Modern Family: Sarah Hyland, Cast Say Goodbye to Series in Tributes

After 11 seasons, the Modern Family cast is saying farewell to the beloved ABC series.

Ahead of the show’s finale on Wednesday evening, cast members posted heartfelt tributes to social media, reminiscing on the 11-year comedy, which premiered in 2009.

On Tuesday, Ariel Winter, who has starred as Alex Dunphy since the series debuted, shared multiple on-set photos and videos captured throughout the years.

“It’s been an amazing journey with my #ModernFamily ❤️ It’s hard to type this because it still doesn’t feel real…our 2 hour series finale event is tomorrow night at 8/7c on @abcnetwork @abcmodernfam 🥺 We are all so grateful for the love we’ve received over the course of this 11 year journey. To know our fans love our family just as much as we do is the most amazing gift. Also…WE HAVE/HAD🥺THE BEST CREW IN THE WORLD,” Winter, 22, wrote on Instagram. “They are a HUGE, insanely important part of our Modern Family ❤️ Even though you only see us on your screens, we have just as wonderful people working behind the camera that I will miss seeing all the time. We have been so lucky. ❤️ #ModernFamily #SeriesFinale.”

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, known as Mitchell Pritchett to fans, also posted a series of photos from the set.

“Tomorrow. 🥺 the end of the road with my Modern Family. Thank you @ew for these amazing photos of our last day on set,” he wrote Tuesday.

A day later, he said goodbye to his character, sharing a photo of himself standing next to his trailer. “Until we meet again, sweet Mitchell,” wrote Tyler-Ferguson, 44.

He followed it with a third post — a snap that was taken in his “first days as Mitch.”

Also on Wednesday, Sarah Hyland (Haley Dunphy) reflected on her time starring on the Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd co-created show.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. To put it in Bachelor terms, I’ve had an incredible journey with this show. Our cast and crew were always phenomenal and we very quickly grew to be a real life #modernfamily I will miss these people tremendously but am so grateful I was lucky enough to work with them,” Hyland, 29, captioned a carousel of cast images captured over the years on Modern Family. “So get your tissues ready… The end of 11 years with @abcmodernfam airs tonight on @abcnetwork 8/7c pm. Thank you all for being there every step of the way. We love you 💕.”

Sofia Vergara, known as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, shared similar sentiments to Instagram on Wednesday, when she posted a tribute to her “on and off screen forever” family.

“My family on and off screen forever 💞 What an amazing 11 years! So thankful for this family, the crew and all of our #modernfamily fans 🙏🏽 Tune in tonight to see how it all ends 📺 8|7c #modernfamilyfinale,” said Vergara, 47.

Julie Bowen (Claire Dunphy) admitted that she was emotional about the end of the show’s era, writing Wednesday alongside a promo of the show, “I’m crying too hard to see the keyboard. From beginning to end, thanks for being a part of our #ModernFamily. Watch the 2 Hour Series Finale Event tonight at 8/7c.”

Bowen’s on-screen son Nolan Gould, a.k.a. Luke Dunphy, has been posting multiple photos to Instagram leading up to the series finale.

“Accurate picture of how I’m feeling about tomorrow. I promise there’s more laughter than tears,” Gould, 21, captioned a still photo of himself and Winter on set.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Eric Stonestreet (Cameron Tucker) posted a mirror selfie, which was taken before his final test for his role.

“I’ve posted this picture before, but it’s important to me and it’s an important moment in my life. I took it right before I walked out the door to go to my final test for Modern Family 11 years ago. I had been an actor for 12 years before this moment,” he reflected. “I wish I remembered why exactly I decided to take it, but my best guess is because I knew my life could forever change once I stepped out my front door that day. I’ve looked at it 1000 times. And what I see in it is: hope, fear, and determination. Hope-that I would get the job. Fear-that like so many other times before, I wouldn’t. And determination-to go in and do the best job I could and deliver the performance I knew I was capable of delivering. I’m a bundle of nerves when I look at this picture. The moment must’ve felt so big. Why else would I have taken it?”

He continued by expressing his gratitude to the show, the people that helped create it, and the support system that cheered him on throughout his Modern Family journey.

“Tonight is the final episode of Modern Family. I just want to thank ABC, FOX studios, and Steve and Chris for giving me the opportunity to play this character for the last 11 years. I wanna thank Steve, my manager. I wanna thank you all and everyone for watching us for the last 11 years. I wanna thank my friends and family for being supportive of my career for the 12 years before this picture and for being with me on the ride after. I want to thank our great writers and our awesome crew for all their hard work, @jessetyler for being the best scene partner a guy could ask for, and of course Lindsay. But mostly, I want to say thanks to my parents. They allowed me to be me as a kid and always encouraged me to dream big and to follow my dreams. They never thought I was a ‘weird’ kid. (I hate that word. It’s a lazy word.) They set me up for this moment and I knew, because of the previous 12 years, they had my back no matter the outcome,” he wrote.

Stonestreet, 48, concluded: “Look, if you’re an actor or someone who has big giant dreams, I’m your proof that with hard work, persistence, preparation, an unwavering belief in your talent and ability, some luck, and the capacity to let your hope and determination conquer your fear, you too can live out your wildest dreams. I hope you all enjoy the finale and have a good laugh and a good cry watching it, because we all sure did making it. 😘.”

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Stonestreet and Ferguson’s on-camera daughter Lily Tucker-Pritchett, also remembered her time on the show.

“So many memories. Can’t believe tomorrow is the finale 😭 We will be watching at home, dabbing our eyes, and missing our Modern Family family. #modernfamily #modernfarewell,” said Anderson-Emmons, 12.

Leading up to the series finale, Rico Rodriguez (Manny Delgado) joined in on sharing multiple posts to Instagram, which highlighted only a handful of countless memories from his years on the show.

“With only a fews day left before the series finale of Modern Family, I thought I would share some memories of my time on the show. Starting with the award shows we attended. What an honor it was to stand next to my cast on these stages and accept these awards not just on our behalf, but on behalf of our crew too. We never, ever took this for granted. I mean, if you would’ve told 8 year old Rico he would one day win a Kids’ Choice Award and get slimed on stage, he would’ve said ‘Man, I’ve made it!’ ” he wrote on Instagram.

Speaking with PEOPLE ahead of the show’s one-hour, two-part conclusion, Bowen, Winter and Stonestreet teased the finale, stressing that viewers will feel satisfied.

“We don’t flash forward,” said Bowen, 50, “which I was very glad about. That has been done and that’s been done very well by other shows, but to me, it felt unsatisfying.”

Instead, Bowen said that series creators Lloyd and Levitan, along with the entire Modern Family writing staff, came up with an ending that stands on its own.

“It was a very hard needle to thread, but I think they came to a satisfying end with all of it,” she teased. “As far as you’d feel like, yes, of course there’s going to be changes and people moving on in different ways. But we didn’t kill anybody, we didn’t flash forward, and nobody suddenly was pregnant!”

The series finale of Modern Family airs April 8 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.