Switched at Birth (TV series)

Switched at Birth is an American teen/family drama television series that premiered on ABC Family on June 6, 2011.[1] The one-hour scripted drama is set in the Kansas City metropolitan area, and revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth and grew up in very different environments: one in an affluent suburb, and the other in a working-class neighborhood. According to ABC Family, it is "the first mainstream television series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars and scenes shot entirely in American Sign Language (ASL)".[2]

Switched at Birth
Genre	Family drama
Created by	Lizzy Weiss
Starring	Sean Berdy Lucas Grabeel Katie Leclerc Vanessa Marano Constance Marie D. W. Moffett Lea Thompson Gilles Marini
Theme music composer	John Swihart
Composer	John Swihart
Country of origin	United States
Original languages	English American Sign Language
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	103 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Lizzy Weiss Paul Stupin John Ziffren Becky Hartman Edwards Linda Gase
Producers	David Hartle Shawn Wilt Sean Reycraft
Cinematography	Frank Byers Russ T. Alsobrook Daryn Okada Carlos González Phil Parmet
Editors	Peter Basinski Jill D'Agnenica Debby Germino Susan Kobata Mitchell Danton William Marrinson Nathan Easterling David Abramson
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	45 minutes
Production companies	Pirates' Cove Entertainment Suzy B. Productions (from "This Is The Color Of My Dreams") Freeform Original Productions
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	Freeform
Picture format	720p (16:9 HDTV)
Original release	June 6, 2011 – April 11, 2017
External links
Official website

The show's debut was ABC Family's highest-rated series debut to date.[3] The series won an honorary Peabody Award in 2013, and on July 30, ABC Family ordered a third season which premiered on January 13, 2014.[4] On August 13, 2014, ABC Family renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on January 6, 2015.[5][6]

On October 21, 2015, ABC Family (now rebranded as Freeform) confirmed the series had been renewed for its fifth season,[7] which was later confirmed to be the final season.[8] On March 19, 2016, it was announced that the fifth season was bumped from a March 2016 to a January 2017 premiere date.[9] In October 2016, the network announced that the final season would premiere on January 31, 2017.[10]

Plot

Bay Kennish, a teenage girl living in the Kansas City suburb of Mission Hills, Kansas, discovers from a school lab assignment that her blood type is incompatible with that of her parents. Genetic testing confirms Bay is not the Kennishes' biological daughter. It is revealed that the hospital mistakenly switched Bay at birth with Daphne, who has been raised by her single mother Regina and grandmother Adriana in the low-income neighborhood of East Riverside, Missouri. Daphne is deaf, having lost her hearing as a result of contracting meningitis at age three. The Kennishes invite Daphne and Regina to their home, and after learning that Regina is struggling financially, propose that they move into their guest house with Adriana, an offer that Regina accepts.

This arrangement forces the girls, along with both families, to understand their differences and embrace their similarities. The girls sometimes struggle with their identities. Bay discovers that she has inherited her artistic talent from Regina, and Daphne discovers she has inherited John's athletic skill and Kathryn's love of cooking. Both mothers learn to bond with their biological daughters, while often unintentionally angering their legal ones. John learns to relate to his new-found daughter by coaching her deaf school's basketball team and employing her in the office of one of the local chain of car washes that he owns. Bay is driven by a need to find her biological father, Angelo Sorrento, who left Regina shortly after Daphne went deaf.

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	30		June 6, 2011	October 22, 2012
	2	21		January 7, 2013	August 19, 2013
	3	22		January 13, 2014	December 8, 2014
	4	20		January 6, 2015	October 26, 2015
	5	10		January 31, 2017	April 11, 2017

Cast

Main characters

Constance Marie, Katie Leclerc, Vanessa Marano, Lea Thompson, D.W. Moffett, and Lucas Grabeel

