When you take the slapstick hilarity of writer Steven Levitan (Just Shoot Me) and combine it with the excessive formality of producer Christopher Lloyd (Frasier), you get a show like “Modern Family,” which premiered last night on ABC. Shot in the increasingly popular “mockumentary” style of “Arrested Development,” the show is a fake documentary about the lives of three uniquely dysfunctional modern American families, and a pleasant hybrid of comedic tastes.

The pilot follows the day-to-day activities of three families; a suburban nuclear family plagued by their social schedule, a gay couple with their newly-adopted child, and a mismatched couple trying to make a marriage work across age and cultural divides comprise the main cast. The wit of “Modern Family” emerges out of the ridiculous situations in which these characters find themselves. Some of these are normal (such as a mother fearing that her fifteen-year-old daughter is going to have sex with the first boy she invites over) and some are completely original (like a gay man taking offense at a stranger’s comment on his food because he thought she called him a “cream puff”). The show repeatedly turns every situation on its head, and we laugh as the people onscreen scramble to pick up the pieces.

The execution of the mockumentary style, which allows actors baleful glances at the camera during awkward situations and brief cuts to face-to-face interviews with the characters, is very well done. The glances are well timed and not overused, as they sometimes are in “The Office.” The interviews provide endless comedic opportunity as characters vent about other characters, comment on what’s going on, and defend themselves to the interviewers. For example, the homosexual Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) justifies his recent weight gain as a hormonal imbalance similar to that of pregnant women: “Yes, I’ve gained a few extra pounds while we were expecting the baby… but that’s science. You can’t fight it.”

The big name in the show, Ed O’Neill (Married with Children, “Wayne’s World”) plays a surprisingly understated role as the middle-aged, staunchly conservative husband of his young, fun Latina wife Gloria (Sofia Vergera). Rather, it is Ty Burrell (“Law & Order”) who really shines through as the leading male clown. His role as the hopelessly clueless nuclear family husband Paul McVee is summed up in his description of himself to an interviewer: “I’m cool dad, that’s my thang. I’m hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face.” (www.tvfanatic.com)

The show wraps up with a disarmingly tender scene. Through all the awkward moments, biting realities, and ridiculous characters that it presents, Modern Family emerges as an honest portrayal of contemporary American family life, with all of its unity and diversity, its trials and joys. And, you know, texting and stuff.

“Modern Family” airs Wednesdays at 9/8 C on ABC