The WORST episodes of Modern Family

Every episode of Modern Family ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Modern Family!

This mockumentary explores the many different types of a modern family through the stories of a gay couple, comprised of Mitchell and Cameron, and their daughter Lily, a straight couple, comprised of Phil and Claire, and their three kids, Haley, Alex, and Luke, and a multi-ethnic couple, which is comprised of Jay and Gloria, and her son Manny.

Last Updated: 9/14/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
New Kids on the Block
star
7.28
1618 votes

#1 - New Kids on the Block

Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2019

Haley is determined to follow the advice in her parenting books with the twins, but Phil and Claire think their old methods are better. Manny is set to direct Jay’s dog bed commercial in the hopes of winning his ex-girlfriend back.

Directors: Gail Mancuso
Dead on a Rival
star
7.29
1307 votes

#2 - Dead on a Rival

Season 11 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/22/2020

Mitchell learns a valuable life lesson when a former resident of the house shows up unexpectedly. The Dunphy's old neighbor-turned-tech-titan comes to visit with a big surprise for Phil. Manny's dad has a big opportunity for his son.

Directors: Jason Winer
A Game of Chicken
star
7.32
1408 votes

#3 - A Game of Chicken

Season 11 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/2019

Gloria is using her alone time with the twins as an opportunity to secretly baptize them before Haley and Dylan get home. Claire is still dealing with the fallout from the smart closet fiasco. Cam is at war with his school’s mascot who is threatening his chance at securing a new college coaching job.

Directors: Helen Lamb
Blasts from the Past
star
7.33
1686 votes

#4 - Blasts from the Past

Season 10 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/2019

Phil and Claire decide to take a cycling tour through Italy, while Dylan's hippy mother comes for a visit. Cameron and Mitchell discover some interesting reading material in Lily’s room. Meanwhile, Gloria and Manny investigate the legend of Jay's heroic great uncle.

Directors: Fred Savage
Watch Now:Apple TV
I Love a Parade
star
7.33
1949 votes

#5 - I Love a Parade

Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2018

The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan get together at the annual Fourth of July parade where Jay will be acting as the grand marshal. Haley's goodbye with Arvin before his trip to Switzerland doesn't go as well as she pictured it and is distracted by the return of an old flame.

Directors: James Bagdonas
Watch Now:Apple TV
CHiPs and Salsa
star
7.34
2128 votes

#6 - CHiPs and Salsa

Season 9 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/11/2018

When Haley hears that her loopy boss is looking for a product with the magical properties of peppers, she tries to gain favor by convincing Gloria to sell her salsa to NERP. Mitchell gets Cam the police ride-along he’s always dreamed of. Also, Phil and Claire compete against one another while Luke has a meeting with a dean of university.

Directors: Gail Mancuso
Ten Years Later
star
7.35
2863 votes

#7 - Ten Years Later

Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/2017

Claire is determined to make up for her less-than-joyful mood at Jay and Gloria’s wedding by throwing their tenth-anniversary party. Phil discovers that he failed to become a magician decades earlier due to a betrayal.

Directors: Fred Savage
Writer: Danny Zuker
Tree's a Crowd
star
7.36
1354 votes

#8 - Tree's a Crowd

Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/4/2019

The Dunphy house is bursting at the seams when Dylan’s hippie mother moves in and Claire’s lonely stepdad wants to pay them a visit. Jay and Gloria attempt to help Manny get over his big breakup with Sherry.

Directors: Julie Bowen
Writer: Ryan Walls
No Small Feet
star
7.36
2544 votes

#9 - No Small Feet

Season 9 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/13/2017

When Claire lands a big opportunity for Pritchett’s Closets, Jay expects validation for his contribution. Pam’s ex-boyfriend shows up and Mitchell sees this as an opportunity to get Pam out of the house. Luke and Alex find a business opportunity.

Directors: James Bagdonas
I'm Going to Miss This
star
7.37
1237 votes

#10 - I'm Going to Miss This

Season 11 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/1/2020

Mitchell is having a hard time letting go of his old life and Gloria steps in to help him say goodbye. Haley, Luke and Alex decide to throw a party at the Dunphy house when Claire and Phil leave for a trip. Dylan’s mom takes the twins for the night.

Directors: Fred Savage
A Moving Day
star
7.38
1742 votes

#11 - A Moving Day

Season 10 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2019

Claire and Phil aren’t convinced that Haley and Dylan can make it on their own as they move them into their new apartment before the baby arrives. Pam gets out of prison early and has a bone to pick with Mitchell.

Directors: Iwona Sapienza
Watch Now:Apple TV
Snapped
star
7.39
1525 votes

#12 - Snapped

Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/2019

Claire needs to get everyone out of the house before they make her look bad in front of a reporter from an important women’s business magazine. Jay invites Manny to a little wine tasting in an attempt to spend some quality time together.

