Ariel Winter Spills the Tea on What’s to Come in the Final Season of ‘Modern Family’

The final season of Modern Family kicks off tonight, and while we hate to see it go, we can hardly wait to find out what the Dunphys get into this season.

Ahead of the hit ABC comedy’s season 11 premiere, we chatted with Ariel Winter, who plays Alex, about what we can expect from our favorite TV family this year. Spoiler alert: Lots of changes are on the horizon. 

The 21-year-old Modern Family star assured us we can expect “continued Dunphy shenanigans. We’re always doing something crazy.”

She went on to explain, on a more serious note, that, “It will be another year of growth and family changes, because of course all of the Dunphys are getting older and now we have the babies. I think it will [showcase] more growing pains as the family changes and evolves.”

The close of season ten saw Alex preparing to enter the real world, so we couldn’t help but ask where her career search will take her.

Winter explained, “Alex is torn on what she’s going to do with her life because she’s had so many job opportunities that she’s trying to figure out what she wants to do the most and what’s going to make her happy. I think Alex does a lot of what she thinks she should do and what she thinks is the best option for her. Now, as she gets older she’s trying to figure out what she wants and I think that’s a really big thing for her. She’s just figuring out the real world where it’s not just about school and homework, it’s actual adult life things.”

Alex’s journey to self-actualization is something Winter can relate to. After playing her Modern Family character for so long, she’s getting ready to forge a new path.

“I’ve been playing Alex for 11 years and we’ve both gone through being kids and then being adults. That was what we knew and that was what we were comfortable with, but now we’re doing something different, so you have to adapt,” she mused.

As for the show’s ending, Winter said she’s not yet sure how everything turns out: “I don’t know what’s going to happen past episode six because that’s all I’ve seen, but it should be a good season. I’m sad that it’s ending, but I’m excited to see how it ends.” (Same.)

She went on to admit that the final season feels “very strange” to her. “This [show] has been half of my life. It’s going to be really sad and really devastating and I think it will throw us all for a bit of a loop, but it’s not anything that we’re not excited for. Just to be able to do something new. It’s mixed emotions for sure.”

The season 11 Modern Family premiere airs on ABC tonight at 9 p.m. PT/ET. We’ll see you there, Dunphys.