modernfamily

'Modern Family' is about to lose one of its biggest scene-stealers: twins Ella and Jaden Hiller. According to E! Online, little Lily is being recast.

Producers have reportedly issued a casting notice for an "Asian, 3- to 4-year-old daughter of Mitchell and Cameron." Series star Jesse Tyler Ferguson hinted to E! about a possible recast, especially since Season 3 will feature a walking, talking Lily.

"Lily will definitely be more prominent in season three," he said. "It's interesting with children because we can't force this 2 and a half-year-old child to start speaking, and we don't know if the twins who play Lily are inclined toward acting, so maybe we'll cast another older child who can talk and who wants to be an actress to play Lily."

When the going gets tough, the tough veg out in front of the tube.

Variety's picks for the top new series of the 2009-10 season suggest that, in these tough times, viewers' favorite new shows were generally the light, escapist, family-friendly ones. Most were comedies (including 'Community,' 'Glee,' and 'Modern Family'), but even the dramas were low-key affairs ('Parenthood,' the strangely reassuring 'Good Wife,' the fantasy 'Vampire Diaries').

Of the four new dramas on the list, only one was a crime procedural ('NCIS: Los Angeles'). Even the one reality show on the list was one that didn't involve competition and elimination ('Undercover Boss').

Family is really important, although these days on television, we're seeing more and more groups that are sort of like family, friends or office mates or co-workers that supply the support and love of a traditional clan, but don't have share any DNA with one another. But there's nothing quite as dysfunctional and compelling as a real family, the old-fashioned type with lots of siblings, some aunts and uncles, maybe even a set of grandparents.

Currently, there are four traditional families on TV that would be a lot of fun to hang out with. They're all different kinds of family, but they could all provide just the kind of craziness to create a really good time. Check it out:

On the latest episode of 'Modern Family' (Wed., 9PM ET on ABC), a couple switches roles. Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) goes out and gets a job, and thus, it falls to Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) to take up the new position of stay-at-home dad. Unfortunately, Cameron's new job doesn't work out so well.

Watch the video after the jump.

Perhaps not as to disrupt the 'Family' ties, Deadline.com is reporting that the cast ABC's hit comedy 'Modern Family' will maintain a level playing field and all six of its adult stars will enter their Emmy submissions in the supporting categories.

It was a move precipitated by the 'Family' patriarch Ed O'Neill, according to the report. Despite possessing the sitcom's biggest name when the series premiered last year, the former 'Married ... With Children' star felt that no one actor was bigger than another in this strong ensemble and opted to submit his name in the supporting category as if to prove it. The other adult regulars on the cast -- Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet -- are all expected to follow suit.

It's a challenge faced by really strong ensemble casts everywhere: Determining who gets put into lead categories, and who gets put into supporting come Emmy-submission time.

Certainly, it's a dilemma faced by ABC's 'Modern Family,' as the critically acclaimed freshman comedy boasts a clan's worth of award-worthy performers. According to the Hollywood Reporter, there are four different divide-and-conquer Emmy strategies being considered within the 'Family' camp: 1.) Submitting all six of the adult regular cast members (Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet) in the lead category; 2.) putting them all in the supporting category; 3.) designating 'Family' patriarch O'Neill in the lead category and the rest in supporting, or 4.) submitting the "traditional" parents Bowen and Burrell in the lead categories, and the rest in supporting. (Guess this means there's no room at the awards show inn for Rico Rodriguez, who is hilariously on-point as man-child Manny.)

'American Idol' and 'Dancing With the Stars' are in full swing, but there's another big reality-competition show on the horizon: 'So You Think You Can Dance.'

Patricia Chui, Kelly Woo and guest Brooke Tarnoff (of Girls on Pop) discuss the recently announced changes to the show's format: Will they make the show better, or worse? And which of the three people on the right will reportedly be spending less time at the judges' table?

Plus: The end of the once-beloved '24,' which shows we've been hoarding on our DVRs (breaking up is just so hard to do), and the iPad episode of 'Modern Family.'

Christopher Lloyd, the co-creator of 'Modern Family', explained to The Live Feed blog that the recent iPad-centric episode of the show was not a case of paid product placement. You know what? I believe him.

Truthfully, the love of gadgets fits very well into Phil Dunphy's (as played by Ty Burrell) character. He's the sort of man-child that would love such toys as the iPad. Plus given all its publicity it has gotten so far, it's not likely the iPad needs more product placement. Lloyd told James Hibberd that they wanted Phil to get excited over a gadget, and the iPad seemed to be "the perfect one to use," since it was being released the Saturday after the episode aired.

More likely examples of paid product placement would be 'Chuck's' heavy use of the Subway restaurant chain or that painful episode of 'Smallville' that revolved around the consumption of Stride Gum that was infected with Kryptonite. It's also possible to name episodes of 'The Office' and '30 Rock' with paid product placement that got to the point of parody.

