When I reviewed the previous (sixth) season of "Modern Family", I was getting a bit disappointed that the show runners were not fleshing out the characters like any good sitcom needs to do in order to adapt and thrive. Though I made it through this entire Seventh Season, it was much of the same. As such, this will probably be the last season of "Modern Family" I watch on a consistent basis.
For whatever reason, this show staunchly refuses to let their characters grow or take any creative risks. Now, don't get me wrong...characters like Phil (Ty Burrell) and Cam (Eric Stonestreet) will probably always be funny just because they are so well-conceived. However, not every character in a show can be that way. It usually takes some sort of growth or change to push events forward.
The lack of growth is especially apparent in the younger characters in the show. Haley (Sarah Hyland) is given a love interest in Andy (Adam DeVine)...but then it isn't fleshed out at all until the final episode when viewers are supposed to magically care. Alex (Ariel Winter) is now gorgeous, and started to have an interesting college angle, but neither of those things get the focus they should. Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) have been pretty much just cast adrift. Sure, all these characters can get off a wise crack every once in awhile, but I don't care about them like I did in the early goings of the show.
Another example of a lack of growth/change is how some characters are starting to grow quite stale. Gloria (Sofia Vergara) isn't given anything to do, Jay (Ed O'Neill) is much of the same, & the writers keep playing up the "business" angle of Claire (Julie Bowen) & Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to little avail.
To put things into perspective, one area where I really gained a lot of respect for "The Office" (probably my favorite sitcom of all-time) was in that show's fearlessness. It wasn't afraid to take a character or plot risk, sometimes playing it out over an entire season. "Modern Family" won't do that. Instead, it is content to make a few good quips each episode and rely on situational humor, all the while cramming each character into every episode and not giving them a chance to expand outward.
"Modern Family" isn't a terrible show now, but any means, but it is just little more than "filler" at this point. I kind of wish it would set an end date (X number of years down the road) so the writers could have a goal to shoot for. Until that happens, I fear that the show will sort of aimlessly drift. Bottom line: this Seventh Season of "Modern Family" is still good for a few laughs, but it really has taken a large step backwards in its ability to make you care about the characters.
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