Gilles Marini and Sean Berdy

• Sean Berdy as Emmett Bledsoe (regular season 1–4, recurring season 5), Daphne's best friend who is also deaf. He later dates Bay.
• Lucas Grabeel as Toby Kennish: Bay and Daphne's older brother.
• Katie Leclerc as Daphne Paloma Vasquez - the biological daughter of John and Kathryn Kennish. Hard of hearing rather than deaf, Leclerc learned ASL at age 17, before she was diagnosed at age 20 with Ménière's disease which runs in her family. She developed a deaf accent for her role as Daphne, but speaks without it briefly in a scene in season 1, episode 9 where Daphne dreams the switch never occurred, and she was raised as Bay Kennish and retains her hearing. She also speaks without the accent through almost the entire episode 15 of season 2, "Ecce Mono", which is an alternative reality in which Daphne was raised by the Kennishes from age three and got a cochlear implant.
• Vanessa Marano as Bay Madeline Kennish: the biological daughter of Regina Vasquez and Angelo Sorrento. She was raised in the wealthy neighborhood of Mission Hills by John and Kathryn Kennish. Bay is a very talented artist who has a particular love for Frida Kahlo. Bay can be very impulsive at times, and, at first, does not take the news of the switch well. However, she gradually gets better in accepting that Regina and the Kennishes are both her family.
• Constance Marie as Regina Vasquez: Bay's biological mother and Daphne's legal mother.
• D. W. Moffett as John Kennish: Bay's legal father and Daphne's biological father.
• Lea Thompson as Kathryn Kennish: Bay's legal mother and Daphne's biological mother.
• Gilles Marini as Angelo Sorrento (recurring season 1, regular season 2–3):[11] Bay's biological father and Daphne's legal father.

Recurring characters

• Marlee Matlin as Melody Bledsoe, Emmett's mother and Regina's friend who is also deaf.
• Ivonne Coll as Adriana Vasquez, Regina's mother. It is a running gag on the show that Adriana likes to watch telenovelas, and she quips that they cannot compete with the real-life drama caused by Angelo.[12]
• Austin Butler as Wilke, Toby's best friend who also dates Daphne briefly.
• Maiara Walsh as Simone Sinclair, Bay's nemesis and Toby's ex-girlfriend, as well as Wilkie's ex-girlfriend
• Blair Redford as Ty Mendoza, Bay's ex-boyfriend and Regina and Daphne's friend from their old neighborhood
• Charles Michael Davis as Liam Lupo, Bay and Daphne's ex-boyfriend
• B.K. Cannon as Mary Beth, Bay's and Ty's friend and Travis' ex-girlfriend
• Anthony Natale as Cameron Bledsoe, Emmett's father
• TL Forsberg as Olivia, Cameron Bledsoe's stoner ex-girlfriend
• Christopher Wiehl as Patrick, Regina's ex-boyfriend
• Tania Raymonde as Zarra, Bay's rebellious friend
• Justin Bruening as Chef Jeff Reycraft, Daphne's boss and short-term boyfriend
• Ryan Lane as Travis Barnes, Daphne's deaf friend. Lane's role as Travis earned him the RJ Mitte Diversity Award at the 2013 Media Access Awards.
• Max Lloyd-Jones as Noah, Bay's hard-of-hearing friend (and short-term boyfriend). The character parallels the real-life situation of Katie Leclerc, with hearing loss due to inherited Ménière's disease.
• Annie Ilonzeh as Lana, the mother of Angelo's second child
• Cassi Thomson as Nikki Papagus (Kennish), Toby's ex-wife
• Stephanie Nogueras as Natalie Pierce, a Carlton student who becomes Bay's friend
• Max Adler as Miles "Tank" Conroy, Bay's ex-boyfriend and Toby's former roommate
• Alec Mapa as Renzo, Kathryn's friend who she meets while taking tap-dancing classes
• RJ Mitte as Campbell Bingman, a pre-med student, wheelchair user and volunteer at the free clinic where Daphne is serving her hours of community service. He briefly dates Daphne.
• David Castaneda as Jorge, Daphne's ex-boyfriend
• Bianca Bethune as Sharee, Daphne's friend and field hockey teammate from Carlton
• Sharon Pierre-Louis as Iris, Daphne's hearing and signing college roommate and cousin of her pre-med interpreter
• Adam Hagenbuch as Greg "Mingo" Shimingo, Daphne's college boyfriend and son of John's former business manager
• Nyle DiMarco as Garrett Banducci, a Carlton student and co-worker of Travis' who takes a romantic interest in Bay. He is also deaf.
• Daniel Durant as Matthew, a deaf boy who tries to frame hearing students at school. He is also revealed as gay and has a romantic interest in Emmett.
• Rachel Shenton as Lily Summers, a neighbour who becomes pregnant with Toby's baby.
• Alice Lee as Skye.
• Kenneth Mitchell as Wes, Regina's boss.

