Modern Family imdb

There’s a school of thought in TV scheduling that says new shows need to be supported by airing next to veteran shows, and that putting on a night of all new shows is madness.

ABC laughs at this theory when it comes to Wednesdays. Two years ago, the network introduced a lineup of three rookie dramas: "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money." This season, they’re trying it again, with four new sitcoms — two debuting tonight, two next week — leading into a remake of "Eastwick."

The ’07 plan might have worked if not for the writers’ strike, but "Daisies" and "Money" are gone, and "Private Practice" had to move to Thursdays. Will the All-New Wednesday 2.0 work out any better? Well, it helps that both of tonight’s new comedies, "Modern Family" (9 p.m., Ch. 7) and "Cougar Town" (9:30 p.m., Ch. 7), are strong, with "Modern Family" being one of the season’s best freshman.

"Modern Family" is shot mockumentary-style like "The Office," as we get to know three branches of one family tree. The patriarch is Jay (Ed O’Neill), who has a Latina trophy wife, Gloria (Sofia Vergara), and had to take Gloria’s sensitive son Manny (Rodriguez) in the deal. Jay’s son, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), is in a long-term relationship with partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), and they’ve just returned from Vietnam with an adopted baby daughter. Jay’s daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen), is part of a more traditional nuclear family, with husband Phil (Ty Burrell) and three kids.

In Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd’s sharp and funny pilot, Jay resents being mistaken for Gloria’s father, even as he insists on wearing velour track suits everywhere. Mitchell gets hung up on being perceived as being too gay now that he’s a parent — "We need to stop having friends with names like Andre," he says — and doesn’t appreciate Cameron’s "nesting" weight gain.

Claire, meanwhile, winds up having to parent not only her children, but Phil, who’s obsessed with being "the cool dad," even though he’s anything but. Burrell embraces the deluded Phil’s Peter Pan quality, making him one of the new season’s early breakout characters.

And after trying to distance himself from Al Bundy with roles in a series of short-lived dramas ("Big Apple," "LA Dragnet," "John From Cincinnati"), O’Neill slides comfortably back into the comedy world. The style is different than "Married... with Children" — no laughtrack, a more realistic tone and more buttoned-down humor — but O’Neill still knows how to sell a good joke, like Jay’s exasperation at his stepson’s attempt to woo an older girl at the mall.

Though I enjoyed NBC’s pilot for "Community" a little bit more, "Modern Family" has as assured and entertaining a start as you could hope for.

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