'Modern Family' Julie Bowen Set To Return To The Small Screen In New Satanic Thriller

After her beloved role as Claire Dunphy in the hit sitcom "Modern Family," Julie Bowen is returning on the small screens in a completely different genre.

The actress is a familiar face in Hollywood, with an impressive resume that spans over two decades. Her latest project will showcase her versatility as she takes on a grim role, unlike her previous comedic performances. 

In the new series, "Hysteria!," the star will take on the role of Linda Campbell, a mother to a teenage outcast at the center of a series of supernatural disturbances. As Linda navigates through the unexplainable occurrences, she begins to question her knowledge about her son and the rising influence of Satanism in their small fictional town.

In an exclusive report by Deadline, Matthew Scott Kane, the writer and executive producer of the show, seeks to delve into America's unsettling past of mass hysteria by chronicling the gripping tale of the teenage Satanic Panic.

The series is set to follow a group of misfits in a 1980s high school who take advantage of the growing fear and paranoia surrounding occult activity among teens by presenting themselves as a Satanic band.

This turns horrible when murders, kidnappings, and strange occurrences linked to supernatural activity spark a witch hunt against them. A division of Universal Studio Group, UCP, will produce the series alongside a team of talented executive producers, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Chris Bender, and Jake Weiner.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts will direct the first episode, while David A. Goodman will be the showrunner, writer, and executive producer. With this team of seasoned professionals behind the scenes, "Hysteria!" is poised to be a captivating and thrilling addition to the world of television.

Although no other cast member has been mentioned, Bowen is also known for her roles in the medical series "ER," and Lost. But despite her extensive TV credits, she will mostly be remembered as Claire Dunphy, the lovable and quirky mother from "Modern Family." 

However, it was revealed that she almost missed out on the role that won her two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Bowen was pregnant with twins when she tried out for the part in 2009, and she initially felt insecure about her baby bump during the casting process. 

In 2020, the "Boston Legal" star told PEOPLE, "I was pregnant with twins, and I kept thinking they wouldn't hire me. They kept bringing me in over and over and staring at my humongous belly, and I thought, 'I'm never getting this job.'"

She was right to be apprehensive because Marc Freeman revealed in his book, "Modern Family: The Untold Oral History of One of Television's Groundbreaking Sitcoms," that big names like Lisa Kudrow and Debra Messing were also considered.

However, luck seemed to be on her side as one of the producers noted that she was a proper fit, and so in May 2009, she welcomed her twin sons, Gus and Jon, a few weeks after she landed the role.  

The American actress was candid about the time when things were not so great. In sharing about her teenage battle with an eating disorder, The Blast reported that she also explained how she struggled with puberty. 

During her appearance on "The Tamron Hall Show," she disclosed that her aversion to food was caused by her fear of making mistakes and losing control of her emotions. This decision, she admitted, always left her feeling hungry. 

She further explained that she associated messiness, mistakes, and even minor physical imperfections with a lack of self-control and a sense of being "too much." She added:

"to be good meant staying inside the lines—literally and figuratively. Keeping it tight. And that's my attitude: tight. And by the way, that is not fun. It's not a fun way to live."

The mother-of-three pointed out that her disorder was most probably a "coping mechanism" because the starving induced loss of feelings which made the body "not have time" to eat.