Guest stars

• Meredith Baxter appears in season 1 and 5 as Kathryn's mother Bonnie, a co-investor in John's car wash business, whose favor shifts from Bay to Daphne upon learning of the switch.
• Corbin Bernsen appears in season 1 as Wilkie's father, James Wilkes Jr., who has the unpleasant task of telling Daphne he is sending his troubled son to boarding school.
• Shelley Long appears in season 1 as Rya Bellows, a publisher who encourages Kathryn to write her own memoir of the switch.
• Terrell Tilford as Eric, opened the coffee shop and Regina is now a partner of. The two of them are also in a relationship. Eric has a young son and mysterious past.
• Sandra Bernhard as Teresa Ledarsky, Bay's art teacher in Season 3.
• Davi Santos appears in Season 3, Episode 12: Love Among the Ruins as Martin, Nacho's friend.
• Sam Adegoke appears in Season 5, as Chris Walker.

Production

On August 1, 2011, ABC Family announced that they were ordering more episodes for the first season of Switched at Birth, bringing the first season to a total of 30 episodes. After the airing of the series' initial 10 episodes ended on August 8, 2011, the series continued with a winter premiere on January 3, 2012, airing an additional 12 episodes through March 20, 2012.[13][14] The series began airing the remaining 8 episodes of its first season on September 3, 2012.[15] On August 17, 2012, ABC Family renewed Switched at Birth for a second season;[16] it premiered on January 7, 2013.[17] After the spring finale on March 11, 2013, the second season resumed on June 10, 2013.[18] On July 30, 2013, ABC Family renewed the show for a third season to premiere on January 13, 2014.[4]

The show has an American Sign Language expert who helps make sure that the sign language used by the four fluent regulars (Katie Leclerc, Sean Berdy, Constance Marie, and Marlee Matlin) all employ a similar dialect.[19][20]

Airing on March 4, 2013 to mark the 25th anniversary of the "Deaf President Now" protests at Gallaudet University, the season 2 episode "Uprising"—which featured a similar student-led protest surrounding the closure of Carlton School for the Deaf, was produced almost entirely in sign language.[21]

Filming locations

The show was filmed in Los Angeles, California. Establishing shots used in several episodes feature video of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, including: a shot of the Liberty Memorial in the first episode; the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art; and Loose Park.[22] Scenes were filmed in Santa Clarita, Valencia, Beverly Hills, and Pasadena.[23]

Broadcast

Country/Region	Channel	Premiere	Title	Ref.
United States	Freeform	June 6, 2011	Switched at Birth	[1]
Latin America	Sony Spin	November 7, 2011	Cambiadas al nacer	[24]
Canada	YTV W Network	January 16, 2012	Switched at Birth	[25]
Italy	DeeJay TV	February 8, 2012	Switched at Birth – Al posto tuo	[26]
Russia	Disney Channel	Dezember 3, 2012	Их перепутали в роддоме	[27]
France	6ter	January 3, 2014	Switched	[28]
Germany  Austria  Liechtenstein   Switzerland	Disney Channel	January 20, 2014	Switched at Birth	[29]
Israel	YES drama	June 6, 2011	הוחלפו בלידתן (Switched at Birth)	[30]

Reception

The show's premiere on the ABC Family network was the highest-rated ever, with 3.3 million viewers. The total, including the first episode's repeat later that evening, was an estimated 4.9 million.

Ratings

Season	Timeslot (ET)	# Ep.	Premiered			Ended			TV Season	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	18–49 rating	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)	18–49 rating
1	Monday 9:00 pm (June 6 – August 8, 2011) Tuesday 8:00 pm (January 3 – March 20, 2012) Monday 8:00 pm (September 3 – October 22, 2012)	30	June 6, 2011	3.30[31]	1.3[31]	October 22, 2012	1.78[32]	0.8[32]	2011–2012	2.08[33]
2	Monday 8:00 pm	21	January 7, 2013	1.70[34]	0.7[34]	August 19, 2013	1.96[35]	0.8[35]	2013	1.72[36]
3		22	January 13, 2014	1.76[37]	0.7[37]	December 8, 2014	1.40[38]	0.6[38]	2014	1.42[39]
4	Tuesday 9:00 pm (January 6 – March 10, 2015) Monday 8:00 pm (August 24 – October 26, 2015)	20	January 6, 2015	1.29[40]	0.6[40]	October 26, 2015	0.83[41]	0.3[41]	2015
5	Tuesday 9:00 pm (January 31 – April 11, 2017)	10	January 31, 2017	0.60[42]	0.2[42]	April 11, 2017	0.49[43]	0.2[43]	2017

