The sixth season of Modern Family premiered on September 24, 2014 on ABC. The sixth season was ordered on May 18, 2014 by ABC. The season was produced by Steven Levitan Productions and Picador Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television, with creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd as showrunners. On May 7, 2015, ABC renewed Modern Family for a seventh season.
Cast
Main cast
Ed O'Neill as Jay Pritchett
Sofía Vergara as Gloria Pritchett
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy
Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy
Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett
Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker
Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy
Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy
Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy
Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett
Recurring cast
Steve Zahn as Ronnie LaFontaine
Andrea Anders as Amber LaFontaine
Adam DeVine as Andy Bailey
Guest cast
Rory Scovel as Carl
Tyne Daly as Mrs. Plank
Jon Polito as Earl Chambers
Finneas O'Connell as Ronnie Jr. LaFontaine
Brooke Sorenson as Tammy LaFontaine
Ben Lawson as George
Fiona Gubelmann as Lisa
Michael Urie as Gavin Sinclair
Nicholas Gonzalez as Diego
Nigella Lawson as herself
Rob Riggle as Gil Thorpe
Fred Willard as Frank Dunphy
Stephanie Beatriz as Sonia Ramirez
Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman
Elizabeth Banks as Sal
Christian Barillas as Ronaldo
Penn Jillette as Edward LeGrand
Natasha Leggero as Dana
Kevin Daniels as Longines
Reid Ewing as Dylan Marshall
Joe Mande as Ben
Laura Ashley Samuels as Beth
Robbie Amell as Chase
Will Sasso as Señor Kaplan
Alyson Reed as Angela
Pierce Wallace as Joe Pritchett
Andrew Daly as Principal Brown
Benjamin Bratt as Javier Delgado
Episodes
Reception
Reviews
Modern Family's sixth season received positive reviews from television critics, with some claiming it an improvement over the previous couple of seasons that had a mixed critical reception, and a return to form for the show.
Various writers from The A.V. Club have awarded the majority of episodes a "B" grade or higher - with particular praise for "The Day We Almost Died", "Closet? You'll Love It!" and "Crying Out Loud"- marking an improvement over the repeated "C" grade given throughout the previous season. "Connection Lost" also received high acclaim, with many praising its originality and ability to transcend what could have been a "gimmicky episode". Discussing "Three Turkeys", Fourthmic stated that the episode was "another strong one in season that has seen the series return to the quality that we came to appreciate in the first couple of seasons". In her review for "Closet? You'll Love It!" Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club stated that the episode represents "all the reasons why we still watch Modern Family" and awarded the episode an A−. On the same site, David Kallison reviewed "Grill, Interrupted" and said "This season proves that sitcoms can survive on solid characters and solid jokes".
Sarah Hyland's performance as Haley Dunphy has received consistently positive reviews over the course of the sixth season. In his review for Queer Eyes, Full Hearts Evan Slead labelled her "truly a great comedic actress. She has a way of making the ditzy and superficial type earn some respect and notoriety". Reviewing Rash Decisions, Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club labelled Hyland the 'performer of the week', saying "It’s hard to picture a time when this wouldn’t be Sarah Hyland, but Haley continues to be just a whirlwind of delight".