Chapter 13: Modern Family

“So, could you share some insights about your inspiration for the script, Allen?”

New York City, Universal Pictures.

Ron Meyer looked at Allen with a faint smile on his face.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had brought Universal Pictures more than double its expected profits. Even if only for the sake of money, Ron Meyer wouldn't dare show a sour face to Allen.

In response to Meyer’s inquiry, Allen pretended to ponder for a moment before presenting the storyline he had already prepared.

“Simply put, it’s a sitcom filmed in a mockumentary style, focusing on three different American families. There’s a typical American couple raising three kids, a gay couple with an adopted Vietnamese daughter, and a 60-year-old man who marries a much younger, fiery foreign woman—who also has an 11-year-old son. While these families seem unrelated at first glance, they share unique familial connections.”

“Hmm.”

As Allen elaborated on his creative inspiration, the polite smile on Ron Meyer’s face gradually faded, replaced by a more serious expression.

“A sitcom in a mockumentary format... That’s an interesting idea,” he said, nodding slightly. He didn’t immediately shower the concept with praise, nor did he dismiss it outright. Instead, he pressed on.

“Can you provide more details? For instance, what’s the show’s setting, the character introductions, and most importantly, the overall tone of the series?”

Hearing Ron Meyer’s follow-up, Allen knew the deal was halfway sealed. However, it wasn’t something worth getting overly excited about.

After all, the ‘idea’ for this script had already been proven successful—the original show ran for eleven seasons, a testament to its immense popularity.

Maintaining his calm demeanor, Allen briefly explained the plot and tone of the series to Meyer.

Though it’s challenging to showcase the strengths of a sitcom purely through verbal descriptions, some of the scenarios Allen outlined made Meyer chuckle involuntarily.

“It seems, Allen, that you’re not only gifted in writing horror but also have a talent for comedy.”

After hearing the description of the pilot episode, Ron Meyer couldn’t suppress his smile and found himself growing more impressed with Allen.

A screenwriter capable of producing both sitcoms and horror scripts would undoubtedly appeal to a much broader audience than one who specialized solely in horror.

“To be honest, before creating The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I primarily worked as a sitcom writer, honing my craft.”

Allen accepted Meyer’s compliment without hesitation. He had learned, thanks to James Wan’s advice, that humility wasn’t particularly valued in the Western entertainment world. Instead of deflecting with modesty, it was better to confidently own his achievements.

After all, regardless of the Modern Family legacy in the original world, in this universe, the show would bear Allen name.

Choosing Modern Family as his second major project following the success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn’t because Allen particularly loved the series.

Initially, his first choice was The Walking Dead, a groundbreaking zombie drama that became a milestone in American TV history.

Given the success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, transitioning to a zombie-themed thriller series seemed like a natural progression. It wouldn’t feel out of place, and the prior success would ease the production process.

Unfortunately, reality often diverges from ideal scenarios. Allen’s research revealed that The Walking Dead had an existing source material—a comic. Adapting it would require negotiation with the original creator. Moreover, Allen vaguely remembered hearing about legal battles over the rights to the Walking Dead franchise in his original world.

That realization dampened Allen’s enthusiasm for the project. He had no interest in being entangled in potential copyright disputes.

Ruling out The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, or even Game of Thrones were also promising options.

However, the former’s pilot season had already been written years prior, though rejected by network executives. As for Game of Thrones, adapting an existing work presented even more hurdles than crafting original scripts.

After careful consideration, Allen settled on Modern Family, a sitcom with straightforward storylines that didn’t require extensive mental gymnastics.

“Excellent,” Meyer said with a nod, shifting seamlessly into his professional role.

“Universal Pictures is interested in participating in the production of your sitcom. The next critical step is the script—I’d like to review the pilot episode to move forward with production planning.”

Hollywood television productions rarely jump straight into filming based on a script alone.

Because of the “shoot-as-you-air” production model, pilot episodes are particularly crucial. They represent the culmination of a writer’s effort and serve as the primary factor in determining whether a series will be greenlit. A compelling pilot can secure a show’s first season, while failure means the writer’s hard work vanishes without a trace.

This explains why the first episodes of most American shows are often brilliant but later seasons gradually lose steam. It’s not just novels and manga that suffer from lackluster endings—TV series frequently follow the same trend.

Almost every renowned American TV show eventually meets its end with a disappointing finale—sooner or later.

“In fact, I’ve already ‘completed’ the pilot script,” Allen said with a calm expression, taking out the script he had prepared.

“…”

Ron Meyer froze momentarily as he glanced at the script Allen handed him.

Quickly recovering, he gave Allen a meaningful look.

“It seems, Allen, that you’re very confident in your work.”

“If I don’t have faith in my own script, how could I expect you to believe in it, Mr. Meyer?” Allen replied.

Ron Meyer showed no outward reaction to Allen remark. As Universal Pictures’ Vice Chairman, he had encountered countless outstanding scripts that ultimately led to subpar productions.

The most recent example was Evan Almighty, which had been a financial disaster for Universal.

Aware of how futile it was to argue story quality with a writer, Meyer refrained from further comments. Instead, he turned his attention to the script in his hands and read the title aloud.

“Modern Family?”

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