Modern Family season 9 renewal in limbo; negotiations underway
Will there be a Modern Family season 9 renewal? It seems likely, but there are some significantly problems for the series behind the scenes.
Specifically, The Hollywood Reporter claims that one of the holdups at the moment towards this otherwise-inevitable renewal are negotiations between ABC and studio 20th Century Fox over the show’s costs. At this point in a series’ run, networks tend to front a whole lot more of the cost of a show than they did previously. The studio’s already done their heavy lifting getting the show off the ground. This issue needs to be resolved, and from there, the series will then move into the next phase: Signing much of the cast.
Here is where we imagine matters getting complicated. If you look at the cast of The Big Bang Theory, there were actors getting paid $1 million an episode at the time season 9 premiered. This isn’t likely to happen here, even if the show is iconic in its own right. Modern Family is not the ratings juggernaut or critical darling that it once was. It’s still the #1 scripted show for ABC and there’s investment in it, but it’s not the beast in broadcast or in syndication that Sheldon Cooper and company are. How do you pay the cast more for lower live+same day ratings? We pity the people who have to figure all of this out.
At present, we’re confident that the studio / network side of things will be resolved by the time of upfronts in May. As for the cast negotiations, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the be prolonged into the summer. Our feeling, for now, is that the show should get two more seasons and conclude after season 10. It’s starting to lose steam, and you don’t want it to go on past a point of relevance. Also, this would just make sense given how much older some of the younger stars are already.
Do you think Modern Family deserves another season or two on the air? Let us know some of your thoughts in the attached comments! Stay tuned, as we will have some further updates upon them being available.