The Worst Episodes of Modern Family
Every episode of Modern Family ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Modern Family!
The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "Modern Family" is "All Things Being Equal", rated 6.4/10 from 2098 user votes. It was directed by Michelle MacLaren and written by Christy Stratton, Ryan Walls. "All Things Being Equal" aired on 5/3/2017 and is rated 0.2 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "New Kids on the Block".
6.4/10 2,098 votes#1 - All Things Being Equal
Season 8 Episode 20 - Aired 5/3/2017
Gloria, Claire, Haley, Alex, Lily, Luke and Manny are equally committed to showing their support for gender equality and the women’s movement in very different ways. Meanwhile, Jay and Phil are at odds on how their parking lot attendant, Joan, should be running their lot, and jealousy ensues when Pam prefers Mitchell’s help over Cam’s with her baby.
Director: Michelle MacLaren
Writer: Christy Stratton, Ryan Walls
6.6/10 1,716 votes#2 - New Kids on the Block
Season 11 Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2019
Haley is determined to follow the advice in her parenting books with the twins, but Phil and Claire think their old methods are better. Meanwhile, Manny is set to direct Jay’s dog bed commercial in the hopes of winning his ex-girlfriend back.
Director: Gail Mancuso
Writer: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan
6.7/10 1,542 votes#3 - Clash of Swords
Season 9 Episode 22 - Aired 5/16/2018
Mitchell sneaks out to “Hero-Con” with fanboy Phil, dressed as their favorite characters from the show “Clash of Swords.” It’s great until Phil commits the ultimate fan faux pas. In a clash of another kind, Gloria’s dinosaur party for Joe is ruined when her nemesis, Dr. Donna Duncan, upstages her with a far bigger and better party right next door.
Director: James Alan Hensz
Writer: Elaine Ko, Stephen Lloyd
6.7/10 1,760 votes#4 - I Love a Parade
Season 10 Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2018
The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan are going to be setting off more than a few fireworks when they get together at the annual Fourth of July parade where Jay will be acting as the grand marshal. Haley’s goodbye with Arvin before his trip to Switzerland doesn’t go as planned when she's distracted by the return of an old flame.
Director: James R. Bagdonas
Writer: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan
6.7/10 1,447 votes#5 - Blasts from the Past
Season 10 Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/2019
Phil and Claire decide to take a cycling tour through Italy before they become grandparents, and Dylan introduces them to his mom who has an interesting past. Meanwhile, Cameron and Mitchell discover some interesting reading material in Lily’s room and decide to confront her about it, while Gloria and Jay discover their respective great uncles may have fought on opposing sides of a war.
Director: Fred Savage
Writer: Vali Chandrasekaran, Stephen Lloyd
6.8/10 1,670 votes#6 - Finding Fizbo
Season 8 Episode 15 - Aired 3/1/2017
Cam is enraged when he receives an online video showing someone has been desecrating his beloved Fizbo costume, which sets him on a quest to restore Fizbo’s good name. Meanwhile, Phil is in for quite the surprise when he finally meets his new soon-to-be step-brother at Frank’s bachelor party. Finally, Manny’s newest play hits a little too close to home for Gloria, Claire and Haley when he enlists them to do a read through before he submits it to a young playwright festival.
Director: James R. Bagdonas
Writer: Chuck Tatham, Abraham Higginbotham
6.8/10 1,412 votes#7 - Whanex?
Season 10 Episode 13 - Aired 1/23/2019
While preparing a presentation for his students about their future goals, Cam must also contend with a bully at the school and Jay is having a little technical trouble during his video conference. Meanwhile, the local mall is holding a photo shoot for its new ad campaign and Gloria tricks Phil and Joe into participating.
Director: Elaine Ko
Writer: Bill Wrubel
6.8/10 1,421 votes#8 - Red Alert
Season 10 Episode 16 - Aired 2/27/2019
Lily has reached a womanly milestone that Cam and Mitch are not prepared for – at all – so they call in reinforcements.
Director: Julie Bowen
Writer: Ryan Walls, Jessica Poter
6.8/10 1,453 votes#9 - A Game of Chicken
Season 11 Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/2019
Gloria is using her alone time with the twins as an opportunity to secretly baptize them before Haley and Dylan get home. Meanwhile, Claire is still dealing with the fallout from the smart closet fiasco, and Cam is at war with his school’s mascot who is threatening his chance at securing a new college coaching job.
