Modern Family Tops All Sitcoms, Sets Pre-Christmas Streaming Record

Five years after its last season, Modern Family is still doing numbers. It regularly pops up near the top of Disney+ viewership charts (via FlixPatrol), and every holiday stretch it surges like clockwork. There is a running claim that it is the most-watched sitcom on Disney+. You can argue the wording, but given how often it charts and how reliably families click it on in December, I get why that keeps circulating.

Quick note on the platform thing, because it can be confusing: Modern Family streams on Hulu and Peacock in the US. Those Disney+ rankings you see come from regions where the show is on Disney+ (and now sometimes via the Hulu tile inside Disney+). So if you are in the States and open Disney+ and can’t find it, that is why.

'We were just a family making good TV'

Rico Rodriguez, who played Manny (still a fan favorite, even if the later seasons didn’t exactly supercharge his arc), told People that the show didn’t just look like a family on screen — it felt like one on set. He says the experience left a mark on his life and on TV in general, but they never walked around like they were hot stuff.

'We were just a family who wanted to make good TV... and the response and the accolades that came after was just like, Whoa, I can’t believe people even like our show.'

According to Rodriguez, the day-to-day vibe was simple: show up, do good work, have fun, go home. The entire cast still keeps in touch, even as everyone has branched out to other projects — which is probably why the show still reads as such a comfort watch.

Why Modern Family still works

• It blends mockumentary style with classic sitcom rhythms. Instead of leaning on cringe, it uses the talking-head confessionals and zooms to deliver self-aware, traditional jokes that invite more people in.
• The humor skews subtle and physical more than gag-heavy, so it plays across ages (and replays well).
• It sticks the heartfelt endings. Those big emotional payoffs are a core reason it lingers — especially during the holidays.

For the basics: Modern Family ran 11 seasons, created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan. The main ensemble includes Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It still scores well with viewers and critics — 8.5/10 on IMDb and 85% critics, 90% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you are in the US, you can stream Modern Family on Hulu and Peacock. Elsewhere, check Disney+. And if you inevitably end up watching a holiday episode this week, you are definitely not alone.