'Modern Family' at PaleyFest: The Cast Talks Gay Divorce, Fizbo, and 'Connection Lost'

It was a family affair at Modern Family’s PaleyFest panel on Saturday night, when the writers and cast of the hit ABC comedy gathered at the television festival to share personal stories and anecdotes about the show. And it was apparent that this cast really is like a family, and they don’t actually need writers to be funny.

Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sarah Hyland, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, and Ariel Winter were joined by Modern Family co-creator and executive producer Steve Levitan and writers Danny Zuker and Abraham Higginbotham for the event, which was moderated by comedian Andy Daly.

Read on for the highlights.

Gay Divorce

The Season 5 wedding finale was a personal victory for the writers. Levitan said when they started working on the idea of Mitchell and Cameron getting married, “things were still up in the air politically.” But, he added, “We started breaking the story for the wedding because we thought things would go a certain way in terms of the law for gay people to be married.” Once the gay marriage laws were passed in California, the writers spent a year building up to the ceremony, with storylines about wedding planning and patriarch Jay Pritchett’s reaction to the fact that his son was finally tying the knot. (One of Jay’s internal struggles: “Is there a father-son dance?”) Bowen joked that a storyline for Season 7 would involve a gay divorce, which is definitely not legal, while Burrell announced, “I oppose gay divorce!”

“I Love Sofia”

Vergara admitted she’s inspired by a famous redhead. When Daly described Vergara as the Latin Lucille Ball, the Colombian actress explained that she grew up watching I Love Lucy and was inspired by the comedy legend. “I only wish to be similar to her,” Vergara said. The actress also dished on her real-life sitcom story, which involved a circus running out of money in her hometown and her grandfather rescuing the tigers and elephants.

Related: PaleyFest LA Red Carpet Photos

The Story Behind Fizbo

Fizbo was explained. Yes, it’s true, Stonestreet’s alter ego, Fizbo the Clown, was inspired by his real-life clowning. The actor said when Ringling Bros. came to his town when he was a kid, he realized he wanted to be a performer of some kind. “Thank God I had parents… that were supportive and non-judgmental of me and said, ‘Yeah, you want to wear a purple afro to your brother’s basketball game? Sure. Go ahead.’ They let me be who I wanted to be,” he said.

Haley + Andy the Manny = Love?

Will they or won’t they? Hyland doesn’t know if her character, Haley Dunphy, will have a full-blown love affair with the family’s male nanny (played by Adam Devine), but she admitted she’s “rooting for a certain outcome.” “I love romance and I like things like that,” she said. “Last season’s finale really reminded me of a Rachel-Ross moment.” She added that the “will they or won’t they” storyline gives her character more to do. “I’m not texting and rolling my eyes anymore,” she said.

Real-Life Differences

The younger members of the cast are very different from their characters. Winter said that while she and Alex Dunphy have some similarities, “I definitely don’t wear as many flannels.” And Rodriguez said he is nothing like his wise-beyond-his-years character. “Manny and I are completely different in every way,” he said. “Manny loves writing poetry, and I like playing basketball. He played basketball at one point but he’s not good.”

Episode on a Laptop

“Connection Lost,” the Apple-heavy episode that played out through the screen of Claire’s laptop, was inspired by Levitan’s real life epiphany when he was FaceTiming his daughter and realized the computer screen is “an amazing portrait of somebody’s life.” Ferguson revealed that the cast originally attempted to shoot their own scenes for the buzzy episode, but they eventually had to bring in the professionals.

Related: ‘Modern Family’: A Guide to All the Easter Eggs in ‘Connection Lost’

Bowen Talks Claire Dunphy

Bowen leaves Claire at the Modern Family lot. The actress revealed that by the time she gets home from the set, she has wiped every trace of Claire off of her face. Literally. With baby wipes. But Bowen also said that she appreciates her character’s sense of humor and is grateful that she gets to be funny. “I don’t just have to stand there next to the refrigerator shaking my finger waiting for the guys to come back from some fun adventure, which I feel is the death of all actresses over 40 — this sexless, angry person,” she said. “So, luckily, I have sex and I’m super mad.”

Modern Family airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.