Director: Helena Lamb
Writer: Vali Chandrasekaran
6.8/10 1,372 votes#10 - Dead on a Rival
Season 11 Episode 12 - Aired 1/22/2020
Mitchell learns a valuable life lesson when Murray, a former resident of the house, shows up unexpectedly. Meanwhile, the Dunphy’s old neighbor-turned-tech-titan, Kenneth, comes to visit with a big surprise for Phil. Then, Manny’s dad, Javier, shows up with a big opportunity for his son.
Director: Jason Winer
Writer: Jeffrey Richman, Ryan Walls
6.9/10 1,548 votes#11 - Spanks for the Memories
Season 9 Episode 15 - Aired 3/7/2018
When Jay overhears Gloria on the phone talking about spanking, he assumes she is frustrated in the bedroom. When he attempts to light the spark again by giving her exactly what she wants, he realizes he might have made a mistake. Meanwhile, now that Mitchell has an amazing new job, he and Cam throw a party to rub it in Cam’s friends’ faces so they can no longer give him “the look of pity”.
Director: James R. Bagdonas
Writer: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan
6.9/10 1,481 votes#12 - CHiPs and Salsa
Season 9 Episode 19 - Aired 4/11/2018
When Haley hears that her loopy boss is looking for a product with the magical properties of peppers, she tries to gain favor by convincing Gloria to sell her salsa to NERP; Mitchell gets Cam the police ride-along he’s always dreamed of.
Director: Gail Mancuso
Writer: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan, Bill Wrubel
7.0/10 1,440 votes#13 - A Moving Day
Season 10 Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2019
Claire and Phil aren’t convinced that Haley and Dylan can make it on their own as they move them into their new apartment before the baby arrives. Meanwhile, Pameron gets out of prison early and has a bone to pick with Mitchell.
Director: Iwona Sapienza
Writer: Brad Walsh, Paul Corrigan
7.0/10 1,405 votes#14 - Tree's a Crowd
Season 11 Episode 8 - Aired 12/4/2019
The Dunphy house is bursting at the seams when Dylan’s hippie mom moves in and Claire’s lonely stepdad, Jerry, wants to pay them a visit. Meanwhile, Jay and Gloria attempt to help Manny get over his big breakup with Sherry.
Director: Julie Bowen
Writer: Ryan Walls
7.1/10 1,631 votes#15 - Heavy Is the Head
Season 8 Episode 14 - Aired 2/22/2017
Despite their lofty hopes, Phil and Jay's property investment might turn out to be a bust, forcing Phil to rethink his original dream. Meanwhile, Cam lands in the hospital due to a head injury and refuses to have an MRI thanks to a traumatic incident with a well when he was a child. Determined to finally impress Claire and keep her from re-gifting her birthday present, Gloria surprises her with a day of luxury at the office. However, after Claire had to implement some rather harsh budget cuts at work, a massage at her desk may not be sending the right message.
Director: Ken Whittingham
Writer: Danny Zuker
7.1/10 1,654 votes#16 - Sex, Lies & Kickball
Season 9 Episode 4 - Aired 10/18/2017
Jay’s best friend, Shorty, is back from Costa Rica and stays at the house so they can catch up and reconnect. However, Shorty is spending more time with Gloria and seems to be avoiding Jay. Meanwhile, Alex is ready to shed her good-girl image and is going to prove to Claire that her relationship with Ben is definitely a sexual relationship.
Director: John Riggi
Writer: Abraham Higginbotham
7.1/10 1,553 votes#17 - No Small Feet
Season 9 Episode 10 - Aired 12/13/2017
When Claire lands a big opportunity for Pritchett’s Closets, Jay expects a little validation for his contribution; and Pam’s ex-boyfriend Bo shows up and Mitchell sees this as the perfect opportunity to get Pam out of the house. Meanwhile, Luke and Alex stumble upon a successful online business that finally gets them on their feet.
Director: James R. Bagdonas
Writer: Ryan Walls, Matt Plonsker
7.1/10 1,530 votes#18 - He Said, She Shed
Season 9 Episode 11 - Aired 1/3/2018
Claire’s request to build a “She Shed” in their backyard is denied by the homeowners association and only Luke and Phil know the real reason why. Meanwhile Pameron lets Cam in on a family secret that forces him to visit Mitch’s therapist to work through this new information.
