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Switched at Birth (TV series)

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Switched at Birth
GenreFamily drama
Created byLizzy Weiss
StarringKatie Leclerc
Vanessa Marano
Constance Marie
D. W. Moffett
Lea Thompson
Lucas Grabeel
Sean Berdy
Country of originUnited States
Original languagesEnglish
American Sign Language
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes30 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLizzy Weiss
Paul Stupin
John Ziffren
CinematographyFrank Byers
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time42 minutes
Production companiesPirates' Cove Entertainment
ABC Family Original Productions
Suzy B Productions
Original release
NetworkABC Family
ReleaseJune 6, 2011 (2011-06-06) –
present

Switched at Birth is an American television series that premiered on ABC Family on June 6, 2011, at 9:00 ET/PT.[1] The one-hour scripted drama revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth and grew up in very different environments.[2] The series' debut was the highest-rated show debut for ABC Family to date.[3]

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. The series continued with a winter premiere on January 3, 2012, ending on March 20, 2012, with 12 episodes.[4][5] The series began airing its remaining 8 episodes for its first season, beginning September 3, 2012.[6] On August 17, 2012, ABC Family renewed Switched at Birth for a second season,[7] set to premiere on January 7, 2013.[8]

Premise

Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano) is an artistic teenager being raised by her stay-at-home mother Kathryn (Lea Thompson) and former professional baseball player father John (D. W. Moffett), in the wealthy neighborhood Mission Hills, Kansas, along with her older brother Toby (Lucas Grabeel). After studying blood types in school, Bay begins to wonder why her blood type does not match her parents'. The family gets genetic testing done and confirms that Bay is not biologically related to them. They discover that the hospital mistakenly switched her with another newborn, Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc), a deaf teen living with her struggling single mother Regina (Constance Marie) and Puerto Rican grandmother (Ivonne Coll) in a working-class neighborhood in Riverside, Missouri. A case of meningitis caused Daphne to lose her hearing as a child so she attends Carlton, a school for the deaf, where she plays basketball.

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, as well as the family's friendly demeanor. 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 wants to bond with Daphne as her mother and unintentionally alienates Bay, while Regina is fighting Kathryn's influence on Daphne and though she sometimes bonds with Bay, she does not want to switch children.

Oscar-winning actress and Deaf advocate Marlee Matlin[9] plays a friend of Regina's and the mother of Emmett (Sean Berdy), Daphne's best friend and schoolmate.[10] Gilles Marini plays Angelo Sorrento, Bay's biological father. On September 18, 2012, it was announced that Marini was promoted to a series regular for the show's second season.[11]

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Switched at Birth characters
The main cast of Switched at Birth
  • Katie Leclerc portrays Daphne Paloma Vasquez, the biological daughter of John and Kathryn Kennish. She is the legal daughter of Regina Vasquez. She was born on October 22, 1995; she was deafened at age three as a result of bacterial meningitis. She has had a series of boyfriend including Liam, Wilke, and Chef Jeff.
  • Vanessa Marano portrays Bay Madeleine Kennish, the biological daughter of Angelo Sorrento and Regina Vasquez. She is the legal daughter of John and Kathryn Kennish. She was also born very early on October 22, 1995, a couple of minutes older than Daphne. She has been out with Liam, Ty, Emmett, and Alex. Bay is a great artist, and she had plastered graffiti on walls, buildings and billboards
  • Constance Marie portrays Regina Vasquez, Daphne's mother and Bay's biological mother. She is a former Alcoholic, sobering up after her husband walks out on her (when thinking she cheated on him and had Daphne with another man) in order to become a good mother to Daphne. It is revealed she knew about the switch, but never came forward when fearing the possibility of having Daphne being taken away from her.
  • D. W. Moffett portrays John Kennish, Bay and Toby's father and Daphne's biological father. He is a former baseball player who is quite famous.
  • Lea Thompson portrays Kathryn Kennish, Bay's and Toby's mother and Daphne's biological mother. Later on, she writes her own book about the ordeal, with Regina's eventual help.
  • Lucas Grabeel portrays Toby Kennish, John and Kathryn's son, Bay's older brother, and Daphne's biological brother. He was the lead member of "Guitarface," a band which included Wilke and later on, Emmet. Toward the end of the season, Toby meets a girl named Nikki at his church, and together with Emmet form a new band.
  • Gilles Marini portrays Angelo Sorrento the biological father of Bay Kennish, the absent father of Daphne Vasquez, and the ex‑boyfriend of Regina Vasquez and now he's Regina husband.
  • Sean Berdy portrays Emmett Bledsoe, Daphne's long-time best friend who is also deaf, and refuses to use his voice to communicate, even to hearing people. He falls in love with Bay, but cheats on her in a fit of rage causing her to break up with him. Despite this, he never gets over her, determined to win her back and prove his remorse for his actions. He loves motorcycles and is a great drummer despite being deaf.

