"They thought of us as the old guys" - Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet shares his thoughts on why the Mitch and Cam spinoff didn't happen

We all love Modern Family. Mitch and Cam's duo? Even more so.

Last we knew, our favorite duo packed up and moved to Missouri. You might be itching to learn about what happened after. Or perhaps, about the spinoff that never happened.

The spinoff was so close to getting the green signal, but ABC supposedly dropped it. Sources claimed that it was because they didn't have the same faith in the spinoff as they did in the original show.

Well, Eric Stonestreet (Cam himself!) has some thoughts on this, and he’s not holding himself back or sugarcoating anything!

According to him, it could be because ABC might have seen him and his co-star as “old guys.” Well, let’s get right in and find out more about this.

Imagining a bit about what the spinoff would have been like won't hurt, would it?

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinion. Reader discretion is advised.

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Modern Family spinoff: What could have been

The Modern Family spinoff might have seen Mitch and Cam settling into the small town of Missouri. Cam finally landed his dream job as a college football coach, and it was the onset of a new beginning for the family.

There'd have probably been a lot of hilarious chaos, culture shock, and some Midwest misadventures. In short, it would have been gold!

Fans were already buzzing about it. Even Christopher Lloyd, in an interview with Deadline, had said:

“We wanted to have them off on a new journey, and it seemed symmetrical to have Mitchell follow Cam some place and maybe be around Cam’s family because Cam had played that role in Mitchell’s life for the last 11 years. Cam had this opportunity to do something wonderful and exciting, Mitchell felt okay, that makes my obligation to let him chase his dream, and I will go with him and see what that life is like for me.

He added:

Now having said that yes, it does present a possibility for us. Will that happen? I’m not sure but we would be probably dumb to not explore it. We’d be dumb not to explore it.”

But ABC wasn’t sold on the idea. It was reported that there was some talk about diversity concerns, even though Modern Family was praised for its representation. On top of that, some insiders claimed the spinoff didn’t have the same spark as the original.

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Modern Family spinoff: ABC’s decision was a tough pill to swallow

It was in January 2021. Everything was lining up perfectly. The Modern Family writers and creators had a script ready to go. Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitch) and Eric Stonestreet (Cam) were on board. Fans were hyped. That's when ABC shut it down.

Stonestreet shared in an interview with Graham Bensinger:

"They said, 'no'. They just said, 'We don't want to do it,' and I think it hurt Jesse and I's feelings. I think it hurt Chris Lloyd's feelings.

He continued:

I love my character. I love the show. I love Jesse. We had a great working relationship. We had amazing chemistry. We didn't know each other, and we built these characters that Steve and Chris wrote, and our writing staff cultivated, and I guess because we weren't maybe done... like I would have kept going. I think everyone would have kept going... maybe even ABC at the time would have been like, 'yeah, come back, come back, come back. Because the world shut down, and everything was different... but you know, I think Jesse and I maybe felt like they thought of us as the old guys, or something like that, that didn't seem worthy of keeping those characters going. It felt a little hurtful. But people make business decisions."

He admitted that the decision stung. Not just for him and Ferguson. But also for Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd.

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Modern Family spinoff: Is there any hope left?

Stonestreet believes it was a missed opportunity. He shared in the interview with Graham Bensinger:

"I think it would have been a slam dunk, I don’t think it would have not been successful, because you had one of the creators who had really taken such great care of making sure that show was great for so long, willing to do it. It wasn’t like two ancillary writers that were just being like, Hey, we’re looking for a money grab here, and want to do a spinoff, and if it lasts a year, whatever, we made a couple of hundred thousand dollars.”

TV execs have to make business decisions and not every spinoff is a hit. Stonestreet acknowledged that. Still, you can tell he’s not happy about it.

So, sadly, it looks like the Mitch and Cam dream is officially dead. Stonestreet himself admitted in the interview:

“I don’t think it’s potential anymore. They had their chance.”

Stonestreet is totally on board for a Modern Family reunion. Maybe even a Christmas special. So, there's that.

Anyway, at the end of the day, Modern Family will always be legendary. And who knows? Hollywood loves a comeback.

Also read: 10 Best Jay Pritchett moments from Modern Family

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