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2011	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actress — Supporting Role	Constance Marie	Nominated
	American Scene Awards	—	Switched at Birth	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Breakout Star	Sean Berdy	Nominated
			Katie Leclerc	Nominated
		Choice Summer TV Show	Switched at Birth	Nominated
		Choice Summer TV Star – Female	Vanessa Marano	Nominated
		Choice Summer TV Star – Male	Lucas Grabeel	Nominated
2012	ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Actress – Supporting Role	Constance Marie	Won
	Gracie Awards	Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series or Special	Constance Marie	Won
		Outstanding Producer – Entertainment	Lizzy Weiss	Won
	Imagen Awards	Best Primetime Program	Switched at Birth	Won
		Best Supporting Actress – Television	Constance Marie	Nominated
	Peabody Awards[44]	—	Switched at Birth	Won
	TCA Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming	Switched at Birth	Won
2013	Imagen Awards	Best Primetime TV Program	Switched at Birth	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Television	Constance Marie	Won
	Media Access Awards[45]	Casting Society of America Award	Deedee Bradley	Won
		RJ Mitte Diversity Award	Ryan Lane	Won
	TCA Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming	Switched at Birth	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor – Drama	Lucas Grabeel	Nominated
		Choice TV Actress – Drama	Vanessa Marano	Nominated
		Choice TV Show – Drama	Switched at Birth	Nominated
	TwoCents TV Awards	Drama Queens	Katie Leclerc	Won
2014	Imagen Awards	Best Primetime TV Program – Drama or Comedy	Switched at Birth	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Television	Constance Marie	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor – Drama	Lucas Grabeel	Nominated
		Choice TV Show – Drama	Switched at Birth	Nominated
	TCA Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming	Switched at Birth	Nominated

Media information

ABC Family promoted the series by launching an online game, Switched at Birth: Hunt for the Code one week before the premiere. Bay, a graffiti artist, left her signature stencil image on ten different websites, and players searched for the picture and accompanying code to redeem sneak peeks and enter a drawing to win $4,000.[46] Each weekday, ABCFamily.com posted two clues hinting at a site featuring the image, and instructed users to scan the code with a Microsoft Tag Reader for exclusive content.[47] Additionally, each code had two letters for fans to collect and enter to win upon completion of the ten-digit code.