Director: James Alan Hensz
Writer: Jeffrey Richman, Ryan Walls
7.1/10 1,477 votes#19 - The Wild
Season 10 Episode 17 - Aired 3/13/2019
Mitch, Cam and Phil crash Jay’s annual hiking trip to find an elusive bald eagle after Gloria asks them to keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Gloria, Alex, Claire and Haley get together to plan her baby shower.
Director: James R. Bagdonas
Writer: Elaine Ko
7.1/10 1,478 votes#20 - Pool Party
Season 11 Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2019
Mitch and Cam help Lily overcome her insecurities about wearing a bathing suit to a pool party but discover their own. Meanwhile, now that Gloria’s new internship is taking up so much of her time, Jay is feeling particularly neglected.
Director: Abraham Higginbotham
Writer: Abraham Higginbotham, Jon Pollack
7.2/10 1,776 votes#21 - Grab It
Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 11/9/2016
Jay’s favorite place in the world, and only refuge, may be losing some of its charm when Phil considers becoming a member. At the Dunphy house, Claire mistakes her influence on Alex’s life choices, and Hayley cares too much about what Alex thinks about hers. Meanwhile, when Cam doesn’t give Mitchell the full story on what his play is really about, it really puts Mitchell in the spotlight.
Director: Beth McCarthy-Miller
Writer: Jeffrey Richman
7.2/10 1,765 votes#22 - Snow Ball
Season 8 Episode 9 - Aired 12/14/2016
When Manny and Luke put on the school’s lavish winter dance and end up over their heads due to a texting error, it is up to them to fix it before the end of the night. Meanwhile, Gloria, Claire, Mitchell and Cam all volunteer at the dance while Jay’s thinly veiled guise to get out of it by pretending to want to spend time with Phil backfires. During the dance, Claire and Gloria attempt to set up Marjorie, an overbearing mom, with the school’s principal. Finally, Mitchell is unnerved to be back in high school and is shocked to see a lot of himself in the school bully and feels he needs a little guidance.
Director: Beth McCarthy-Miller
Writer: Christy Stratton, Stephen Lloyd
7.2/10 1,737 votes#23 - Sarge & Pea
Season 8 Episode 11 - Aired 1/11/2017
Cam is incensed that an anonymous and rude parent robbed him of a precious Lily moment during her recent dance recital. While he and Hayley visit Alex at her coffee shop the next day, he thinks he recognizes the culprit and goes to extremes to uncover her identity, and give her a peace of his mind. Meanwhile, Jay, Claire and Mitch attend a family wedding and unexpectedly run into Dede at the reception. Afraid their parents are going to once again make a scene, Mitch and Claire devise a plan to keep them apart. Finally, Phil and Gloria are on a college tour with Luke and Manny, and have very different ways of getting the boys ready to head out on this new adventure and also learning to let go.
Director: James R. Bagdonas
Writer: Abraham Higginbotham
7.2/10 1,671 votes#24 - Basketball
Season 8 Episode 16 - Aired 3/8/2017
After choking at last year’s charity basketball game, Phil has been training all year to redeem himself. However, when NBA stars Charles Barkley and DeAndre Jordan attend the game and start making bets, Phil tries to not buckle under the pressure. Meanwhile, Gloria has to step-up at Manny’s school when her nemesis, Donna Duncan, tries to shame her for her lack of support at the school. Finally, Claire does whatever it takes to keep a work mistake secret from Jay, while Jay’s concerned that Joe doesn’t have a healthy fear of him at all.
Director: James Alan Hensz
Writer: Elaine Ko
7.2/10 1,615 votes#25 - It's the Great Pumpkin, Phil Dunphy
Season 9 Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/2017
Phil and Claire still want to celebrate Halloween in a big way, but it seems no one shares their same enthusiasm making them wonder if maybe everyone is right. Over at the Pritchett’s, Mitch and Cam are frustrated by how long Jay is taking to finish their kitchen remodel, which forces Mitch to finally stand up to his dad. Meanwhile, Gloria’s hospitality is wearing thin when Cam oversteps his boundaries as a house guest.
Director: Beth McCarthy-Miller
Writer: Jon Pollack