Release Date: September 24, 2013
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 519 minutes

The laughs – and the awards – just keep on coming for the #1-rated Modern Family, winner of three consecutive Emmyr Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series! With Jay and Gloria’s baby on the way and Haley going off to college, the entire Pritchett/Dunphy clan faces some major surprises as they bicker and bond over house-flipping headaches, unwanted play dates, and everything from hot-tempered hormones to in utero karaoke. Featuring a stellar array of guest stars including Matthew Broderick, Shelley Long and Elizabeth Banks, Season Four takes a heartfelt and laugh-out-loud hilarious look at what it means to be a Modern Family.

Modern Family shows no signs of slowing down, not that there was ever any doubt. Season four is even better than season three – even Lily finally grew on me half-way through the season! I loved following the Dunphy/Pritchett families as many transitions were made, from college to family additions and new business ventures. This season rocked.

Sure, the laughs aren’t as constant as the first two seasons (the third season did lag a bit) and there aren’t any episodes in particular that stand out as phenomenal (“The Future Dunphys” comes close) but there are laughs and the formula for this season works. There’s more room for character arcs this season which I adore so much about this season. Characters have to grow so it’s refreshing and reaffirming to see that the writers know they can’t stay in the sweet spot – because that gets old after awhile. Great job this season.

Now’s the time to watch these characters grow, all while maintaining what we love so much about them. Watching Gloria unknowingly irritate Jay, Claire and Phil balance being parents while maintaining the romance, the dynamic between the Dunphy kids, and Cameron’s theatrics to name a few was so much fun to see in the situations they all find themselves in this season. Ty Burrell steals every scene he’s in. He deserves to win every award he’s nominated for. Let’s not forget amazing guest stars including but not limited to Shelley Long and Elizabeth Banks.

And the finale. What a touching way to end the season. What a fantastic season it was. Modern Family really touched the heart this season, moreso than any other season and for that this may go down as one of the most memorable seasons of the series. This is comedy and heart at its finest. Job well done.

Bonus Features:

*An Addition to the Family (6:30 minutes) – Sofia Vergara and Rico Rodriguez talk about Gloria’s pregnancy and how this addition affects Gloria as well as the new dynamic in the house. This isn’t a must see feature but it’s interesting to hear the actors’ perspectives on their characters during this change.

*A Day With Eric (11:57 minutes) – Eric Stonestreet takes viewers on set for the day during the shooting of the episode, “Career Day.” Stonestreet has a dry humor that may not necessarily make this feature as exciting as it could have been had say, Burrell or Bowen taken the lead but it is still fun to watch. Making an appearance are executive producers, Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan, first assistant director (AD), Helena Lamb, and actor, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

*A Modern Family Guide to Parenting (4:40 minutes) – This feature is a fun compilation of some hysterical parenting moments from the Modern Family series. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, so skipping it would be fine.

*Modern Family Writers (13:14 minutes) – Viewers get to hear about the real life events that inspired certain scenes from the writers who experienced first hand some of our favorite moments on the show. No look into the writers room but this is close. This feature includes executive producers, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker, Jeffrey Richman, and Abraham Higginbotham.

*Gag Reel (10:26 minutes) – This gag reel is a huge win for being lengthy, for providing the laughs, and for putting the spotlight on every single ensemble cast member. Some favorites? Sofia Vergara saying, “Red leather, yellow leather” and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons asking Jesse Tyler Ferguson to stuff her face with the cupcake gently to name a few. Must watch.

*Deleted and Alternate Scenes (Approx. 7 minutes) – There are approximately ten deleted and alternate scenes on the blu-ray. My favorite from disc one includes Cameron as Tony Soprano and I would say it’s the only one worth watching but there’s no option to watch the scenes individually. All or nothing. I really enjoyed the one and only deleted scene on disc two from the episode, “Fulgencio.” Jay and Manny scenes always get me. I love their scenes and don’t understand why in the world this was cut. Happy it made it on the blu-ray at least. Elizabeth Banks’s deleted scenes on disc three were the icing on the cake. While not a must see feature, if you want a few more laughs, go ahead and watch these deleted and alternate scenes.

*Season Finale Director’s Cut (23:52 minutes) – This cut isn’t too much different from the aired version but if you really enjoyed this episode and want a few more laughs, go ahead and watch this. Worth it.

*Commentary – There are four audio commentaries on the blu-ray. The commentary for “Party Crasher” is conducted by writer/executive producer, Danny Zuker and writer, Bill Wrubel. There’s not much to take from this commentary, unless you want to know which friends and family members of the crew are extras in this episode. It’s mentioned that Sofía Vergara’s hair shouldn’t have been so neat while Gloria was in the hospital and one of the hardest scenes for Ty Burrell was when Phil was intercepted by Claire after Claire remembered her version of Haley’s current boyfriend…but any viewer can pick up on the former and long time viewers the latter.

The commentary for “Fulgencio” is conducted by writer/executive producer, Danny Zuker and writer, Bill Wrubel. Now this commentary on the other hand is much more interesting to listen to. It starts out with a fun fact about the table read and keeps going with even more behind the scenes fun facts.

The commentary for “Career Day” is conducted by writer/executive producer, Steven Levitan and writers, Brad Walsh and Paul Corrigan. The commentaries get better and better as each one goes on because this one is really fun to listen to. There are three people instead of two commenting here and the more, the merrier when it comes to commentaries. Definitely worth listening to.

The commentary for “Goodnight, Gracie” is conducted by writer/executive producer, Steven Levitan and writer, Jeffrey Richman. If there’s one commentary to watch, this would be it. I loved hearing Steve and Jeffrey talk about the highs and lows of writing and filming the finale. What a great listen!

Own Modern Family The Complete Fourth Season on Blu-ray and DVD today. Watch Modern Family Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.