'Modern Family' season 8 episode 11 spoilers, news: Cam reunites with his ex-boyfriend; Eric Stonestreet speaks out on show's possible ending

The ringmaster arrives on the upcoming episode of ABC's top-rated comedy series "Modern Family" season 8.

Titled "Ringmaster Keith," the show's winter premiere will introduce a special person from Cam's (Eric Stonestreet) past. According to the official synopsis, Cam decides to treat the whole family to a New Year's Day feast in an effort to recover from his Thanksgiving debacle. After realizing that his husband's recent attempt is also a complete failure, Mitch (Jesse Tyler-Ferguson) uses a "concierge gift card" that he got as a holiday gift to salvage their meal.

Cam eventually learns that the concierge Mitch asked to save the day is none other than his ex-boyfriend, Keith (guest star Kelsey Grammer) — a former circus ringmaster who left him without a proper breakup.

Elsewhere, Phil's father, Frank (Fred Willard) visits the family to introduce his new girlfriend. It turns out that the new woman in Frank's life is Phil's childhood babysitter, which makes Phil shocked and confused.

Back at the Pritchett-Delgado household, Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and Jay (Ed O'Neil) are forced to decide who should become little Joe's guardian if something ever happens to either of them.

"Modern Family" is currently on a long break, and the show will return sometime next year for the back half of the season. Although eight years is certainly a long time for a comedy show to air, it still doesn't place the series among the longest-running sitcoms yet. In a recent interview, Eric Stonestreet, who plays Cam, revealed what's next for the series, and he also talked about a possible ending in sight.

"All of the cast, we're now sort of in the twilight of the show... We've shot more than we're going to shoot in the future," he said. "We're at the end of the series, in a sense, and I think what keeps us going now is that we want to go out as strong, and positive, and great as we possibly can, whether that's one or two seasons, three seasons, I have no idea," the actor went on to say.

The eighth season of "Modern Family" returns to the airwaves on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.