Which Modern Family character will die?

Who will die on “Modern Family” next season?

That’s the question fans are asking following the revelation from co-creator Christopher Lloyd that a “significant character on the series” will die and the death “will be a moving event — and an event that has repercussions across several episodes .... We’re handling some bigger life events in this season,” he told Entertainment Weekly on Thursday.

So we grabbed our sleuthing gear to put together a list of characters who might get killed off.

Jay Pritchett

The patriarch of the family dying seems to be the most likely, due to his age and previous episodes that joked about him not being around forever. In the most recent season, Jay (Ed O’Neill) spoke to his son Joe about death. Jay is not only a significant character, but he’s the core of all the relationships featured on the show, and his death would definitely have repercussions for the whole family.

Claire Dunphy

While it would be a surprise for Claire (Julie Bowen) to die, there was a hint dropped in a Season 4 episode about her health when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The show could return to that diagnosis and have Claire have a heart attack due to stress at work and home.

Phil Dunphy

An equally as shocking but not unlikely death would be Claire’s husband Phil (Ty Burrell). In a Season 9 episode, he was rushed to the hospital for emergency gallbladder surgery, which would be recent enough for him to have complications.

Mitchell Pritchett

Mitchell’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) death would definitely affect everyone in the show. This seems less probable in part due to the show’s more progressive themes, which makes it hard to believe showrunners would fall into the “bury your gays” trope of killing a gay character.

Alex Dunphy

This would be a curveball, but having one of the children die would certainly qualify as a “moving event” for the whole family. Alex (Ariel Winter) would probably be the least expected character to die, which would make it all the more sad.