Modern Family Star ‘Hurt’ That The Cam & Mitch Spin-Off Was Rejected

Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet recently spoke in an extensive interview about the hurt he felt when a spin-off show about husbands Cam Tucker and Mitch Pritchett was rejected by executives. 

After Modern Family wrapped up its final episode, a number of the writers (including co-creator Christopher Lloyd) wrote the pilot for a spin-off about Cam, Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferugson) and their daughter Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) that was pitched to ABC; however, it was inevitably rejected by ABC and never came to fruition.

Eric Stonestreet recently spoke to journalist Graham Bensinger in an extensive YouTube interview, and confirmed that the series was extremely unlikely to happen at this stage. 

“I don’t think it’s potential anymore,” Stonestreet admitted. “I think it hurt Jesse and I’s feelings, I think it hurt Chris Lloyd’s feelings… I love my character, I love the show, I love Jesse. We had a great working relationship, we had amazing chemistry. We weren’t really done. I would’ve kept going, I think everyone would’ve kept going.

“Jesse and I maybe felt like they thought of us as the old guys that didn’t seem worthy of keeping those characters going… it felt a little hurtful, but people make business decisions and we can’t get involved in that.” 

Modern Family spin-off “would’ve been a slam dunk”

However, that hasn’t stopped Stonestreet from continuing to vouch for the series: “I think it would’ve been a slam dunk. I don’t think it would have not been successful, because you had one of the creators willing to do it.”

Stonestreet played the Emmy-winning role of Cam alongside Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitch for all 11 seasons of the long-running sitcom. The couple’s presence on a major TV sitcom since 2009 undoubtedly left a huge impact on the way LGBTQI+ families are depicted in mainstream television. 

Though a hypothetical spinoff seems more and more unlikely, it doesn’t take away from the legacy of Cam and Mitch. Hopefully a wider Modern Family reunion is on the cards; one that’s not just for a WhatsApp ad…