Summary
- Modern Family faced contract negotiations and struggles with its cast, including Ariel Winter, whose $6 million deal caused tension due to her broken relationship with her mom.
- Winter's mother almost jeopardized her role on the show multiple times, but the show and its creators refused to comment on the matter.
- The main cast of Modern Family went through tense contract negotiations, receiving substantial raises but not meeting their requested amounts. Ed O'Neil walked away with the biggest backend deal.
Modern Family created major stars. The show went on for 11 seasons, airing over 250 episodes. In truth, its duration could've been extended given the obvious success of the series.
However, Sofia Vergara and company did go through some struggles on the show, especially with contract negotiations. In the following, we'll take a look at what went on during Ariel Winter's contract negotiations, and how her $6 million deal almost caused tension behind the scenes because of her broken relationship with her mom.
We'll also take a closer look at other deals that were settled behind the scenes during the series.
Although the show enjoyed success, dealing with contracts wasn't always easy.
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Shanelle Gray Refused To Be Paid For Her Sister Ariel Winter's $6 Million Pay On Modern Family
At the time, it was the biggest contract of her career, as Ariel Winter scored a $6 million contract during renegotiation. The sum was revealed in court documents. Shanelle Gray, Ariel Winter's sister, took over as the star's legal guardian. The situation did cause some controversy as Gray could've taken some of the contract funds from her sister, but decided not to.
The court documents states, "The minor's professional career was protected from chronic and unwarranted interference by the mother which had prevented the minor's execution of a renegotiated contract for her starring role in the television sitcom, 'Modern Family,' which contract has a value in excess of $6,000,000."
Today wrote, "Gray is not being paid as Winter's guardian and informed the judge that she doesn't want access to her sister's funds, asserting her "sole interest has been insuring my sister's well-being, free from my mother's unwarranted interference and unacceptable behaviors towards Ariel."
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Winter's estranged mother, Chrisoula Workman turned out to be a major talking point at the time, over a decade ago. It was a problematic time for Winter, who almost lost her career-changing role on Modern Family because of it.
Ariel Winter's Time On Modern Family Was Almost Cut Short Because Of Her Mother
A Modern Family without Alex Dunphy just doesn't sound right. Whether her job was in actual jeopardy is debated. However, it should be noted that Modern Family refused to comment over rumors that surfaced about Ariel Winter's potential firing. Once again in court documents, Winter hinted that her estranged mom was ruining her time on the show and putting her role in jeopardy.
According to People, those behind the scenes on the show refused to comment on the matter. "An attorney for Gray alleged that Ariel had come close to being fired from the ABC comedy several times “because of the mother’s harassment and interference.”
"Cast and producers of Modern Family, as well as ABC reps, have all declined to comment, although show creator Steve Levitan has frequently commended all the child actors for their professionalism and talent, saying they’ve been integral to the success of the show."
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Without a doubt, Winter must've felt a great sense of relief after she inked a new deal to stay on the show for the long-term. However, Winter wasn't the only cast member that went through difficulties on the show when it came to contract negotiations.
The Modern Family Cast Had Other Contract Disputes Take Place Behind The Scenes
It took an extended period of time for the main cast of Modern Family to renegotiate their contracts. According to Today, the cast saw a spike in their contracts, but just missed the mark as to what they requested.
Today wrote about the huge raise during tense negotiations, "According to sources close to the negotiations, the deals for Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara will provide for substantial raises over their current salaries of about $65,000 per episode (Ed O'Neill, a big star pre-"Family," made about $105,000 for season three) to slightly more than the $150,000 for the upcoming fourth season that Fox offered."
"One source says that with bonuses the cast will be paid about $170,000 or $175,000 an episode for the upcoming 22-episode season — a big raise but less than the $200,000 requested."
In addition to the new deals, one Modern Family star walked away with the biggest backend deal of all the cast. That was none other than Ed O'Neil.
Today writes, "The new deals will bring O'Neill's salary pretty much in line with his co-stars (he previously made a lot more), but he will receive significantly more in back-end participation, making his ultimate take from "Modern Family" larger."
Thankfully, the contract negotiations allowed the show to continue on.