Directors: Mike Spiller
Writer: Elaine Ko
Commencement
star
7.39
1541 votes

#13 - Commencement

Season 10 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/2019

Cam finally gets a chance to shine when he is asked to preside over the high school graduation ceremony at the last minute. Jay gives the commencement address. Claire runs into her former high school rival who brings out the worst in her.

Directors: Eric Dean Seaton
Watch Now:Apple TV
Pool Party
star
7.39
1428 votes

#14 - Pool Party

Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2019

Mitch and Cam help Lily overcome her insecurities about wearing a bathing suit to a pool party, but discover some of their own. Now that Gloria’s new internship is taking up so much of her time, Jay is feeling particularly neglected.

He Said, She Shed
star
7.40
2560 votes

#15 - He Said, She Shed

Season 9 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/3/2018

Claire’s request to build a “She Shed” in their backyard is denied by the homeowners association. Pameron lets Cam in on a family secret that forces him to visit Mitch’s therapist to work through this new information. Meanwhile, Jay teaches Joe how to play golf but he and Gloria both push him into becoming too competitive.

Directors: James Alan Hensz
All Things Being Equal
star
7.40
3652 votes

#16 - All Things Being Equal

Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/3/2017

Gloria, Claire, Haley, Alex, Lily, Luke and Manny are equally committed to showing their support for gender equality and the women’s movement in very different ways. Meanwhile, Jay and Phil are at odds on how their parking lot attendant, Joan, should be running their lot, and jealousy ensues when Pam prefers Mitchell’s help over Cam’s with her baby.

On the Same Paige
star
7.40
1834 votes

#17 - On the Same Paige

Season 10 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/31/2018

Phil learns that his real estate class will be cancelled if any additional students drop it. Jay may unknowingly be flirting with the mother of Joe’s classmate and tries to set boundaries.

Directors: Ryan Case
Writer: Ryan Walls
Watch Now:Apple TV
Spanks for the Memories
star
7.40
2305 votes

#18 - Spanks for the Memories

Season 9 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/7/2018

When Jay overhears Gloria on the phone talking about spanking, he assumes she is frustrated in the bedroom. Now that Mitchell has an amazing new job, he and Cam throw a party to rub it in Cam’s friends’ faces so they can no longer give him “the look of pity.”

Directors: James Bagdonas
The Last Thanksgiving
star
7.41
1354 votes

#19 - The Last Thanksgiving

Season 11 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/20/2019

Cam and Mitchell’s friends mistakenly assume they have split up and have definitely chosen a side. Haley attempts to cook Thanksgiving dinner as a thank you for Claire and Phil’s support with the twins. Jay invites Phil and Dylan out to fly his model plane. Phil thinks this is his chance to reclaim his dignity after their first outing 10 years ago went so wrong.

Directors: Eric Dean Seaton
Mother!
star
7.41
2048 votes

#20 - Mother!

Season 9 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/2/2018

When Dede drops in unexpectedly, Mitchell and Cam come to a realization about her effect on their lives. Phil, Luke, Alex and Haley all have different bad news to break to Claire and compete about when to do it.

Directors: Eric Dean Seaton
Grab It
star
7.41
4254 votes

#21 - Grab It

Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/9/2016

Jay’s only sanctuary and favorite place in the world begins to lose its charm when Phil starts to think about becoming a member. Claire misjudges her influence over Alex’s choices. Hayley wants to impress Alex with her life choices.

Clash of Swords
star
7.41
1948 votes

#22 - Clash of Swords

Season 9 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/16/2018

Mitchell sneaks out to “Hero-Con” with fanboy Phil, dressed as their favorite characters from the show “Clash of Swords.” It’s great until Phil commits the ultimate fan faux pas. In a clash of another kind, Gloria’s dinosaur party for Joe is ruined when her nemesis, Dr. Donna Duncan, upstages her with a far bigger and better party right next door.

Directors: Jim Hensz
Good Grief
star
7.41
1893 votes

#23 - Good Grief

Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/24/2018

It’s another epic Halloween full of costumes, tricks and treats for the Dunphy-Pritchett-Tucker clan as they deal with huge, unexpected news.

Watch Now:Apple TV
SuperShowerBabyBowl
star
7.42
1597 votes

#24 - SuperShowerBabyBowl

Season 10 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/20/2019

Jay hosts a Super Bowl party, while Claire also hosts a baby shower for Haley at Jay's house.

Directors: Helena Lamb
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Wild
star
7.43
1545 votes

#25 - The Wild

Season 10 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/13/2019

Mitch, Cam, and Phil crash Jay’s annual hiking trip to find an elusive bald eagle after Gloria asks them to keep an eye on him. Gloria, Alex, Claire, and Haley get together to plan her baby shower.

Directors: Jim Bagdonas
Writer: Elaine Ko
Watch Now:Apple TV