ABC/MARIO PEREZIt's high time we Modern Family fans get a peek at some real lovin' between Phil and Claire Dunphy (nakie Valentine's Day role-play aside!), and what better time and place than when the whole fam damily hits the sunny shores of Hawaii?
Thankfully, Mister Ty Burrell just filled us in on all that sexiness and more, so throw on that lei, grab your scuba gear and get in here...
Already a pro at the art of being tight-lipped, Ty's keeping pretty mum about ModFam's trip to the Aloha State, but he does tease this: Those Dunphy kiddos better watch out!
"Basically, Phil and Claire [Julie Bowen] are trying to use this opportunity to have the honeymoon they didn't get to have the first time around," says Ty. "So they're just running from the kids, trying to have some alone time." We predict this will be a disaster initially—with the two lovebirds getting their shining moment by the end of the ep.
Oddly enough, this whole episode almost didn't happen—how tragic would that have been?! "The Hawaii trip essentially is two episodes," he explains. "We had done the episode at LAX, which was based on Jay's [Ed O'Neill] birthday and Gloria [Sofia Vergara] surprising him with a trip to Hawaii, then surprising him again, much to his chagrin, that she is bringing the whole family." [Note: If you're keeping track, this episode airs tonight.] Continues Ty: "When we were finished, essentially the writers felt this isn't an old-fashioned, multicamera show where you just describe your trip. The more contemporary thing—and something we've really established for the show—is when we say we're going somewhere, we've gone there. So that's when the wrote they Hawaii episode. It totally worked out in our favor."
Of course, Ty reassures us that shooting the piece was just as fun as what we'll see onscreen. "It was really amazing and an incredible amount of fun," he spills.
We still have one week to go until we're sipping mai tais on the couch alongside the tropical delight, but tonight's airport episode delivers a new twist, too—something we've actually been waiting for since day one.
"Jesse [Tyler Ferguson] and I have our first significant stuff together when Phil decides to help Mitch with something for Cameron [Eric Stonestreet]," Ty teases mysteriously. Could it be a Van Gogh storyboard?
Need one more reason to head-over-heels adore Ty and the rest of the ModFam crew? Try this on for size: "I'm realizing a lot of shows say this, but we really are like a weird little family." Love it!
Don't miss Modern Family tonight at 9 p.m. on ABC. It's going to be great.
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