Phil Gets Modern Family Nemesis

The real estate game is a cutthroat business, making it only a matter of time before Modern Family’s Phil (Ty Burrell) found a nemesis worthy of his considerable skills (ha!). When casting for a villainous role in a sitcom (particularly one leading you to believe it’s a documentary) you want someone who can play evil, but in a much more grounded, believable way. Which is unfortunate. Real life could use more cartoonlike villains, but instead we get mean real estate brokers.

The actress chosen to play Phil’s nemesis is the Emmy and Tony winning Ellen Barkin, TVLine reported. As Vera, a legend in the real estate business, she’ll do… something. Okay, at this point it’s rather unclear how her and Phil’s rivalry begins, but if we knew that we wouldn’t need to watch the show! Let’s just assume it will be hilarious and will have us cheering for Phil, even though he’s kind of a dope (but a lovable one). My fingers are crossed that he doesn’t embarrass himself too much, though if he does he may not even fully comprehend it. That’s what I love about him. He’s so blissfully unaware of himself sometimes.

Barkin makes her debut in early 2012, along with Greg Kinnear as Phil’s new business partner. Phil will need all the help he can get if he wants to come out on top. Strangely, out of all the stunt casting they could have done, Kinnear just seems like the right kind of actor to be in a mocumentary. He doesn’t stand out nearly as bad as someone like Will Ferrell does (coughTheOfficecough).