| Season Number: | 5 |
| Bgcolour: |
|
| Num Episodes: | 24 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Prev Season: | Season 4 |
| Next Season: | Season 6 |
| Episode List: | List of Modern Family episodes |
On May 10, 2013, Modern Family was renewed for a fifth season.[1] The season premiered on September 25, 2013 and ended on May 21, 2014.[2]
See also: List of Modern Family characters.
The first episode of the season, "Suddenly, Last Summer", which premiered on ABC on September 25, 2013, made reference to the newly legalized same-sex marriage in California. The writers said that a wedding for Mitch and Cam was a "real possibility".[3] In January 2014, it was announced that Modern Family's vacation episode would take place in Australia this season.[4] The season was produced by Steven Levitan Productions and Picador Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television, with creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd as showrunners.
See also: List of Modern Family episodes.
The fifth season of Modern Family received mixed reviews from television critics. While episodes like "Larry's Wife", "Australia" and "Sleeper" were negatively received, others like "The Old Man & the Tree," "Las Vegas," and "Message Received" premiered to high acclaim, with the latter two frequently cited among the show's best episodes.[5] [6]
Reviewing the season's first eight episodes, Matthew Wolfson of Slant Magazine wrote that the show "appear[ed] to have finally arrived at the depressing and predictable low point toward which it [had] been trending for the past two years." He also went on to say that the show had "turned into a shrill pastiche of stereotypical characterizations and superficial banter lacking both feeling and wit", assigning it a rating of 1.5/4 stars.[7] Different writers for The A.V. Club rated, in total, a majority of the former-half episodes with a "B−" grade or less. One writer for the magazine, Joshua Alston, gave "ClosetCon '13" a "C+" and remarked that "Modern Family becomes a high-wire act when it separates its characters into three storylines with no overlap between them."[8] The second half was more warmly received, with three episodes rated an "A−" or higher.
Despite the somewhat mixed reception for the season, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons's performance as Lily received positive reviews. In his review of "The Help", Joe Reid, writing for The A.V. Club, called Lily a "veritable one-liner machine".[9] Reviewing the same episode, Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic said that the funniest part of the half-hour was "Lily at the end rolling her eyes and banging her head on the table listening to Cam, Mitchell and Pepper arguing over wedding plans".[10]
See main article: List of awards and nominations received by Modern Family.
The fifth season received ten nominations at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards in total,[11] including its fifth consecutive nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. The ceremony for the Primetime Awards aired on August 25, 2013 on NBC while the Primetime Creative Arts Awards took place on August 16, 2013.[12]
| Primetime Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Category | Nominees | For role/episode | Outcome |
| 2014 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Modern Family | ||
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series | Ty Burrell | Role: Phil Dunphy Episode: "Spring-a-Ding-Fling" | ||
| Jesse Tyler Ferguson | Role: Mitchell Pritchett Episode: "Message Received" | |||
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in Comedy Series | Julie Bowen | Role: Claire Dunphy Episode: "The Feud" | ||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Gail Mancuso | Episode: "Las Vegas" | ||
| Primetime Creative Arts Awards | ||||
| Year | Category | Nominees | For role/episode | Outcome |
| 2014 | Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series | Jeff Greenberg | ||
| Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Nathan Lane | Role: Pepper Saltzman Episode: "The Wedding (Part 2)" | ||
| Outstanding Art Direction for a Contemporary Program | Episode: "Las Vegas" | |||
| Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series | Ryan Case | Episode: "Las Vegas" | ||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation | Stephen A. Tibbo, Dean Okrand, and Brian R. Harman | Episode: "The Wedding (Part 1)" | ||