While work began Tuesday on the sixth season of ABC’s hit comedy series “Modern Family,” co-creator Christopher Lloyd didn’t show up because of a contract dispute, Nellie Andreeva reports on Deadline.com.

His co-creator Steve Levitan closed a new deal with producer 20th Century Fox TV in March, but Lloyd has yet to settle on a new contract after his previous deal expired at the end of the fifth season, the piece reports.

Lloyd “originally had been approached by the studio at the same time as Levitan but deferred deal conversations until after he was done with the season," Andreeva writes. "I hear he considered a straight show deal for ‘Modern Family’ without a development component but talks eventually focused on extending his overall deal with the studio."

Andreeva adds: “However, when the two sides finally met face-to-face before the upfronts, they were very far apart.”

Talks between Lloyd and the studio were described as “cautiously optimistic.”