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Season 4 for Modern Family premiered on September 26, 2012, with "Bringing Up Baby" and released it's finale on May 22, 2013, with "Goodnight Gracie". Season 4 aired Wednesdays 9/8c in the United States and consisted of 23 episodes. The DVD was released on September 24, 2013.

Cast and Characters

Main Cast

Recurring Cast

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

Guest Cast

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

Episodes

Image Title Writers Directors Airdate No. in
Season
No. in
Series
Modern Family 4x01 "Bringing Up Baby" Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh Steven Levitan September 26, 2012 01 73
Phil takes Jay on a very unconventional fishing trip with his buddies, and Gloria struggles with how to break the pregnancy news to him. Meanwhile, Dylan moves into the Dunphy household temporarily, and Mitchell and Cam decide to look into adopting a cat as they continue to cope with their failed attempt to adopt another child.
Schooled "Schooled" Steven Levitan & Dan O'Shannon Jeff Melman October 10, 2012 02 74
Phil and Claire drops Haley off at college, which is a difficult moment for any parent, but it's made worse when they manage to really embarrass Haley. Meanwhile, Manny forces Jay and Gloria to take a baby class. Mitch and Cam drop Lily off for the first day of kindergarten, but when she gets into a tussle with another little boy, they end up having a meeting with the boy's confrontational lesbian parents.
Phil Not a real man "Snip" Danny Zuker Gail Mancuso October 10, 2012 03 75
Phil and Claire sets a five-year plan. Phil is going in for a vasectomy. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria disagree about whether or not to find out the sex of the baby. Gloria is in denial about needing maternity clothes. Now that Lily's in kindergarten, Mitchell tries to gently steer Cam towards a part-time job to occupy all his extra time.
TheButler'sEscape "The Butler's Escape" Bill Wrubel Beth McCarthy-Miller October 17, 2012 04 76
Phil can't accept that Luke wants to quit magic; Gloria's snoring keeps Jay and Manny awake; Mitch and Cam struggle to deal with their reversed role.
MF-S4E05 "Open House of Horrors" Elaine Ko Jim Bagdonas October 24, 2012 05 77
Claire has overdone it in Halloweens past and the neighbors definitely don't share her enthusiasm, so this year she's being forced to tone it down and keep it "kid-friendly," and Phil has an idea to hold an open house on Halloween night. Meanwhile, Mitch and Cam host a costume party while contending with Lily wondering who her real mom is, and Gloria's pregnancy hormones are on overdrive, making her even more hotheaded than usual.
YardSale "Yard Sale" Abraham Higginbotham Gail Mancuso October 31, 2012 06 78
Jay and Gloria hold a yard sale to help Manny and Luke with their school's charity fundraiser, and the entire family pitches in. Phil feels pressured to both sell and buy something, Mitch and Cam help Claire assess Alex's new 'boy friend,' and Manny finds an old trunk that hides a secret Gloria wants to see remain a secret.
Arrested "Arrested" Becky Mann & Audra Sielaff Gail Mancuso November 7, 2012 07 79
Phil and Claire get the dreaded late night call that Haley has been arrested for under-aged drinking, so they bring Mitchell, their family lawyer with them. Cameron stays back to watch over Alex and Luke, but they get into some crazy mishaps under his care. Meanwhile, Jay gets out of baby shopping with Gloria, but ends up having to deal with a surprise visit from Dede.
Mistery Date2 "Mistery Date" Jeffrey Richman Beth McCarthy-Miller November 14, 2012 08 80
When Claire takes Manny and Luke along to Alex's academic decathlon for the weekend, Phil attempts to throw together a boys' night at the house, inviting a fellow Bulldog alum he just met -- but their wires are definitely crossed. Meanwhile, the pressure is on for Alex at the decathlon, Manny and Luke bar mitzvah hop at the hotel trying to find a cute girl, and Cam and Mitch arrange for quite the surprise baby gift for Jay and Gloria.
MF-S4E09 "When a Tree Falls" Ben Karlin Steven Levitan November 28, 2012 09 81
Mitch and Cam try to save an old tree in the park; Jay takes Manny to a kid's Olympics-themed birthday party; Gloria and Claire have an eventful shopping trip.
4x10-Diamond-in-the-Rough "Diamond in the Rough" Dan O'Shannon
Becky Mann
Audra Sielaff
Gail Mancuso December 5, 2012 10 82

Manny and Luke's little league team unexpectedly makes it into a playoff game, so Claire and Cameron scramble to find a location and decide to do a makeover on a rundown field. Inspired, Claire and Cam want to try their hand at flipping a house while they're at it, and Phil and Mitchell fight over who will be the bad guy to tell them no. Meanwhile, Gloria tries a bonding technique by using a microphone to sing to the baby in utero, which definitely incites a reaction from Jay.

