How the show will take on the issue is still kept under wraps, but Jeffrey Richman reveals writers had pitched their ideas even before the ruling.
- Aug 15, 2013
AceShowbiz - When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in California earlier this year, "Modern Family" cast and crew must have been among them who were overjoyed at the ruling. The legalization of same-sex marriage surely gives more creative freedom to the writers of the show, which has a gay couple, and they definitely waste no time to take advantage of it.
During an onstage "table read" at Fox Studios on Wednesday, August 14, it was revealed that the first episode of the upcoming fifth season would take on the issue. Executive producer Steven Levitan asked audience not to spoil any surprises, so plot details are not available at this time.
Though so, Jeffrey Richman who penned the premiere episode titled "Suddenly Last Summer" was willing to share how they came up with the same-sex marriage plotline. He said the writers started breaking their story even "before the decision came down. We would have been extremely unlucky writers had the decision gone the other way."
As a gay, Richman said he "was happier" about the same-sex marriage legalization. "It was great for the gays, too," he added.
Levitan additionally recalled that it wasn't until Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitch, one-half of the gay couple on the show, urged him to hire a gay writer that the show has gay writers. They then hired Richman before adding Abraham Higginbotham to the writing team, although lately Higginbotham tends to do the writing for college-age Haley.
Back in June after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in California, co-creator Christopher Lloyd said a wedding for gay couple Cam and Mitch was "a real possibility." He added, "It's certainly something we are contemplating on the show in ways we wouldn't have in prior seasons. We've had a number of conversations. As you can imagine in Cam and Mitchell's life, they would be feeling that a door has opened that was closed to them."
The new season of "Modern Family" will premiere Wednesday, September 25 at 9 P.M. on ABC.
