| Season Number: | 4 |
| Bgcolour: |
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| Image Upright: | 1.15 |
| Num Episodes: | 24 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Prev Season: | Season 3 |
| Next Season: | Season 5 |
| Episode List: | List of Modern Family episodes |
The fourth season of the comedy television series, Modern Family aired on ABC from September 26, 2012 to May 22, 2013.
On May 10, 2012, ABC renewed Modern Family for a fourth season. Filming for the fourth season began on July 30, 2012,[1] and the season premiered on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.[2]
See also: List of Modern Family characters.
Modern Family employs an ensemble cast. The series is set in Los Angeles and focuses on the family lives of Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill), his daughter Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), and his son Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Claire is a homemaker mom married to Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell); they have three children, Haley (Sarah Hyland), the typical teenager,[3] Alex (Ariel Winter), the smart middle child[4] and Luke (Nolan Gould), the offbeat only son.[5] Jay is married to a much younger Colombian woman, Gloria (Sofía Vergara), and is helping her raise her teen son, Manny (Rico Rodriguez). Mitchell and his partner Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) have adopted a Vietnamese baby, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons). The kids are only required to appear in 22 episodes.[6]
See also: List of Modern Family episodes.
The fourth season of Modern Family was met with mixed reviews. Willa Paskin of Salon gave the season a negative review, writing, "As Modern Family has gotten older, its characters, and their dynamics, have settled into grooves, some more discordant than others."[7] Halfway through the season, Rachel Stein of Television Without Pity wrote, "much as I liked the pairings and some of the dialogue, ["[[New Year's Eve (Modern Family)|New Year's Eve]]"] is just another contrived episode of Modern Family we can cite when we talk later about how a different show should have won the 2013 Emmy for Best Comedy."[8]
On the other hand, Robert Bianco of USA Today gave the season a positive review, calling it "TV's most appreciated great comedy."[9] In addition, The A.V. Club was often complimentary towards the season. All 24 episodes were reviewed, with "A−" and "B" as the most common letter grades assigned to a given one. Donna Bowman, reviewing "Goodnight Gracie," wrote that there were "few comedies on television more satisfying" when the season was at its best.[10]
Some of the more well-received episodes include "Schooled," "Yard Sale," "Diamond in the Rough," and "Goodnight Gracie".[11]
See main article: List of awards and nominations received by Modern Family.
The fourth season received twelve nominations at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards in total,[12] including its fourth consecutive nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. The ceremony for the Primetime Awards was aired on September 22, 2013, on CBS. The Primetime Creative Arts Awards took place on September 15, 2013.
| Primetime Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Category | Nominees | For role/episode | Outcome |
| 2013 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Modern Family | ||
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series | Ty Burrell | Phil Dunphy | rowspan="5" | |
| Jesse Tyler Ferguson | Mitchell Pritchett | |||
| Ed O'Neill | Jay Pritchett | |||
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in Comedy Series | Julie Bowen | Claire Dunphy | ||
| Sofia Vergara | Gloria Delgado-Pritchett | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Gail Mancuso | Episode: "Arrested" | ||
| Primetime Creative Arts Awards | ||||
| Year | Category | Nominees | For role/episode | Outcome |
| 2013 | Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series | Jeff Greenberg | rowspan="5" | |
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Nathan Lane | Role: Pepper Saltzman Episode: "A Slight at the Opera" | ||
| Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series | Ryan Case | Episode: "Party Crasher" | ||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation | Modern Family | Episode: "My Hero" | ||
| Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or a Variety Program | Jim Sharp | |||