pilot" and released its finale "Family Portrait" on May 19, 2010. Season 1 aired Wednesdays 9/8c in the United States and consisted of 24 episodes. The DVD was released on Spetember 21, 2010

Cast and Characters

Main Cast

Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett (24/24) Sofía Vergara as Gloria Pritchett (24/24) Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy (24/24) Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy (24/24) Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett (24/24) Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker (24/24)

Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy (21/24) Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy (21/24) Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy (23/24) Rico Rodriguez II as Manny Delgado (23/24) Ella & Jaden Hiller as Lily Tucker-Pritchett

Recurring Cast

Please add Characters here when they have been in 3 or more episodes.

• Reid Ewing as Dylan (10/24)

Guest Cast

Please add Characters here when they have been in less than 3 episodes.

Edward Norton as Izzy LaFontaine (1/24) Margo Harshman as Jungle Tanya (1/24) Kristen Schaal as Whitney (1/24) Minnie Driver as Valerie (1/24) David Brenner as Himself (1/24) Judy Greer as Denise (1/24) Eric Lange as Coach Stupak (1/24)

Kobe Bryant as Himself (1/24) Fred Willard as Frank Dunphy (2/24) Suzy Nakamura as Dr. Miura (2/24) Shelley Long as DeDe Pritchett (1/24) Elizabeth Banks as Sal (1/24) Benjamin Bratt as Javier Delgado (1/24) Chazz Palminteri as Shorty (1/24)

