Who Is ‘Modern Family’ Killing Off?

With the news that Modern Family will be killing of a “significant character” during its upcoming season comes mass speculation on who it could be.

While the term “significant” certainly could imply that someone from the main cast might be on their way out, it doesn’t seem likely.

The thing about Modern Family is that every character in the main cast fills a specific role and serves a purpose, and while the show’s co-creator Christopher Lloyd revealed that they plan to handle “some bigger life events in this season,” the idea of killing off someone in the main cast just seems extremely too bleak for a show like this. However, it’s certainly not impossible.

Below, we’ve put together a list of Modern Family characters that are not necessarily on the main cast, but seem more likely to be killed off in manner that would see lasting implications.

Scroll down to check it out and let us know in the comments who you think it might be!

Jay Pritchett

Played by: Ed O’Neill

Ok, we’ll just get this one out of the way. If they ARE going to kill off a truly significant Modern Family character, Jay Pritchett seems like the most likely candidate.

That’s not to say it should be him, just that if producers and writers really want to explore the ramifications of a family death, the aging patriarch stands out as an obvious choice.

DeDe Pritchett

Played by: Shelley Long

Moving on to the important — and significant — supporting cast, the next most likely character to kill off would be the infrequently seen DeDe Pritchett.

Mother to the three Pritchett siblings, and ex-wife of Jay, DeDe’s death would no doubt have a lasting impact on the show.

Frank Dunphy

 

Played by: Fred Willard

Another impacting loss would be that of Frank Dunphy, the father of Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell).

Frank has a very close relationship with his son, and also just got remarried, so his death would absolutely be a heavy blow.

Pilar Ramirez

Played by: Elizabeth Peña

Pilar Ramirez is Gloria Pritchett’s mother. She only appeared in two episodes of the show before the actress who plays her, Peña, passed away.

To date, the series does not appear to have mentioned Pilar passing away, so it could be possible that they may choose to address family loss though the death of this character.

Javier Delgado

Played by: Benjamin Bratt

Another possibility is that the show could kill off Gloria’s ex-husband — and the biological father of her son Manny (Rico Rodriguez) — Javier Delgado.

Played by Bratt, Delgado’s death could achieve the goal of exploring how the families deal with loss, while also not impacting the show to a massive degree.

Donnie Pritchett

Played by: Jonathan Banks

One of the more heartfelt moments on Modern Family came in a 2001 episode where Jay found out that his brother Donnie was suffering from cancer.

Donnie was last mentioned in a 2014 episode of the show, so it is possible that his presence could be felt again while the family grieves.

Barb Tucker

Played by: Celia Weston

Barb Tucker is the mother of Cameron (Eric Stonestreet), and played by legendary character actress Celia Weston.

While she has only been in a handful of episodes of the series, her death would surely leave a mark on the characters.

Merle Tucker

Played by: Barry Corbin

Similar to Cameron’s mother, his father’s death would also be a terrible loss.

He’s only appeared in three episodes so far, but would be deeply missed by the Tucker/Pritchett and Dunphy families nonetheless.