NewYearsEve1 "New Year's Eve" Abraham Higginbotham
Jeffrey Richman
Fred Goss January 9, 2013 11 83
Jay planned for the whole family to celebrate New Year's together at this great hotel in Palm Springs. However, when the hotel turns out to be less than stellar, everyone starts to branch off to do their own thing, leaving Jay dejected, that is until he runs into Billy Dee Williams. Meanwhile back at home, Haley and Alex watch over the kids, which proves to be quite a challenge.
PartyCrasher5 "Party Crasher" Danny Zuker
Christopher Lloyd
Fred Savage January 16, 2013 12 84
With the baby coming soon, Jay and Gloria go to great lengths to throw Manny an extra special surprise party for his 14th birthday -- and there are plenty of surprises to go around. Meanwhile, Phil and Claire deal with a new much older guy that Haley has started hanging out with, and Cam becomes jealous of the special bond Lily seems to have with Mitch.
4x13 "Fulgencio" Bill Wrubel Lev L. Spiro January 23, 2013 13 85
Gloria's mom, Pilar, and sister Sonia have made the voyage from Colombia, and they come bearing traditions, baby names and a whole lot of family baggage. Meanwhile, no one seems to have confidence that Phil will be able to help with the kids' problems, but there just might be a method to his madness. And Lily has picked up some bad habits, so Mitchell and Cameron try their hardest to mind their Ps and Qs to set a good example for her.
S4E14-A-Slight-at-the-Opera "A Slight at the Opera" Paul Corrigan
Brad Walsh
Jim Bagdonas February 6, 2013 14 86
Cameron is putting on the school production of “Phantom of the Opera,” but when their star falls ill, Manny pulls all the stops to land the lead -- even if that means going against Luke. Meanwhile, Jay teaches Phil to golf and they wind up in a golf-off with Pepper and Mitch; Gloria takes Alex along on errands, which include a visit to a psychic; and Claire’s adventures in babysitting Joe and Lily become a comedy of errors.
Heart broken "Heart Broken" Danny Zuker Beth McCarthy Miller February 13, 2013 15 87
Phil and Claire's Valentine's plans land Claire in the emergency room, Jay and Gloria try to be intimate for the first time after the baby, and Mitchell has a wild Valentine's night after drinking and blacking out at his party.
BadHairDay "Bad Hair Day" Elaine Ko Gail Mancuso February 20, 2013 16 88
Claire runs into an old lover at her college reunion, a mishap causes Cam to give the baby a disastrous haircut, and Jay has to put his bowling match on hold to build up Manny's confidence.
BestMen "Best Men" Dan O'Shannon
Abraham Higginbotham
Bianca Douglas
Steven Levitan February 27, 2013 17 89

Mitch and Cam's best gal pal, Sal, makes one of her notorious surprise drop-ins, but this time with big news - she's getting married... tomorrow! Cam and Mitch are the best men, but they can't help but question whether this party girl can really settle down, and they consider an intervention. Meanwhile, Gloria has trust issues with their new nanny, Claire has a rare bonding moment with Haley, and Phil helps Luke with a girl he likes.

