It seems like there’s nothing but good news in the TV landscape this year. First there was news that The Big Bang Theory is finally finishing up after way-too-many years of pushing its plethora of forced nerd jokes, and now the way-past-its-prime family sitcom Modern Family is about to join the scrapheap when it kicks off its 10th and final season.
And in adhering to the age-old adage of “going out with a bang”, Modern Family killing off a ‘significant character’ plan on shaking things up by during this last season.
Co-creator Christopher Lloyd (no, not the guy who played Doc Brown in Back to the Future) spilled the deets in a new interview but refused to reveal any tidbits on which “significant character” will be visited by the Grim Reaper.
Now killing off characters in a TV series has become something of an overused trope these days thanks to shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. But since death is a topic that’s yet to be explored in the usual menu of Modern Family‘s first world problem stories, there’s a possibility that the show could throw up a surprise or two.
And since the co-creator is keeping tight-lipped on who will die, unsurprisingly, I’ve decided to jump the gun and do a totally serious prediction of who will be headed to the pearly gates in the upcoming season.
Now to keep things simple, I’m keeping it all to just the main cast of 12 characters or otherwise this will be as long as War and Peace. And without further ado, let’s kick off with the Modern Family patriarch, Jay Pritchett.
Jay Pritchett
Chances of surviving: Lowish. Look, the dude has had a good life (his character married Sofia Vergara’s character for god’s sake) but he’s old and his heart can’t be in good shape after all those times he’s lost his temper, not to mention his diet, making him the perfect candidate to cark it.
Gloria Pritchett
Chances of surviving: High.
She’s mega popular and killing off a diverse, non-white character like Gloria wouldn’t go down well with audiences beyond white America.
Claire Dunphy
Chances of surviving: High.
She’s an interesting character, in great shape, and her sense of perfectionism means that there’s no way she is going to accidentally die. Unless the writers decided to deus ex machina her out of the show, which would do the character a complete disservice.
Phil Dunphy
Chances of surviving: Almost guaranteed.
Oh come on, it’s Phil we’re talking about here. Without him, the show would lose a big source of its heart and comedy. What’s left of it anyway.
Mitchell Pritchett
Chances of surviving: Medium to high.
Like Claire, Mitchell’s sense of carefulness will protect him from any kind of accidental death. Then again, Mitch is a little annoying at times and maybe the writers may want to just kill him off to blow off some steam.
Cameron Tucker
Chances of surviving: Almost guaranteed.
Like Phil, Cam is an almost indispensable character in the show and killing him off will be downright shocking on all fronts. Plus, I’m sure we need him around for one last appearance of Fizbo the clown.
Haley Dunphy
Chances of surviving: Medium to high.
Haley’s chances of dying would’ve been higher a few years ago, but as it stands, it would be a disservice to have her meet the Grim Reaper at this stage of her character’s journey. But then again, she is in her 20s and her judgment remains suspect so who knows what may happen.
Alex Dunphy
Chances of surviving: Medium to high.
She’s too smart to be killed off in some ridiculous accident. But having said that, Alex is a college student under a heap of pressure who may well break bad and end up down a bad path. Now this almost certainly won’t happen, but we also can’t rule it out.
Luke Dunphy
Chances of surviving: Medium.
The actor Nolan Gould may be a genius but Luke is the complete opposite. It’s Luke’s docileness and complete lack of self-awareness will either kill or save him.
Manny Degado
Chances of surviving: Low. (More serious answer: medium to high)
Manny is super annoying and god I hope he is the one to go. But moving aside my prejudices (begrudgingly), killing off Manny seems a bit too easy and he balances out the character dynamics so he gets a relatively safe survival nod.
Lily Tucker-Pritchett
Chances of surviving: Guaranteed.
Seriously? Lily is the best character so there’s no way she will die.
Joe Pritchett
Chances of surviving: High.
Look, Joe may be a bit of a forgettable character, but killing off a kid is a push too far, especially for a show like Modern Family.
Some side character who has appeared a bunch of times
Chances of surviving: Almost zero.
Let’s be honest, it will be some popular supporting character who has appeared numerous times that they can be considered a “significant” part of the show but not enough to be ranked up alongside the main cast.