See also

• Switched at Birth, 1991 film
• Switched at Birth, 1999 film

References

1. Andreeva, Nellie (March 7, 2011). "ABC Family Expands Schedule To 3 Nights Of Original Programming". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
2. Pennington, Gail (January 12, 2013). "TCA: Switched at Birth goes deeper into deaf culture : Entertainment". Stltoday.com. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
3. Barney, Chuck (June 29, 2011). "Chuck Barney: Switched at Birth another winner for ABC Family". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
4. "ABC Family Announces Premiere Dates for Pretty Little Liars, Twisted, Switched at Birth and The Fosters". TvByTheNumbers. October 21, 2013. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
5. "ABC Family's 'Switched at Birth' Renewed For Fourth Season". Deadline Hollywood. August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
6. Bibel, Sara (November 12, 2014). "ABC Family Announces January Premiere Dates for Pretty Little Liars, The Fosters, Chasing Life & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
7. Swift, Andy (October 21, 2015). "Switched at Birth Renewed: Season 5 Coming to ABC Family/Freeform". TVLine. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
8. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/switched-at-birth-end-season-874765
9. http://tvline.com/2016/03/19/switched-at-birth-final-season-premiere-2017/
10. Weiss, Lizzy [@Lizzy_Weiss] (October 17, 2016). "Hey so....the premiere date of our final season of #SwitchedatBirth has been moved one lil week. (Instead of Jan 24), it will be JANUARY 31" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. "Gilles Marini Promoted to Series Regular on 'Switched at Birth' – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. September 18, 2012. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
12. Season 2, episode 3, Duel of Two Women.
13. "ABC Family Orders More Episodes of Switched at Birth". ABC Family. August 1, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
14. "Switched at Birth, Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game: return." TVseriesfinale.com Retrieved 11/03/11.
15. Bibel, Sara (July 10, 2012). "Switched at Birth to Air Its Season Premiere Monday, September 3; Season Kicks Off With All Day Marathon". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
16. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 17, 2012). "ABC Family Renews Melissa & Joey, Baby Daddy, Switched at Birth & Orders Additional Episodes of Bunheads". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
17. Ausiello, Michael (September 28, 2012). "Pretty Little Liars Season 3b Return Date — Plus Bunheads Return Date". TV Line. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
18. "ABC Family Announces Summer Lineup Including Premieres of The Fosters, Twisted + Return of Baby Daddy, Pretty Little Liars & Switched at Birth". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
19. "Q & A with Constance Marie from "Switched at Birth"". modoration.com. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
20. Yawn, Jacquelyne (July 15, 2011). "Special Interview with ABC Family "Switched At Birth" Katie Leclerc". San Diego Entertainer Magazine. Retrieved July 16, 2011. Katie Leclerc
21. "ABC Family's 'Switched at Birth' ASL Episode Recalls Gallaudet Protest". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
22. ABC Family, Switched At Birth – Season 1, Episode 3
23. http://www.seeing-stars.com/Locations/SwitchedAtBirth.shtml
24. "Switched At Birth: nueva serie de Sony Spin". Retrieved April 11, 2016.
25. "ABC Spark to launch in Canada on Monday, March 26, 2012". Retrieved April 11, 2016.
26. "Switched at birth-Al posto tuo, la serie tv sullo scambio di culle su Deejay Tv". Retrieved April 11, 2016.
27. ""Их перепутали в роддоме" на Канале Disney!". Retrieved April 11, 2016.
28. "Switched at birth arrive en France dès le 3 janvier 2014". Retrieved April 11, 2016.
29. "Play By Day: Deutschlandpremiere von Switched at Birth beim Disney Channel". Retrieved April 11, 2016.
30. "הוחלפו בלידתן-switched at birth העמוד הרשמי".
31. "Monday Cable Ratings: Pawn Stars Tops Night; Plus WWE Raw, Secret Life, NHL Stanley Cup Finals, American Pickers & More – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. June 7, 2011. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
32. "Monday Cable Ratings: Monday Night Football Triumphs + Presidential Debate Ratings, On The Record, Monday Night RAW, SportsCenter & More – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. October 23, 2012. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
33. Switched at Birth: Season One Ratings
34. "Monday Cable Ratings: College Football Dominates Night + WWE Monday Night RAW, Catfish, Love & Hip Hop 3, Teen Mom II & More". TV by the Numbers. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013.
35. "Monday Cable Ratings: NFL Preseason Wins Night + RAW, Basketball Wives, TI & Tiny, Marrying the Game & More". TV by the Numbers. August 20, 2013. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013.
36. Switched at Birth: Season Two Ratings
37. Kondolojy, Amanda (January 14, 2014). "Monday Cable Ratings: Monday Night RAW & Love & Hip Hop Tie for Lead + Single Ladies, Archer & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014.
38. Bibel, Sara (December 9, 2014). "Monday Cable Ratings: Monday Night Football Tops Night, Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, The Fosters, Major Crimes, Switched at Birth & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
39. Switched at Birth: Season Three Ratings
40. Bibel, Sara (January 8, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: The Haves and the Have Nots Wins Night' Pretty Little Liars, Switched at Birth, Dance Moms, The Real World & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
41. Porter, Rick (October 27, 2015). "Monday cable ratings: Monday Night Football leads the way, plus Real Housewives of OC, Love & Hip Hop, WWE Raw". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
42. Metcalf, Mitch (February 1, 2017). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.31.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
43. Metcalf, Mitch (April 12, 2017). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.11.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
44. 72nd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2013.
45. "2013 Media Access Awards". Writers Guild of America. November 1, 2013. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014.
46. Anne, Beth (May 26, 2011). "Switched at Birth Scavenger Hunt". Nice Girls TV. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
47. "Switched at Birth: Hunt for the Code". ABCFamily.com. Retrieved June 3, 2011.

External links

• Official website
• Switched at Birth at IMDb
• Switched at Birth at TV.com
• ABC Spark website