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Ed O’Neill: The New King of Sitcoms?

Ed O’Neill, with the help of Married with Children and Modern Family, has become the king of sitcoms.

O’Neill has officially surpassed Lucille Ball for starring in the most episodes of a network sitcom. Ball previously held the record with 493 episodes. Ball starred in the sitcoms I Love Lucy with 180 episodes, The Lucy Show with 156 episodes, Here’s Lucy with 144 episodes and Life with Lucy with 13 episodes.  O’Neill broke the record with Modern Family’s season 10 finale as his 494th episode.

O’Neill is expected to keep the lead (and hit the 500 mark) as Modern Family heads into its 11th season.

“In its final season, there will be more milestone events that anyone who has been a fan of the series won’t want to miss,” said ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke. Not much is known about season 11, but we can expect between 18 and 22 episodes for the final season meaning there’s plenty to look forward too.

When asked which sitcom he preferred, O’Neill said Modern Family.

“It’s more of a breeze, less work,” said O’Neill. “I was the only actor in Married who was in every episode. I enjoyed being the guy who drives the show and sets the pace. But I actually like ‘Modern Family’ even more. I can be more reactive as an actor. My character is underplayed, not over the top like Al Bundy.”

Modern Family is also vastly different than Married with Children.

“We don’t tell jokes,” said O’Neill. “It’s weighted in story, not the three-beat set-up and then the laugh, which is a common sitcom tool. If you can tell a story and be amusing without trying to be amusing, that has more legs to it.”

Congrats Ed!

sources: The Vindicator, abc.go.com

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