TheWowFactor "The Wow Factor" Ben Karlin Steven Levitan March 27, 2013 18 90
Mitchell seeks to help Lily deal with a playground bully but goes too far in the process. Jay finds himself in trouble with Gloria when she finds him at a movie theatre during his babysitting time with Joe. Cam and Claire are at odds over their home renovation and seek to influence Cam's lesbian friend to side with their visions for a backyard idea; and Phil's plans to show Alex and Haley the joys of home improvement hit a roadblock.
Dunphy "The Future Dunphys" Elaine Ko Ryan Case April 3, 2013 19 91
At the hospital Claire and Phil see the older version of their family; Mitchell and Cameron plan a day for Lily and Gloria; Manny and Jay go to a private school to look around.
MF-S4E20 "Flip Flop" Jeffrey Richman & Bill Wrubel Gail Mancuso April 10, 2013 20 92
Phil is pretty confident in his ability to sell Claire and Cam's flipped house, but when it proves to be a little harder than he thought, he recruits the whole family into taking some desperate, borderline crazy measures. Meanwhile, Javier is visiting Manny and brings along his new girlfriend, which doesn't sit very well with Gloria.
CareerDay "Career Day" Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh Jim Hensz May 1, 2013 21 93
Phil's attempts to woo Luke and Manny's class on Career Day get interesting with the arrival of rival real estate mogul Gil Thorpe, who soon sets his sights on helping out Claire. Cam and Mitch enlist the help of Haley to teach Lily a lesson about the tooth fairy. Jay sits down to tackle a lifelong dream.
MyHero "My Hero" Abraham Higginbotham Gail Mancuso May 8, 2013 22 94
The entire family is invited to the local roller rink for a fundraiser by Mitchell's ex-boyfriend Teddy. Cameron struggles to deal with Teddy's close relations with the family. Phil teaching Gloria to roller skate leads to disastrous and hilarious results. Haley and Alex exchange advice while spending time with a couple of boys. Jay and Claire are at ends over his offer to work for him and gradually take over the closet business. All the while, Luke and Manny are dealing with their own problems to complete their "My Hero" essay on a family member.
GamesPeoplePlay9 "Games People Play" Ben Karlin & Danny Zuker Alisa Statman May 15, 2013 23 95
Phil gets a brand new RV with high hopes of going on a fun family road trip, and Claire decides to let him learn the hard way why this will likely be a terrible idea. Meanwhile, Manny has misplaced his backpack and Jay and Gloria go with him on a hunt for it, breaking into Claire's house and then into Mitchell's house -- where they do some over-the-top snooping; and Lily's gymnastics meet brings out an unrivaled competitive spirit in Mitch and Cam.
GoodnightGracie "Goodnight Gracie" Steven Levitan & Jeffrey Richman Steven Levitan May 22, 2013 24 96
Everyone flies down to Florida to be with Phil after his mom's passing. Claire helps Phil with Gracie's last wish for Frank, and the kids reflect on the gifts grandma left for them. Gloria has to contend with an outstanding arrest warrant in Florida, Cam finds himself fitting right into an elderly women's group at Frank's retirement community, and Jay runs into a pivotal person from his past.

Character Appearances

Characters

Episodes (This Season)
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 24
Joe Pritchett X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 6
Phil Dunphy 24
Claire Dunphy 24
Haley Dunphy X X 22
Alex Dunphy X 23
Luke Dunphy 24
Mitchell Pritchett 24
Cameron Tucker 24
Lily Tucker-Pritchett X X X 21

Viewing Rates

# Title Views
01 "Bringing Up Baby" 14.44 million
02 "Schooled" 12.08 million
03 "Snip" 12.31 million
04 "The Butler's Escape" 12.28 million
05 "Open House of Horrors" 12.52 million
06 "Yard Sale" 10.62 million
07 "Arrested" 12.43 million
08 "Mistery Date" 11.89 million
09 "When a Tree Falls" 12.01 million
10 "Diamond in the Rough" 10.94 million
11 "New Year's Eve" 12.04 million
12 "Party Crasher" 11.01 million
13 "Fulgencio" 10.83 million
14 "A Slight at the Opera" 9.83 million
15 "Heart Broken" 10.05 million
16 "Bad Hair Day" 10.62 million
17 "Best Men" 10.53 million
18 "The Wow Factor" 9.09 million
19 "The Future Dunphys" 10.88 million
20 "Flip Flop" 10.38 million
21 "Career Day" 9.64 million
22 "My Hero" 9.02 million
23 "Games People Play" 10.03 million
24 "Goodnight Gracie" 10.01 million

Reception

Season 4 scored 67% on Rotten Tomatoes and an average episode score of 8.0 on IMDb. The critic's consensus was Modern Family still has charm to burn and boasts a uniformly excellent cast, but the series' subversive edge has dulled.

Character Storylines

The Pritchett Family

Jay

Gloria

Manny

Joe

The Dunphy Family

Phil

Claire

Haley

Alex

Luke

The Tucker-Pritchett Family

Mitchell

Cameron

Lily

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