TVSquad Talks To Ed O'Neill on the Future of "Modern Family"

[JamesG]

Ed O'Neill Discusses "Modern Family's" Future
by Gary Susman
posted Jun 7th 2010


Ed O'Neill has a pretty light schedule these days.

He has a movie coming out on June 4, the documentary Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean, which he narrates. Otherwise, he can relax until July 8, when "Modern Family" will likely receive a slew of Emmy nominations (the Academy has enlisted his TV wife, Sofia Vergara, and "Community's" Joel McHale to read the nomination announcements), and then, until the end of July, when the cast meets to begin filming the hit ABC comedy's second season.


O'Neill called TV Squad from his home in Los Angeles to talk about "Modern Family's" Emmy odds, what to expect from season 2, the mysterious origins of the romance between his character and Vergara's and the show's long-term future.





What would you say are "Modern Family's" odds for Emmy success?

Oh, God, I have no idea. I've never won one. I've never even been nominated for one, so I wouldn't know. We won a Peabody, and we've won a couple of other things.

But I don't follow that sort of thing. I don't know how it works, if it's a popularity thing. I think I'd be shocked if we weren't nominated for Best Comedy.

For the individual awards, we're all in it for Best Supporting. I wouldn't have any way of knowing how they [Emmy voters] are going to go with that.









Do you know which clip "Modern Family's" producers submitted on your behalf?

I don't. I couldn't care less. They didn't even ask me.

Those are things I try to stay away from as much as possible. You don't have any control over that. The only thing I concern myself with is the actual making of the show.









Can you tell us what we'll see in season 2?

Nope.

I know we have a couple of new writers, which they're very excited about. I know they're hard at work. I know they've broken 10 or 11 or 12 stories already. They're not fully written, but the structure's there.

But I don't have a clue. I'll show up and we'll see what they've got. We probably do the first table read around the 30th of July, and we'll probably start shooting on the first of August.









Will we find out how Jay and Gloria met?

Originally, they had an idea that my divorce was final, that I went to Cabo, and that I met her at a swim-up bar where she was bartending.

Now, I don't think they want to use that. Also, I made my money installing high-end closets. I was the closet king for wealthy Beverly Hills, Bel Air residents.


But now, I don't know if they're going to -- these were just ideas that were tossed around. I don't have any idea if they're going to pursue that or not. I make money some way, I just don't know how.









How do you explain the explosive success of "Modern Family"?

People were ready for a show that had a bit of heart, that could walk the line between comedy and heart. It's edited very well. It moves fast. The three families, because they're interconnected but also work on their own, give us a lot of comedic potential.

You can really go almost anywhere with anybody at any time, and you're not suffering too much. You're not necessarily waiting for the other couple to come back in.

As long as you can keep that up, where each family and each story is working well, you're in pretty good shape.









How long do you think the show can stay on its game?

I think it's the best comedy right now. I don't know how long we can keep that up.

We want to keep it up, and we want to make it even better this season. That's what we're concerned about.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/06/07/ed...modern-family/