PEACE IN THE FAMILY; FOURTH-SEASON PRODUCTION BEGINS

Production on the fourth season of Modern Family was due to get underway this morning (Monday) following word that 20th Century Fox Television and the six adult cast members had resolved their salary dispute. News reports also indicated that the cast members, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara had also dropped the lawsuit they had filed last week against the producers. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed, but earlier reports had indicated that all but O’Neill had been earning $60,000 per episode. O’Neill, a latecomer to the negotiations, was reportedly earning $100,000 per episode. Meanwhile, it turns out that one member of the cast has been unceremoniously dumped. The gossip website TMZ reported that Brigitte, the French bulldog that plays O’Neill’s pooch Stella, has been quietly replaced with a lookalike named Beatrice.