On the other hand, it's unlikely that the creator of a show would ever admit to selling out. We'll have to accept that the complete truth will never be known. Enjoy the show!

While watching the two family sitcoms on ABC last night, 'The Middle' and 'Modern Family,' it seemed to me that they were funnier than usual because the writers took the effort to incorporate topical, timely elements into the scripts. On 'The Middle,' it was all about basketball and the NCAA Final Four. On 'Modern Family,' it was the highly anticipated release of the Apple iPad.

Now, while Joel thought the latter was an overdone commercial that may have been penned by Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself, my reaction was completely the opposite. And some critics agreed with me, too.

The idea that Phil would be obsessing about the latest technology was in keeping with the character. Phil's been established as a techie guy, a geekster of the first order. Why wouldn't he be an early adopter of the iPad considering that it is being touted as the next big thing?

We live in a TiVo world, and its impact has been spilling out all over our favorite shows in the form of product placement. The judges on 'American Idol' drink out of huge Coke or Vitamin Water cups. The chefs on 'Top Chef' use Calphalon equipment, as all the logo close-ups tell us. The folks at the Buy More on 'Chuck' really love their Subway sandwiches.

We get it. It's the way of the TV world these days, as someone's got to the pay the freight in a world where you can zap a commercial by pushing a button.

But, when entire stories on shows play out like an ad for a product, then things have gone too far. Unfortunately, my favorite new show, 'Modern Family,' took things that step too far last night with their iPad-themed plot. It felt like one long Apple commercial. Never mind that the episode aired just in time for the device's release on Saturday; the iPad drove the plot rather than the plot necessitating the use of an iPad. And that's where the producers crossed the line.

Mitchell just wanted to learn a few self defense moves to keep his family safe on 'Modern Family' (Wed., 9PM ET on ABC). That's what happens when you become a parent.

But when he asked Jay to offer a few tips, the lesson quickly turned into a sleeper hold in a WrestleMania match. Mitchell and Cameron should probably just take Jay along any time they leave the house with the baby. If Mitchell ever wakes back up, that is.

Watch the video after the jump.

The Peabody Award winners were announced today and they included their usual mix of enlightening documentaries and popular favorites, both of which are equally worthy of recognition.

This year's list didn't have many fictional shows, but the one's they picked more than made up for their absence. ABC's 'Modern Family' and Fox's 'Glee' both picked up awards, the only two sitcoms on the list. HBO's 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' and 'In Treatment' were also the only dramas on the list.

Other notable winners include 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson' for his sit-down with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, HBO's documentary 'Thrilla in Manila,' PBS' 'Frontline' for their stirring report on Bernie Madoff and '60 Minutes'' expose on "The Cost of Dying."

Don't stop believing, 'Glee' fans: It seems that critics and awards bodies are every bit as hooked on the show as the rest of us, with the prestigious Peabody Awards the latest in a long line to honor the musical dramedy.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, 'Glee' was one of 36 outstanding series, documentaries, websites and news reports that the distinguished group spotlighted as the best in electronic media for 2009, during a ceremony held at the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication on Mar. 31.

Other Peabody winners included ABC's hilarious sitcom 'Modern Family,' HBO's taut therapy-session drama 'In Treatment,' and 'Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,' which was described by the board as "a talk show without borders," for its Desmond Tutu edition.

It's always amazing (and, frankly, shocking) when television characters make you laugh out loud, and that's how we feel about Cameron and Mitchell on 'Modern Family' (Wed., 9PM ET on ABC).

On last night's episode, a comment that Cameron made – well, here it is: "Honestly, I wish that tart would go back to Columbia and take her weird little Brown friend with her" – was completely misconstrued by Gloria. The whole thing was a madcap moment. It's ok if you want to watch it five times. We did.

Watch the video after the jump.

For the past 27 years, The Paley Center for Media has celebrated the best and brightest shows, creators and stars of our pop-cultural landscape with a two-week-long festival designed to bring fans face to face with the talent that entertains us every night.

The Annual William S. Paley Television Festival (dubbed "PaleyFest" for short) is one of the highlights of any Los Angeles-based TV aficionado's calendar, offering audiences the chance to view fresh new episodes of their favorite shows weeks before they hit the air, and grill panels of actors, showrunners and writers about their craft.

This year's 13-night schedule of events (Feb. 26-March 14) included some of the most critically acclaimed, most talked-about and most unmissable shows of the year, from newcomers such as 'Glee,' 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Modern Family' to primetime stalwarts like 'Dexter' and 'Lost.' Now that the dust has settled and the red carpets have been rolled away, we've compiled this handy list of panel highlights for some of your favorite shows, to ensure that you won't miss out on any of the scoop that was dished out at the festival.