Modern Family star's TV comeback gets disappointing update

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Modern Family star's TV comeback gets sad updateGetty Images

Forgive & Forget, the prospective new comedy starring Ty Burrell, has received a disappointing update.

The series, which was announced back in March, was due to follow a "colourful character" named Hank (Burrell) who reconnects with his adult son after receiving an Alzheimer's diagnosis, with the pair hoping to make new memories together.

Billed as Burrell's live action television comeback, Deadline has reported that Forgive & Forget has now been axed by ABC due to reported challenges in production, with the darker subject matter and the recasting of Hank's son being cited as potential reasons for the decision.

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Burrell had been due to serve as an executive producer as well as star as the lead, while the scripts were being penned by Eugene Garcia-Cross and Robin Shorr, with the subject matter based on aspects of Garcia-Cross' own life.

Burrell remains best known for his role as Phil Dunphy on Modern Family, which concluded in 2020 after 11 seasons. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett in the series, has revealed that a spin-off involving his character had been mooted, but was subsequently scrapped.

"There were discussions, and I think the network decided against it. I think they were just wondering if maybe this is the right family to still tell the story," he remarked. "I think they were - you know, we'd been on air for 11 years and I think they were ready to move in a different direction."

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Series co-creator Christopher Lloyd had previously teased that the universe of Modern Family could be expanded with further stories, explaining: "[We've had] very preliminary conversations about spinning off some characters.

"That could be a year from now, we catch up with one or two or three people and then other characters from the show perhaps drop in. It could be something like that. But I don't want to suggest that that's a real thing, because it isn't yet. It's a thing we knock around."

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