There are so many reasons to love Modern Family. It’s nestled into our hearts as one of the few sitcoms that’s actually IRL relatable and it always seems keen to bulldoze its way through all sorts of barriers.
Most recently the Modern Family team cast an openly transgender child actor which, needless to say, is really great to hear.
In an episode called A Stereotypical Day eight-year-old Jackson Millarker plays Tom, Lily’s transgender friend who comes over for a playdate, reports Variety.
As we can all too well imagine, Cam and Mitchell are over the moon about how well they’ve raised such an accepting and broad-minded daughter (we can hear the humble bragging now). But according to the synopsis, that quickly disappears when they hear Lily insulting Tom, and the couple realise they need to teach Lily a lesson about acceptance.
Episode director Ryan Case introduced Jackson to her Instagram followers and said that he is both wonderful and ‘One of the many reasons I love being part of this show’.
It’s always reassuring to see diversity embraced and encouraged on mainstream TV. Here’s hoping it doesn’t stop there and even more outlets start opening themselves up as platforms for wider underrepresented communities.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.