Modern Family

If you're one of the few who hasn't caught the funniest show on television, now's your time to start watching. And no, I'm not writing about Glee, The Office or 30 Rock.

Recently crowned the most outstanding comedy on television at the Emmy Awards, Modern Family has returned from its summer hiatus with an all new season of documentary-style hilarity. Nestled as the anchor of ABC's Wednesday night comedy block, the show follows the Patricia Heaton-starring (and vastly under-appreciated) The Middle and the new laugher Better With You, and precedes Cougar Town. The series put ABC back on the map, following a string of sitcom duds (Cavemen, anybody?), and was the stand-out of last year's crop of freshmen comedies.

To catch everyone up: Modern Family revolves around three American families: a gay couple who have adopted an Asian baby, a pair of typical 30-somethings with three children with varying levels of intelligence, and an older, wealthy divorcé who married a drop-dead-gorgeous Latina with a young, yet mature son. The catch is that they're all related, a tie-in that we discover at the end of the series’ pilot episode.

The first few frames of the second season premiere exemplify everything that we’ve come to appreciate about the show. Phil Dunphy, a perfectly-cast Ty Burrell, awkwardly attempts to unhook a bicycle off the wall in the garage, before having mounds of junk fall on top of him, in front of his less-than-pleased wife, Claire, played by Julie Bowen. This sets the stage for the central peg of the episode: Claire dares Phil, a real estate agent, to try to sell an old, dilapidated car that sits inside, never used. The trouble is she can’t let go of the lemon that she’s had since high school.

Who hasn’t had a clumsy uncle, or father, or brother-in-law attempt to get something out of a crowded garage, amidst piles of useless items tumbling on his head? Who doesn’t have a sister or aunt who makes bets with a husband, just to question the skill that he makes a living off of? We can undoubtedly see a member of our own families in all of the predicaments that the cast members find themselves in.

And for once, these couples are representative of the diversity that can be found in a lot of American families now. This isn’t the homogeneous band of characters that we watched in The Cosby Show, All in the Family, or even more recently, Friends and Frasier.

An interracial relationship? Check. A homosexual couple with an adopted Asian baby? Check. An old father with an inflated ego, and a hot wife? Check. A disastrous family trip to Hawaii? Check. A brother who had a bird named Flyza Minnelli? Well, okay, maybe not.

This season, viewers have much to look forward to: a guest appearance by Nathan Lane, another family getaway and an earthquake. And most of all, the forthcoming kiss between Cameron (played by Eric Stonestreet, who took home an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), made possible by a viral Facebook group viewers created that totals more than 13,000 members.

Thanks to writers Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, of Just Shoot Me fame, the family sitcom has been made enjoyable again. And not with cheap laughs and slap-stick humor—I’m talking to you, Two and a Half Men. With an awkwardly charming and relatable group of characters, Family will definitely be that lemon you won’t let go of for years to come.