Episodes

Image	Title	Writers	Director	Airdate	No. in Season	No. in Series
	"Pilot"	Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd	Jason Winer	September 23, 2009	01	01
	Jay's family functions despite the age difference between himself and his second wife, Gloria. Claire's and Phil's try to punish their son and watch over their eldest daughter and her new boyfriend. Mitchell tries to hide the fact that he and his partner Cameron have just adopted a baby daughter in Vietnam from his family: Jay, Claire, Phil and their families.
	"The Bicycle Thief"	Bill Wrubel	Jason Winer	September 30, 2009	02	02
	Jay tries to show his stepson he can be a good father; Phil tries to teach his son a lesson by stealing his bike, but gets in trouble when he discovers he got the wrong bike; and Cameron and Mitchell bring Lily to a play group and try to act straight.
	"Come Fly with Me"	Dan O'Shannon	Reginald Hudlin	October 7, 2009	03	03
	Jay tries to spend some time alone with his model airplane, but Phil ruins it; Alex and Gloria go to a mall and Gloria tries to convince Alex to wear a dress to a wedding; Mitchell goes to Costco for the first time in his life.
	"The Incident"	Steven Levitan	Jason Winer	October 14, 2009	04	04
	Mitchell and Claire's mother visits the family months after she embarrassed Jay and Gloria in front of their family during their wedding. Phil and Claire try to judge whether Haley's boyfriend, Dylan, is acceptable to take her to a concert or not. Mitchell goes to his father's house to tell him that they are inviting his ex-wife to a party, but does not tell Gloria.
	"Coal Digger"	Christopher Lloyd	Jason Winer	October 21, 2009	05	05
	Manny and Luke get into a fight at school. The family gathers at Jay and Gloria's to watch football. Claire and Gloria get into an argument.
	"Run for Your Wife"	Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh	Jason Winer	October 28, 2009	06	06
	It is the first day of school and Jay and Gloria fight about Manny's outfit. While the kids are at school, Claire wants some quiet time, but Phil has other ideas. Mitchell and Cameron freak out about a minor incident with Lily.
	"En Garde"	Danny Zuker	Randall Einhorn	November 4, 2009	07	07
	Manny takes up fencing and he is quite talented. Jay is very proud of Manny, which stirs up resentment in Mitchell. These feelings cause Mitchell to confront Claire about something from their past.
	"Great Expectations"	Joe Lawson	Jason Winer	November 18, 2009	08	08
	It is Claire and Phil's anniversary and Jay is having the grand kids over for the night. Meanwhile, Mitchell and Cameron reunite with an old friend.
	"Fizbo"	Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh	Jason Winer	November 25, 2009	09	09
	When Phil and Claire try to throw a party for Luke, things go wrong and leads to a trip to the emergency room; Cameron decides to dress up as his clown character Fizbo; Manny has a hard time impressing a girl after taking advice from Jay.
	"Undeck the Halls"	Dan O'Shannon	Randall Einhorn	December 9, 2009	10	10
	Claire and Phil threaten to take away Christmas when the kids get in trouble; Cameron and Mitchell take Lily to get her first picture with Santa.
	"Up All Night"	Christopher Lloyd	Michael Spiller	January 6, 2010	11	11
	Manny's father, Javier visits; Phil takes a trip to the hospital. Mitchell and Cameron dispute over a parenting technique.
	"Not in My House"	Caroline Williams	Chris Koch	January 13, 2010	12	12
	Gloria hates Jay's life-sized dog butler statue. Claire freaks out when she thinks Luke has been looking at naughty pictures on the computer, but they were actually sent to Phil. Mitchell gets upset at Cameron for helping other people too much.
	"Fifteen Percent"	Steven Levitan	Jason Winer	January 20, 2010	13	13
	Mitchell convinces Jay that his friend might be gay. Claire tries to learn how to use the TV remote. Manny has a blind date.
	"Moon Landing"	Bill Wrubel	Jason Winer	February 3, 2010	14	14
	Things get a little awkward for Jay and Cameron when they go to the gym. An old friend from work visits Claire. Gloria gets into a minor car accident and Mitchell agrees to be her lawyer.
	"My Funky Valentine"	Jerry Collins	Michael Spiller	February 10, 2010	15	15
	Claire and Phil spice things up on Valentine's Day. Mitchell and Cameron help Manny with a bully. Jay and Gloria go to a comedy show.
	"Fears"	Steven Levitan	Reginald Hudlin	March 3, 2010	16	16
	Phil and Luke go into the crawlspace under the house, Haley takes her drivers test, Manny tries to get over his fear of roller coasters and Lily says "Mommy" which upsets Cameron and Mitchell.
	"Truth Be Told"	Joe Lawson	Jason Winer	March 10, 2010	17	17
	Phil meets an old girlfriend on Facebook. Jay accidentally kills Manny's turtle. Mitchell tells his boss the truth.
	"Starry Night"	Danny Zuker	Jason Winer	March 24, 2010	18	18
	Claire and Phil take rival approaches to keeping Haley and Luke focused on projects that are due the next day. Manny's ribbing of Mitchell during a trip with Jay causes tension between the three. Cameron tries to make amends with Gloria for past awkward encounters with a night out in her old neighborhood.
	"Game Changer"	Vanessa McCarthy & Joe Lawson	Kevin Sullivan	March 31, 2010	19	19
	iPad release day falls on Phil's birthday, giving Claire an opportunity to finally score an ideal gift for her technophile husband. Manny and Gloria humor Jay—a sore loser at board games—by suppressing their superior chess skills. Mitchell questions his ability to protect his family, while crossed baby monitor signals compel Cameron to secretly intervene in the love life of a neighboring couple.
	"Benched"	Danny Zuker	Chris Koch	April 14, 2010	20	20
	Phil and Jay have a series of encounters regarding authority and basketball. Mitchell meets his new boss, then he and Cameron accidentally destroy his Ferrari. Gloria and Claire's children demand less coddling.
	"Travels with Scout"	Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh	Seth Gordon	April 28, 2010	21	21
	Claire is suspicious when Phil's father shows up for an unexpected visit. Manny is traumatized by a horror movie. Cam fills the void in Dylan's band for a drummer.
	"Airport 2010"	Dan O'Shannon & Bill Wrubel	Jason Winer	May 5, 2010	22	22
	Gloria surprises Jay with a trip to Hawaii for his birthday, but he isn't pleased to find out that the entire family is tagging along. When everyone arrives at the airport, chaos ensues with forgotten identification, breaches of security, and flying phobias.
	"Hawaii"	Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh	Steven Levitan	May 12, 2010	23	23
	Jay's plans to do nothing but relax on vacation are interrupted by an unwelcome reality check. Meanwhile, Phil tries to make the trip romantic for Claire, Mitchell and Cameron disagree on whether they should go sight-seeing, and the kids get themselves into trouble.
	"Family Portrait"	Ilana Wernick	Jason Winer	May 19, 2010	24	24
	Claire makes an effort to take a new family portrait, but everybody is too busy to cooperate: Gloria and Manny go with Phil and Alex to a Lakers game and share an awkward moment on the jumbotron, Cameron gets a job as a wedding singer while Mitchell takes care of Lily and a stray pigeon, and Luke interviews Jay for a school project.

