There was a time when the mockumentary was all the rage on TV. First, there was The Office in 2005. Then Parks and Recreation in 2009, which hailed from the same people who made The Office, and then Modern Family, also with a 2009 premiere. In the final season of The Office, viewers met the crew behind the documentary, which ended up airing on PBS. Parks and Recreation never acknowledged who or why characters spoke to the camera. And Modern Family? Well, that big "reveal" happened on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
In a bit taped before coronavirus and social distancing, Phil (Ty Burrell) and Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) revealed who they've been talking to for the last 11 seasons of TV: Jimmy Kimmel.
"Our director, Jimmy, has been taking a really long time because he's a—" Phil says.
"Psychopath," Claire interjects.
"No, psychopaths are smart," Phil says.
"Jimmy was actually the wedding videographer for Jay and Gloira's wedding," Phil explains.
"That's right. And after the reception, he hid in the trunk of our car, followed us home and he hasn't stopped filming us since," Claire says.
"I've been observing the Pritchett and Dunphy families all day every day, all night every night, since 2009 like a fly on their wall," Kimmel says in the video above.
Apparently, Kimmel isn't the most tactful of observers, giving nicknames and constantly telling Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) about gay men he meets. He also creates drama and admitted to swapping out Alex's (Ariel Winter) Harvard acceptance letter with a rejection.
"What? Oh, go f—k yourself you freeloading creepy dick," Alex says.
When Kimmel reveals the final product, the movie fails to impress.
"I know that they love me, no matter how mad they get at me…I know that they love me unconditionally," Kimmel says.
Click play on the video above to see more of Kimmel's time as the Modern Family documentary filmmaker, including Guillermo's relation to Manny (Rico Rodriguez).