I was lucky enough to attend a recent screening of the opening episode and if the reaction of the preview audience is anything to go by it’s set to be a big hit.
The series takes a mockumentary style look at three families in present day America, capturing those awkward moments moments one might prefer to keep firmly behind closed doors.
The families range from Phil and Claire who aspire to have an open, healthy and honest relationship with their three children but who find their good intentions put to the test by a teenage daughter who is growing up a little too fast, a too smart for her own good middle daughter and a rambunctious boy.
Guys’ guy Jay (Married…with Children’s Ed O’Neill) might just be experiencing a bit of a mid-life crisis, he’s found himself a younger – and much hotter – Latino wife Gloria, who has become the centre of his world but comes complete with an vastly overweight 11-year-old son, Manny, who spends most of his time daydreaming and writing poetry.
Step-father Jay’s not too comfortable with the “sensitive” stuff, he’d rather toughen Manny up, but ends up spending much of his time being mistaken for Gloria’s father.
Played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, Mitchell and Cameron are the final couple and are surely destined to be the show’s star attraction. Together for five years, the pair inhabit an America where not everyone thinks gay is ok. When we meet then the pair are flying back home with their newly adopted Vietnamese daughter.
The opening episode has some great gags, a few wining moments and a lot of painful truths about modern family life. You’ll want to set your Sky+ for this one.
8pm Thursday October 15th, Sky1 and Sky1 HD