7 sitcoms to watch if you like ‘Modern Family’

Modern Family is one of the most popular family sitcoms in contemporary American TV. Made in a mockumentary style, the series was developed by Christopher Lyod and Steven Levitan for ABC.

Modern Family premiered in 2009 and aired 11 successful seasons before concluding in 2020. The series received critical praise and love from the audience for its sense of humor and heartfelt tone.

Modern Family follows the everyday life and interactions of three inter-related-families in suburban Los Angeles. The show had a large ensemble cast featuring the likes of Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Ariel Winter, and Rico Rodriguez in pivotal roles.

For those of you who have loved Modern Family for all its heartfelt moments, hilarious encounters, and emotional rollercoasters, this article will be right up your alley. We have carefully curated a list of some of the best family sitcoms, similar to Modern Family, for your next binge session.

Schitt's Creek, The Simpsons, and 5 more family sitcoms like Modern Family

1) Schitt's Creek

Schitt's Creek is a Canadian satirical sitcom from the house of CBC Television. The show comes from the minds of the father-son duo, Eugene and Daniel Levy, who are also part of the cast. The series arrived in the U.S. on Pop TV in 2015, and aired six seasons before concluding in 2020.

The cast features Catherine O'Hara, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire, Chris Elliott and Jennifer Robertson alongside Eugene and Daniel Levy in pivotal roles.

Schitt's Creek was a huge favorite among the critics as well as audience, even receiving a cult status. It even became the first nominee to win all major categories under comedy at the 2020 Emmys.

Schitt's Creek revolves around the Rose family, who go from living in uber luxury to being forced to adapt to small-town life after going bankrupt. Although the two shows have a very distinctly seperate plotline, both Modern Family and Schitt's Creek portrays the idiosyncrasies of a contemporary American family.

2) Fresh Off the Boat

Fresh Off the Boat is an American sitcom show from the house of ABC. Created by Nahnatchka Khan, the series takes inspiration from celebrity chef Eddie Hwang's 2013 autobiography of the same name. The show premiered in 2015 and aired six seasons before concluding in 2020.

The cast featured Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler, Ian Chen, and Lucille Song in pivotal roles throughout the series run, with Eddie Hwang acting as the narrator for the first season. The show received critical praise and was a favorite title among the audience.

Fresh Off the Boat tells the story of the Huang family, who move to 1990s America with the dreams of a new life. The series explores socio-cultural themes while focusing on the experience of adapting to life in a new country.

While Modern Family has a different setting, both shows are great family sitcoms.

3) The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an animated satirical sitcom show from the house of Fox. The series was developed by Matt Groening, based on a series of short animated skits he did for The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. The standalone show premiered on Fox in 1989 and has aired 35 seasons till date. The next season is set to release at the end of the this month.

The characters in the show have been voiced by the likes of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and many others.

The Simpsons is arguably one of the most iconic American animated sitcom, receiving widespread acclaim and numerous accolades to its name. It is also the longest-running scripted and animated sitcom series in American TV.

As the name suggests, the show focuses on the Simpsons, a dysfunctional family living in the fictional town of Springfield. The show follows the members of the family and their misadventures to address relevant social allegories throughout the ages.

While The Simpsons also navigates the dynamics of an American family, just like Modern Family, the show offers a different tone with its animated media and satirical social commentary.

4) Black-ish

Black-ish is a sitcom series from the house of ABC. Developed by Kenya Barris, the show premiered in 2014 and aired eight successful seasons before concluding in 2022.

The cast featured Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Laurence Fishburne, and others in pivotal roles. Black-ish was a favourite among the ciritcs, especially getting praise for Ellis Ross' performance and the way they tackled serious social themes.

Similar to Modern Family, Black-ish also follows the day-to-day nuances of an American family. However, instead of being just another family sitcom, the latter tackles themes of cultural identity, social issues and racial discrimination through the everyday life of the Johnsons, a well-to-do African-American family living in a wealthy white neighbourhood.

The success of the show also spawned a prequel and a spin-off, Mixed-ish (2019-2021) and Grown-ish (2018-2024) respectively.

5) Arrested Development

Arrested Development (Image via Netflix)

Arrested Development is a satirical sitcom originally from the house of Fox. Developed by Mitchell Hurwitz, the show premiered on Fox in 2003 and aired three seasons before getting canceled in 2006. It was then revived in 2011 by Netflix, who streamed two more seasons till 2019.

The ensemble cast featured Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross and others playing pivotal characters throughout the series run. Although the show received widespread critical acclaim, it wasn't a audience favorite and instead attracted a cult following.

The original run of Arrested Development is even considered among the best TV comedies.

Just like Modern Family, the show also follows the interactions of a quirky and dysfunctional family. However, Arrested Development is more popular for its absurdist tone and satire.

6) The Goldbergs

The Goldbergs is a period family sitcom from the house of ABC. Created by Adam F. Goldberg, the show was heavily inspired from his family and childhood memories growing up. The series premiered on ABC in 2013 and aired 10 seasons till 2023.

The cast features Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, George Segal, Jeff Garlin and others in pivotal roles with Patton Oswalt as the narrator. The Goldbergs received mixed reviews from the public and is considered a homage to the 1980s.

While both shows are family sitcoms, The Goldbergs' period setting offers an interesting look into the workings and dynamics of a family back in the 1980s. Modern Family, on the other hand, has a more contemporary setting in present-day Los Angeles.

7) Malcolm in the Middle

Malcolm in the Middle is another satirical family sitcom show from the house of Fox. The show was created by Linwood Boomer and premiered on the network in 2000. It was initially an audience favorite, going on to air seven seasons till 2006.

The cast featured Brian Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, Justin Berfield, Erik Per Sullivan, and Christopher Masterson in pivotal roles alongside Frankie Munz as the eponymous character. The series was both a crowd pleaser and a favorite among the critics.

Similar to Modern Family, Malcolm in the Middle is another family sitcom documenting the chaos and humor of a dysfunctional family. It is a great watch for anyone who loved the dynamics of the Pritchett-Dunphy household.

These are our top choices of family sitcoms for you to watch. If you love Modern Family or are just looking for a good sitcom to laugh along to, these titles should be exactly what you are looking for.

Edited by Prem Deshpande