Switched at Birth

Switched at Birth is an American teen/family drama television series that premiered on ABC Family on June 6, 2011, at 9:00 ET/PT. 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 the affluent suburb of Mission Hills, Kansas, and the other in working-class East Riverside, Missouri. 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)".

The show's debut was ABC Family's highest-rated series debut to date. 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. On August 13, 2014, ABC Family renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on January 6, 2015.

ABC Family, which change its name to Freeform in January 2016, announced on Wednesday October 21, 2015 that it has renewed the long-running drama for a fifth season.

As of October 26, 2015, a total of 103 episodes of Switched at Birth have aired.

On March 19, 2016, it was announced that the fifth season was bumped from a March 2016 to a January 2017 premiere date. In October 2016, the network announced that the final season would premiere on January 31, 2017.

Synopsis
Bay Kennish is an artistic teenager being raised by her stay-at-home mother Kathryn and former professional baseball player father John, in the wealthy Kansas City suburb of Mission Hills, Kansas, along with her older brother Toby. After studying blood types in school, Bay questions why her type is considered impossible given those of her parents. After genetic testing that confirms Bay is not biologically related to her parents, the family discovers that the hospital mistakenly switched Bay with another newborn, Daphne Vasquez, a deaf teen who lost her hearing as a result of meningitis, living with her struggling single mother, Regina and Puerto Rican grandmother in the low-income neighborhood of East Riverside, Missouri.

When the two families meet, the girls struggle with their identities as Bay relates to Regina's artistic abilities and Daphne is drawn to John's athletic skills and to Kathryn's cooking abilities. The Kennishes learn that Regina is facing financial woes and propose the Vasquezes move into their guest home. The new living situation forces the girls, along with both families, to understand their differences and embrace their similarities. Kathryn attempts to bond with Daphne while unintentionally alienating Bay. At the same time, Regina struggles with Kathryn's influence on Daphne and bonding with Bay.

DVD Released
On December 13, 2011, ABC Family (now Freeform) released Switched at Birth: Volume One on DVD via their Disney-ABC collection.