Character Appearances

✓ = Appears | X = Absent.

Characters	Episodes
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Total
Jay Pritchett	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24
Gloria Pritchett	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24
Manny Delgado	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	23
Joe Pritchett	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	0
Phil Dunphy	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24
Claire Dunphy	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24
Haley Dunphy	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	✓	✓	22
Alex Dunphy	✓	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	22
Luke Dunphy	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	X	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	23
Mitchell Pritchett	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24
Cameron Tucker	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24
Lily Tucker-Pritchett	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	24

Viewing Rates

#	Title	Views (in millions)
01	"Pilot"	12.60 million
02	"The Bicycle Thief"	9.99 million
03	"Come Fly with Me"	8.82 million
04	"The Incident"	9.35 million
05	"Coal Digger"	8.66 million
06	"Run For Your Wife"	9.32 million
07	"En Garde"	8.77 million
08	"Great Expectations"	9.16 million
09	"Fizbo"	7.12 million
10	"Undeck the Halls"	9.67 million
11	"Up All Night"	10.2 million
12	"Not in My House"	7.83 million
13	"Fifteen Percent"	9.83 million
14	"Moon Landing"	9.19 million
15	"My Funky Valentine"	9.84 million
16	"Fears"	8.01 million
17	"Truth Be Told"	8.95 million
18	"Starry Night"	9.18 million
19	"Game Changer"	9.51 million
20	"Benched"	8.88 million
21	"Travels with Scout"	10.0 million
22	"Airport 2010"	9.48 million
23	"Hawaii"	10.3 million
24	"Family Portrait"	10.1 million

Character Storylines

The Pritchett Family

Jay and Gloria, despite their age differences manage to stick together as a family, but also argue when it comes to Gloria's son and Jay's new stepson, Manny. Jay argues that Gloria gives him bad advice when it comes to Manny's friendship and love life.

Jay

He is a typical patriarch. He runs his family with an iron fist and takes pride in his mannliness. He lives a life that most people dream of. Beautiful house, owner of a company, beautiful wife, big family. The only thing that doesn't really fit into his plan is Manny. He is known for his rather lavish interests, such as golfing and fishing with his friends, who are very much like him. Jay is still getting used to the fact that Mitchell is gay, often cracking jokes around him and Cam, but it is shown that their relationship is better than it was when Mitchell was a kid. Because of Mitchell's feminine nature, and his lack of interest in sports, Jay treated Claire as his son and now has a very close realtionship with her. He often pushes her and brings out her competitive side. Despite their differences, Mitchell and Jay grow closer and Jay actually likes Lily and grows closer with Cam, even though, like with Phil, he didn't accept him and didn't think he was good enough. Jay is also shown to be a big lover of dogs, and likes to show of his wife. Jay does, despite his attitude,  love his family and really looks out for them. His attitude towards Manny also improves. Manny is not what Jay expected in a son, since Manny is very much like a grown up and into theater and women. Jay tries to change Manny, but ends up showing that he really does love him as he is. Jay also has a problem with Manny's real dad, Javier, who he calls irresponsible. While Jay has difficulty dealing with most things at the beggining, he usually learns to deal with them and begins to like them, although he does not like to admit he is wrong. Like his kids, Claire and Mitchell, he is not very good at expressing his emotions, can be uptight and serious, and is a bit of a perfectionist. 

