ABC Renews Sofia Vergara’s “Modern Family” for 11th and Final Season

Sofia Vergara’s extending her Family time…

ABC has picked up its flagship comedy series Modern Family, starring the 46-year-old Colombian actress, for an eleventh and final season.

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family,

The Emmy-winning family comedy will reportedly consist of at least 18 episodes, and could expand to 22 episodes, according to Deadline.com/

Modern Family’s renewal was all but assured when the original adult cast, stars Ed O’NeillJulie BowenTy BurrellJesse Tyler FergusonEric Stonestreet and Vergara, agreed to new deals in December with producing studio 20th Century Fox Televisionto return. 

Since then, the studio also has signed co-creators/executive producers Steve Levitanand Christopher Lloydfor another season, and also has made new deals with the original child actors — now all young adults —  Sarah HylandAriel WinterNolan Gould and Rico Rodriguez

Ten seasons in, Modern Family remains ABC’s top rated comedy (2.1 adults 18-49 rating in Live+3) and second highest rated series on the network only behind Grey’s Anatomy (tied with The Good DoctorThe Bachelorand The Conners).

“Chris and Steve have created one of the most seminal and iconic comedies in television history,” said Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment. “In its final season, there will be more milestone events that anyone who has been a fan of the series won’t want to miss.”

A five-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy SeriesModern Family stars O’Neill as Jay Pritchett, Bowen as Claire Dunphy, Burrell as Phil Dunphy, Vergara as Gloria Pritchett, Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett, Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker, Hyland as Haley Dunphy, Gould as Luke Dunphy, Winter as Alex Dunphy, Rodriguez as Manny Delgado, Aubrey Anderson-Emmonsas Lily Tucker-Pritchett and Jeremy Maguireas Joe Pritchett.

“For 10 years, our characters have bravely faced turning points in life and moved through them to great personal enrichment; we have chosen a different path by doing one more season of Modern Family,” said Lloyd.

Added Levitan, “Even after 10 years together, we realized there are still some things our writers don’t yet know about each other’s sex lives.”

“Modern Family” Star Rodriguez Gets a Hefty Raise

Rico Rodriguez will be mucho más rico this year…

The 14-year-old Latino actor and Modern Family scene-stealer has reportedly finalized a deal that would triple his current salary.

Rico Rodriguez

Rodriguez—who gave a memorable acceptance speech at the SAG Awards after picking up the coveted trophy for Best Ensemble in a Comedy SeriesSarah Hyland, Nolan Gould and Ariel Winter are set to earn approximately $70,000 per episode, according to Deadline.com.

The Modern Family children started renegotiating their contracts the day after their adult counterparts reached an agreement with 20th Century Fox, which produces the Emmy-winning series for ABC.

The negotiations for Modern Family’s adult stars Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet resulted in a missed table read for the upcoming Season 4 premiere episode and a lawsuit filed by all five actors.

Vergara and her adult co-stars, who were originally each making $65,000 an episode, are now making in the $170,000-$180,000 range with year-to-year increases and a portion of the show’s back-end.

The new season of Modern Family premieres on Wednesday, September 26 at 9:00 pm ET on ABC.

Plaza Wins Young Hollywood Award

Aubrey Plaza is having a breakthrough year…

The 27-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian—who stars as April Ludgate in NBC’s Parks and Recreation, received the Breakthrough Performance Female award at the 2012 Young Hollywood Awards, which celebrate rising stars in movies, television, music and beyond.

Aubrey Plaza

While accepting her award, Plaza—known for her deadpan delivery on Parks and Recreation—declared that she was “never going to die.”

Plaza has also starred in Funny People and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.

Meanwhile, Modern Family’s Rico Rodriguez and claimed the Scene Stealers award.

The 13-year-old Latino child actor shared the prize with his Modern Family co-star Nolan Gould and Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka, who plays the scarily mature Sally Draper.

Click here to see all the night’s winners.

Rodriguez Gives Comical Acceptance Speech at the SAG Awards…

He’s only 13-years-old… But Rico Rodriguez is a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award winner.

The Latino scene-stealer on ABC’s Modern Family and his fellow cast mates, including his on-screen mother Sofia Vergara, claimed their second straight Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series award at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards during Sunday’s ceremony at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium.

Modern Family Cast at the SAG Awards

In one of the highlights of the awards show, Modern Family’s adults stood back and let Rodriguez and the rest of the show’s talented child actors shine. Rodriguez, Nolan Gould and Ariel Winter took the podium and gave the acceptance speech after their show’s victory. The talented trio had a planned skit that was all kinds of adorable.

Much like Vergara’s hilariously translated Spanish speech at the Golden Globes, the kids’ speech was quite comical! During the speech, Rodriguez and  Winter thanked actual people before Gould interjected by thanking SAG and AFTRA for “making sure we’re properly fed, have all our shots, cleaned and are put in our pens by sundown.”

Modern Family Cast at the SAG Awards

Meanwhile, The Help swept the awards show, winning prizes for Best Cast, Best Actress (Viola Davis), and Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer). In the night’s biggest surprise, The Artist‘s Jean Dujardin bested The DescendantsGeorge Clooney for Best Actor.

Here’s a list of all the night’s winners:

Best Actress, Motion Picture Viola Davis, The Help
Best Actor, Motion Picture Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Cast, TV Drama Boardwalk Empire
Best Actor, TV Drama Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Best Actress, TV Drama Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Best Actor, Miniseries or TV Movie Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
Best Actress, Miniseries or TV Movie Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
Best Cast, TV Comedy Modern Family
Best Actress, TV Comedy Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Best Actor, TV Comedy Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Stunt Ensemble, Film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2z
Stunt Ensemble, TV Game of Thrones