Many shows paved the way for Schitt's Creek, and chief among them is Modern Family, the ABC sensation that ran from 2009 to 2020. The series tells the many stories of a family connected by patriarch Jay Pritchett (sitcom legend Ed O'Neill), who's married to a younger Colombian woman, Gloria (Sofia Vergara). Jay's entire family lives in the Los Angeles area, including his uptight daughter, Claire (Julie Bowen), her goofy husband, Phil (Ty Burrell), and their kids (Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, and Nolan Gould), as well as Jay's son and Claire's brother, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), his husband, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), and their adopted daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons).
Though Modern Family and Schitt's Creek portray very different families, Modern Family absolutely set the stage for Schitt's Creek to arrive on television years after it premiered, between its unwavering commitment to LGBTQ+ visibility, as well as its depiction of a messy, squabbling, and ultimately loving family that always comes together when it's important. Modern Family is available to stream on Hulu.