Gloria

Gloria is Manny's mother and Jay's new, beautiful, columbian wife. She is a lot younger than Jay, and is at first thought of as a gold digger by the family, although she does, with time, show that she really loves Jay. She speaks with an accent and is said to be a bad driver. She also has a feiery temper and does not take criticism well. She is also very protective of her values and traditions, such as the way she celebrates Christmas and the value of family in Columbia. She is a very loud person, and can come across as rather scary, but she is very sweet and protective of her family. Like Haley, she spends a lot of time on her appearance. She knows that Manny is different, and often tries to look out for him, coddling him a bit and making sure to boost his self-esteem. She is very close to him and spends a lot of time with him. Gloria is also shown to be the one to stick up to Jay when he does something that she does not see as right. She is also very defensive of her looks, and often says that she is more than that. She gets along great with Mitchell and loves the idea of having Lily around, because she always wanted a daughter. In a way, she becomes similar to a mom for her. Gloria is a very sweet and caring person, who comes from a difficult background, and is not afraid to tell people when they have done something they shouldn't. 

The Dunphy Family

The Parents of the Dunphy family: Phil and Claire, have to deal with their eldest daughter, Haley's, growing pains and her new boyfriend, who Claire doesn't approve of. Along with the ride is their only son, Luke, who they try to protect from himself, as he seems to be the dumbest of the kids. And the only one they don't have to protect is their middle child, Alex, the smartest of the family, they often go to her for help and she considers them to be sometimes stupid.

Phil

During Season 1, Phil is trying to find a balance between friendship and parenting. Wether it is his take on Haley's new boyfriend Dylan or Luke's quirky behaviors, Phil tries to be the cool dad and leave the stricter parenting to Claire, his wife. At the same time, he tries to keep his relationship alive and happy, often giving in to what Claire wants to please her. Not to mention the struggle of getting his father-in-law, Jay, to like him, which often causes him to try to hard and embarrass himself. Jay does love him, though, and their bond grows stronger with every episode. That doesn't mean that Phil doesn't have interests of their own, between his magic and his mad trampolining skills, Phil has a lot of ways to express himself in his chaotic family. Phil has also been shown to be a bit paranoid. When something goes wrong or someone gets hurt, he is the one to freak out, instead of Claire who stays calm. He is also very dramatic and rather feminine. The family believes that he as well as Luke has ADHD. Because of his real estate business, he works a lot but is also very good at selling to people and making friends. He loves his family and puts them above everything. This eccentricities bring him closer to Luke and they start to form a special bond. It is also shown that he has a bit of a crush on Gloria. 

Claire

Claire is introduced as a fair and caring mother, but she is also very strict and uptight. With the urge to control everything and a watchful eye on her kids, Claire runs the household as a caring mother and organized homemaker. Without much help from her childish husband, Phil, Claire faces a lot of the modern challenges of parenting. This includes having to face the fact that, not unlike herself, Haley is rebellious and free spirited. She doesn't want her daughter to make the same mistakes as she did and while Phil's bond with Dyland (Haley's boyfriend) gets stronger, Claire dispises him throughout the season, with only brief moments where she shows any affection to him at all. If keeping Haley in line were not enough, she struggles with trying to get her middle child, Alex, integrated socially while also trying to understand how she can be so different from her older sister since Alex seems to care more for school than clothes. While this can be a challenge, Claire admires and is proud of Alex, seeing her as provocative but also as a mini her. Luke is also not an easy child and Claire spends a lot of time wondering where he gets his odd traits from and if he will ever outgrow them. Seeming slightly cold at times, Claire is shown to be much to her father, Jay, unlike her brother Mitchell, who is closer to their mom.This causes a bit of tension between the siblings, since they have been made to pick sides since the divorce. Claire used to have a career before she became a mom, which she sometimes misses.   Mitch and her do grow closer together, even working past an ice-skating problem they had years ago. She is a tough, competitive woman and can become rather jealous and territorial. This is also portrayed in her relationship with Gloria. Because of the large age difference, Claire has a bad image of Gloria. Their relationship does improve throughout the season. But that is not to take away from the fact that she loves her family and her husband and would do anything to protect them. 

