Modern Family creator admits a 'significant character' will die

Modern Family fans will feel some heartache in upcoming episodes as co-creator Christopher Lloyd admitted that season 10 will deal with the death of a "significant character". Photo / Getty Images

Audiences have fallen in love with the Pritchett family since the 2010 premiere of Modern Family.

But fans of the sitcom will feel some heartache in upcoming episodes as co-creator Christopher Lloyd admitted that season 10 will deal with the death of a "significant character", according to Entertainment Weekly.

Viewers can still expect hilarious antics from the star-studded cast, but the first half of the season will draw a few tears, reports Daily Mail.

"We're handling some bigger life events in this season," he said. "We do deal with a death, which is certainly a topic that families have to deal with, and on television, it's not easy to do because that's a heavy subject.

"But at the same time, it would seem unusual for a family not to go through it."

Lloyd remained secretive on which character fans would be saying goodbye to and wouldn't confirm if the death would be of a main family member.

He did admit the death of a "significant character on the series" would be "a moving event — and an event that has repercussions across several episodes."

In addition to the challenging story line, the hit show is entering the last season of its contract.

And while some of lamented the end of their favorite show, Lloyd isn't quite ready to hang up his hat and call it quits.

"There's goodwill on both sides to make it happen, but there's also complicated matters that have to get worked through, and there's a time constraint on it, because we can't have it take too long," he shares. "I'm hoping that that doesn't make the whole thing go away, but I think there's a decent chance we'll see it happen."

"I hope there is. From our standpoint creatively we've gotten excited writing this season and changing the lives of the characters — some in a significant way — and it's made us think, 'Wow, there's a lot to explore in the lives of these characters.'"

Viewers have grown with the extended Pritchett family, which includes actors Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

Ariel Winter, Sarah Hyland, Rico Rodriguez, Nolan Gould, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons and Jeremy Maquire also have starring roles on the sitcom.

"They're in many ways such different characters than they were five or 10 years ago when we started and they're just as interesting and just as funny," Lloyd said. "So our standpoint was, 'Well, if we can do another season, we may as well. I'm hoping that we have some news on that [soon], and if it winds up that we tried and just couldn't make it work, we will have a great final season for sure.'"