Content guide
Mild — okay from about 9+
Modern Family S8 E9, “Snow Ball”, scores 2/5 for violence, 1/5 for sex and 2/5 for language, for an overall kid-rating of 2/5 — Mild — okay from about 9+. When Manny and Luke put on the school's lavish winter dance and end up over their heads due to a texting error, it is up to them to fix it before the end of the night. Meanwhile, Gloria, Claire, Mitchell and Cam all volunteer at the dance while Jay's thinly veiled guise to get out of it by pretending to want to spend time with Phil backfires. During the dance, Claire and Gloria attempt to set up Marjorie ("Saturday Night Live"'s Vanessa Bayer), an overbearing mom, with the school's principal. Finally, Mitchell is unnerved to be back in high school and is shocked to see a lot of himself in the school bully and feels he needs a little guidance.
Across the episode we counted 5 flagged moments in 5 themes: Sex & hookups (1); Violence & injury (1); Suicide & self-harm (1); Alcohol & drugs (1); Racism & slurs (1). Every moment below is either a direct quote from the episode transcript or a short description of what happens on screen, so you can decide before you press play.
Parents need to know
Age 9+Racist language, suicide references, drinking in live-action sitcom.
Parents need to know that Modern Family S8 E9, "Snow Ball", is a live-action sitcom episode. The series is known for family-first; adult plots are talked around rather than shown. Scores low: the strongest thing we found is suicide & self-harm (explicit, in dialogue). Suicide or self-harm is raised — for example, I hope this punch isn't as watered down as your performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire…. Violence is mild but includes With your help, we can save him from getting beaten up. Sexual content is mild but includes She's like a sexy, sexy drugstore. Some mild language appears in the dialogue. This episode includes racism & slurs — for example, Stop implying I'm a racist. Characters drink or talk about alcohol and drugs — How about a bar? - So, we drive across town, pay a 200% markup on the same glass of…. Every flagged moment below is a direct quote from the transcript or a short description of what happens on screen.
Watch for — every moment, theme by theme
Sex & hookups 1 moment
How Sex & hookups shows up in Modern Family S8 E9:
She's like a sexy, sexy drugstore.
Violence & injury 1 moment
How Violence & injury shows up in Modern Family S8 E9:
With your help, we can save him from getting beaten up.
Suicide & self-harm 1 moment
How Suicide & self-harm shows up in Modern Family S8 E9:
I hope this punch isn't as watered down as your performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire to Hang Myself.
Alcohol & drugs 1 moment
How Alcohol & drugs shows up in Modern Family S8 E9:
How about a bar? - So, we drive across town, pay a 200% markup on the same glass of scotch I'm holding in my hand right now just so some drunken old broad can stagger over and tell me I look like Ernest Borgnine.
Racism & slurs 1 moment
How Racism & slurs shows up in Modern Family S8 E9:
Stop implying I'm a racist.
Watch With The Kids · Your kids — your rules! · Informal parent guidance, not an official rating.