Haley

Haley is a 15-year-old girl at the start of the show. She is going through a particularly rebellious phase and often pushes her parents. She is introduced as a rather shallow girl, caring more about her makeup and hair and social life, than things like school or even family at times. She has a boyfriend named Dylan(who is in a band), who is not particularly bright but very sweet, which often causes problems with her mother. Her relationship with her father is good, although she does have the tedency to find him childish and weird, just like her brother, Luke. She is shown to be irresponsible and social, the complete opposite of her geeky younger sister Alex. The two often compete and insult eachother, Alex saying that Haley is stupid and Haley saying that Alex witll never get a boyfriend. Despite this, the two are sisters and when it counts, have a pretty good relationship.Haley is very pretty and even Manny has a crush on her.  Her parents often seem not to believe in her, but at the same time, she often surprises them by doing things they do not expect. Haley does not do well in school and she seems to spend a lot of time on other things, like her phone. She seems to think of her family as weird, like most teenagers at that age do, and begins to distance herself from them. But despite this, she does love them and looks up to Gloria, forming a bond like friendship with her. 

Alex

Alex is the smart one from the family, and she is often shown studying, reading, or doing something for school. She also enjoys watching football, although she does not play or participate in most events at school. Alex is shown to put all her efforts into school and studying and succeeding, not wasting much time on clothes or even friends. She is also not the type of person to wear a dress, dressing more like a tomboy. She is also very organzied and controlling, and seen as more responsible than her older sister, who she often makes fun of for her lack of intelligence. Despite also making fun of her younger brother Luke, she is rather protective of him and concerned. Alex does not think she is beautiful, like her sister, and does not want to be compared to her. Gloria tries to work on this self-confidence with her, but Alex brushes it off as not caring, because she is the smart one. She can be a bit full of herself when it comes to her intelligence, often rubbing it in when she wins something. She also plays the cello, purely because it looks good to colleges. She seems to dedicate her whole life to school, which makes her distanced from the rest of her crazy, creative family. She is often provocotive and even likes to see her siblings get in trouble.  Like her uncle Manny, she is the odd one out. Still, the family loves her, despite her intensity, and they often rely on her for things that would otherwise not get done. 

Luke

Luke is the same age as Manny at the start of the season, although their personalities are very different. They do end up forming a friendship, and both feel threatened as the cute, younger members of the family when Lily is born. Luke seems to not understand most things, and takes a bit after his father, with his goofy personality and lack of understanding. Both of them are often playing games together or pranking eachother, much to the annoyance and confusion of Claire. Luke is said to be the only baby that they planned on having, but also the one that did not turn out as planned. They often try to find out why he does the things he does, and get him to calm down. He does like to spend time on the trampoline, like his father, and Phil is constantly trying to get him into magic as well. His parents try to protect him, often because they think he cannot do so himself.  Claire often doesn't trust Phil or Luke with important things, because they are both so childish. Because of this childishness, Luke usually creates drama without meaning to. Despite this, Luke is the most caring of the children. Luke is actually pretty creative and good with electronics, and Phil always says that he not unintelligent, but instead has an odd way of looking at the world.  He is the one that rarely gets into arguments and is incredibly sweet and innocent. As Claire says, Haley is off doing her own thing, Alex was never a kid, and Luke is the one that is the sweet and innocent child. 

The Tucker-Pritchett Family

Mitchell and Cameron adopt a baby girl called Lily. Mitchell hasn't told his family about their adoption plans, as he doesn't want to deal with his families opinions. But when Cameron secretly invites them over, their opinions aren't what he thought they would be and they welcome Lily into the family.