Modern Family: The Complete Seventh Season

The more that things change in this Emmy-winning sitcom, the more they remain the same. Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) see their brainy middle daughter Alex (Ariel Winter) off to her first year of college, while their eldest Haley (Sarah Hyland) is in love with a guy (Adam DeVine) engaged to another woman. Claire's father Jay (Ed O'Neill), married to younger Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and a father to her son from a previous marriage, faces the arrival of a new baby just as he is retiring from the business that he ran for decades. Jay's son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a gay lawyer married to Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and father of an adopted daughter, struggles with unemployment and tries to find a new career path. And just when you think there can't be any more new kids, Phil adopts a gaggle of ducklings that bond with Claire (much to her chagrin) and overrun their home. There's nothing new to the formula or the sense of humor, but even though the series seems to be coasting on its well-established mockumentary format, character chemistry, and rapid-fire delivery, this family comedy is consistently funny. A five-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series, Modern Family remains one of the highest-rated sitcoms on TV and one of the only shows built around the contemporary American family as redefined in all its modern diversity. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 2015-16 season, extras include an extended episode, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)