Ed O’Neill has a pretty light schedule these days. He has a movie coming out on June 4, the documentary ‘Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean,’ which he narrates. Otherwise, he can relax until July 8, when ‘Modern Family’ will likely receive a slew of Emmy nominations (the Academy has enlisted his TV wife, Sofia Vergara, and ‘Community’s’ Joel McHale to read the nomination announcements), and then, until the end of July, when the cast meets to begin filming the hit ABC comedy’s second season.

TV Squad has an interview with Ed O’Neill and here is the highlight:

What would you say are ‘Modern Family’s’ odds for Emmy success?
Oh, God, I have no idea. I’ve never won one. I’ve never even been nominated for one, so I wouldn’t know. We won a Peabody, and we’ve won a couple of other things. But I don’t follow that sort of thing. I don’t know how it works, if it’s a popularity thing. I think I’d be shocked if we weren’t nominated for Best Comedy. For the individual awards, we’re all in it for Best Supporting. I wouldn’t have any way of knowing how they [Emmy voters] are going to go with that.

Do you know which clip ‘Modern Family’s’ producers submitted on your behalf?
I don’t. I couldn’t care less. They didn’t even ask me. Those are things I try to stay away from as much as possible. You don’t have any control over that. The only thing I concern myself with is the actual making of the show.

Can you tell us what we’ll see in season 2?
Nope. I know we have a couple of new writers, which they’re very excited about. I know they’re hard at work. I know they’ve broken 10 or 11 or 12 stories already. They’re not fully written, but the structure’s there. But I don’t have a clue. I’ll show up and we’ll see what they’ve got. We probably do the first table read around the 30th of July, and we’ll probably start shooting on the first of August.

TV.com has both Community and Modern Family has the best new comedies of the season, but they are trying to decide which one of them is the best. Here are some of their thoughts:

Cast: This critical category is a tight one. Community boasts Chevy Chase, the man who once played Fletch, and Joel McHale, the man who could play him today. Add fall’s freshest faces—Danny Pudi and Donald Glover—and you’re looking at TV’s most surprising new motley crew of a cast. But Modern Family has Ed O’Neill, who is looking like an Emmy candidate right now, and adding Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, and a bushel of funny child actors only seals the deal. Point: Modern Family.
Guests/Recurring Actors: Like sexually frustrated couples, comedies need to throw others into the mix to spice things up. Shelley Long in ModFam’s “The Incident” was hilarious. It was nice to see Diane Chambers get absolutely lubed on booze and destroy a wedding. Unfortunately, Ed Norton’s appearance as Spandau Ballet’s bass player was a disaster, despite the “Fandau” gag. Elizabeth Banks was so-so, but just reminded us how much we’d rather watch Cam and Mitchell instead. On Community, John Oliver’s portrayal as Jeff’s nemesis/friend (frienemesis?) is hysterical, and I don’t care what anyone says, Ken Jeong as Senor Chang is muy awesomo. Fred Willard’s upcoming role as Phil’s dad in Modern Family could change our minds, but for now, it’s Point: Community.

The Winner: Just a second as I count the votes… it’s Modern Family by the official score of three to two! But let’s face it, we’re all winners here! Except for Community, which is slightly less of a winner. But in this race, there’s no shame in second place. Let’s just be happy we actually have “best new comedy” candidates this season. Modern Family, stop by the TV.com offices anytime to pick up your trophy.