Modern Family Reveals Which Character Dies

Modern Family, as advertised, killed off a character in Wednesday night's show—and anybody who wants to avoid spoilers should stop reading here. Viewers who worried that patriarch Jay Pritchett would kick the bucket were relieved: It was his ex-wife, DeDe, played by Shelley Long, who died, Deadline reports. Her death occurred off-screen and was revealed in the opening moments of the "Good Grief" episode.

DeDe only appeared in six episodes over the ABC show's nine seasons, making the death not quite as "major" as viewers had been led to expect. But "despite that bit of marketing nonsense, 'Good Grief' is actually an effective, moving episode, one that packs an emotional punch that the show hasn't seen in a long time," writes Kyle Fowle at the AV Club. (Roseanne Barr slammed ABC after The Conners killed off her character.)