With several child actors in its cast, Modern Family had to handle some parts of production a little differently. One of the most interesting rules involved the show’s table reads, where the cast sat down together to read through each new script.
Learning Lines Separately
Younger cast members generally weren’t allowed to take part in the full table reads until they were around 11 years old. Before that, they learned their lines separately with the help of a studio teacher and a parent, which helped keep things age-appropriate while still preparing them for filming.
Lily and Joe’s Big Moments
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who played Lily Tucker-Pritchett, was finally allowed to sit in on table reads from Season 9 as she got older. Jeremy Maguire, who played Joe Pritchett, was only eight when the cast gathered for the show’s final table read, but he was allowed to join that last one.
Being included in that last read meant Maguire got to share an emotional milestone with the people he had grown up around on set. After 11 seasons, the final table read was a big moment for the whole cast.
It’s a small behind-the-scenes rule, but it shows how much thought went into looking after the youngest members of the Modern Family family.