Recurring cast

  • Marlee Matlin portrays Melody Bledsoe, a deaf guidance counselor, substitute basketball coach at the Carlton School for the Deaf, Emmett's mother, and Regina's best friend. When Bay and Emmett begin dating, Melody disapproves, not believing Deaf/hearing relationships can work due to culture differences, and strongly believes that Bay (despite being her best friend's, Regina's, daughter) is a bad influence on Emmett. But when Bay comes to her and confides in her about her worries about Emmett, she finally eases up on Bay, finally realizing that Bay genuinely does care about Emmett.
  • Ivonne Coll portrays Adriana Vasquez, Regina's mother, Daphne's grandmother, and Bay's biological grandmother, who lives with Regina and Daphne in the Kennish guest house.
  • Austin Butler portrays James "Wilke" Wilkerson III, Toby's rich best friend and member of their band, "Guitarface". He falls for Daphne, and they officially start dating on the 15th episode and break up on the 22nd episode because he moves to boarding school.
  • Maiara Walsh portrays Simone Sinclair, a former friend of Bay's and Wilke's ex‑girlfriend who is shown to be manipulative and selfish. She forms a friendship with Daphne, which is later dissolved when she betrays the Kennesh kids By sleeping with Emmett Bay's then boyfriend and he is also Daphne's best friend.
  • Blair Redford portrays Tyler "Ty" Mendoza, Daphne's close friend and Bay's short-lived love interest. Later, they break up shortly before he leaves for the military in episode five.
  • Sam Page portrays Craig Tebbe, John and Katheryn's newly appointed lawyer for their case against the hospital.
  • Anthony Natale portrays Cameron Bledsoe, Emmett's father, who is also deaf. He is the "irresponsible" parent compared to Melody and her overprotective parenting style. He also has a girlfriend, Olivia, who is a bad influence on Emmett.
  • T. L. Forsberg portrays Olivia, Cameron's free spirited girlfriend, who is later revealed to be a Marijuana dealer.
  • Charles Michael Davis portrays Liam Lupo, the former ex‑boyfriend of Bay and short-time ex‑boyfriend of Daphne now. His father owns a restaurant in town.
  • Meeghan Holaway portrays Amanda Burke, Esq., the Kennishes' friend and lawyer, helping John to sue the hospital for medical malpractice. However, John and Kathryn fire her after discovering she's dating one of the hospital board members.
  • Jason Brooks portrays Bruce, the ex‑husband of Kathryn's friend and brief love interest of Regina, until she comes to the conclusion he still has feelings for his ex‑wife.
  • Oliver Muirhead portrays Geraldo, the owner of the local hair salon patronized by Kathryn and her friends. Regina later works here in order to move her business to Mission Hills.
  • Christopher Wiehl portrays Patrick, the owner of a local art gallery who looks at Bay and Regina's work. He and Regina had a relationship, but it ended at the end of the series when he concluded that he couldn't date a married woman who was still in love.
  • Tania Raymonde portrays Zarra, a street artist who is befriended by Bay. She also uses the street name "Medusa."
  • Justin Bruening portrays Chef Jeff Reycraft, the head chef at Maize Restaurant and Daphne's boss with whom she starts a taboo love affair, which Daphne tried to end in order to keep his job and their relationship. Instead, they broke up and she ended up without a job.
  • Ryan Lane portrays Travis, a deaf student at Daphne and Emmet's school who works at John's car wash and is said to have feelings for Daphne.

Episodes

Main article: List of Switched at Birth episodes

Production

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.[12][13]

Audio editing

Scenes featuring only deaf characters having a conversation (mainly Daphne and Emmett) have their audio edited to remove all background noise except for ambient noise. This is done so viewers can focus on the emotions and physical nature of sign language, while also providing them with a perspective of what it is like to be deaf.

Setting

The show is set in Kansas City, Missouri, although the show is filmed in Los Angeles, California. The Kennish family lives in Mission Hills, a suburb of Kansas City, and before moving into the Kennishes' guest home, the Vasquez family lived in Riverside, Missouri. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Loose Park are both located in Kansas City.[14] In addition, establishing shots used in several episodes feature video of downtown Kansas City, including a shot of Liberty Memorial in the first episode. Some scenes are also filmed in Santa Clarita, California.

Numerous references throughout the series are made to the fact that John Kennish played for the Kansas City Royals baseball team. There is no history of anyone with that name playing for the Royals.

Vehicles driven by members of the Kennish family bear Kansas license plates, but they appear to be the 2010 "America's Heartland" base used only for personalized license plates instead of the 2008 "Ad Aspera/State Seal" base used for standard issue license plates. In season 1, episode 5 a close up of John Kennish's license plate is clearly visible, showing a Kansas plate, but the county sticker in the upper-left corner says "SN", which stands for Shawnee County, Kansas, the county in which the state capital Topeka is located, rather than "JO" for Johnson County, Kansas, where Mission Hills is located.

Promotion

One week before the premiere, ABC Family launched the online game, "Switched at Birth: Hunt for the Code". Bay, a graffiti artist, left her signature stencil image on ten different websites and users searched for the picture and accompanying code to redeem sneak peeks and enter to win $4,000.[15] 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.[16] Additionally, each code had two letters for fans to collect and enter to win upon completion of the ten-digit code.

Broadcast

Reception

The show had the highest-rated premiere ever on the ABC Family network with 3.3 million viewers. When counting the repeat of the first episode later that evening, an estimated 4.9 million people saw the premiere. The first 30 episodes are available on Netflix's Watch Instantly service.

Season Timeslot (ET) # Ep. Premiered Ended TV Season Viewers
(in millions)
Date Premiere
Viewers
(in millions) 		Date Finale
Viewers
(in millions)
1
Monday 9:00PM (2011) {1A[1x01-1x10]}
Tuesday 8:00PM (2012) {1B[1x11-1x22]}
Monday 8:00PM (2012) {1C [1x23-1x30]}
 30
June 6, 2011
 3.30[17]
October 22, 2012
 1.78[18] 2011-2012 TBA
2
Monday 8:00PM (2013) {2A [2x01- ]}
20
January 7, 2013
 TBA
TBA
 TBA 2013 TBA

Awards

Year Award Category Recipients and nominees Outcome
2011
Teen Choice Award Choice Breakout Star Katie Leclerc Nominated
Sean Berdy Nominated
Choice Summer TV Show Switched at Birth Nominated
Choice Summer TV Star: Male Lucas Grabeel Nominated
Choice Summer TV Star: Female Vanessa Marano Nominated
ALMA Award Favorite TV Actress - Supporting Role Constance Marie Nominated
American Scene Award Honored Switched at Birth Won
2012
Gracie Award Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series or Special Constance Marie Won
Outstanding Producer - Entertainment Lizzy Weiss Won
Television Critics Association Awards Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming Switched at Birth Won
Imagen Foundation Awards Best Primetime Program Won
Best Supporting Actress/Television Constance Marie Nominated

References

  1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 7, 2011). "ABC Family Expands Schedule To 3 Nights Of Original Programming". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
  2. ^ "ABC Family Announces Pick-Up of "Switched at Birth," "The Nine Lives of Chloe King" and "The Great State of Georgia"". The Futon Critic. January 31, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Barney, Chuck (2011-06-29). "Chuck Barney: 'Switched at Birth' another winner for ABC Family". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  4. ^ "ABC Family Orders More Episodes of Switched at Birth". ABC Family. August 1, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  5. ^ "Switched at Birth, Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game: return." TVseriesfinale.com Retrieved 11/03/11.
  6. ^ "'Switched at Birth' to Air Its Season Premiere Monday, September 3; Season Kicks Off With All Day Marathon - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  7. ^ "ABC Family Renews 'Melissa & Joey', 'Baby Daddy', 'Switched at Birth' & Orders Additional Episodes of 'Bunheads' - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  8. ^ Michael Ausiello (2012-09-28). "'Pretty Little Liars' Season 3b Return Date — Plus 'Bunheads' Return Date". TVLine. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  9. ^ Bobbin, Jay (6 May 2011). "'Switched at Birth': Katie Leclerc, Kristin Chenoweth have something in common". Zap2It. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  10. ^ Ng, Phillana. "Marlee Matlin Joins ABC Family's 'Switched at Birth'". The Hollywood Report. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Gilles Marini Promoted to Series Regular on 'Switched at Birth' - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  12. ^ "Q & A with Constance Marie from "Switched at Birth"". modoration.com. 2011-07-14. Retrieved 16 July 2011. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  13. ^ Yawn, Jacquelyne (2011-07-15). "Special Interview with ABC Family "Switched At Birth" Katie Leclerc". San Diego Entertainer Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2011. Katie Leclerc
  14. ^ ABC Family, Switched At Birth - Season 1, Episode 3
  15. ^ Anne, Beth (26 May 2011). "Switched at Birth Scavenger Hunt". Nice Girls TV. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Switched at Birth: Hunt for the Code". Hunt for the Code Game. ABCFamily.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Monday Cable Ratings: 'Pawn Stars' Tops Night; Plus 'WWE Raw,' 'Secret Life,' NHL Stanley Cup Finals, 'American Pickers' & More - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  18. ^ "Monday Cable Ratings: 'Monday Night Football' Triumphs + Presidential Debate Ratings, 'On The Record', 'Monday Night RAW', 'SportsCenter' & More - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
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