Scripted series · ABC Family
Switched at Birth
One mistake changed two families forever.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Vanessa Marano
Bay Kennish
103 eps
Katie Leclerc
Daphne Vasquez
103 eps
Lucas Grabeel
Toby Kennish
103 eps
Lea Thompson
Kathryn Kennish
103 eps
Constance Marie
Regina Vasquez
103 eps
D.W. Moffett
John Kennish
103 eps
Sean Berdy
Emmett Bledsoe
93 eps
Gilles Marini
Angelo Sorrento
73 eps
Ivonne Coll
Adrianna Vasquez
27 eps
Charles Michael Davis
Liam
4 eps
Meeghan Holaway
Amanda Burke
7 eps
Oliver Muirhead
4 eps
Marlee Matlin
Melody Bledsoe
41 eps
Austin Butler
James 'Wilke' Wilkerson III
14 eps
Maiara Walsh
Simone Sinclair
17 eps
Brandon P Bell
Coach Medlock
6 eps
Anthony Natale
Cameron Bledsoe
9 eps
Sam Page
Craig Tebbe
9 eps
Christopher Wiehl
Patrick
7 eps
Ryan Lane
Travis Barnes
52 eps
Carlease Burke
Principal Rose
10 eps
Manish Dayal
Scuba
4 eps
Tania Raymonde
Zarra
7 eps
Justin Bruening
Chef Jeff Reycraft
9 eps
Cassi Thomson
Nikki Papagus
18 eps
Brian Gutierrez
Cody
13 eps
Annie Ilonzeh
Lana
8 eps
Daniel Durant
Matthew
16 eps
Robert Curtis Brown
Ivan Ronan
5 eps
Jerry Ferris
Coach Lubin
4 eps
Stephanie Nogueras
Natalie Pierce
20 eps
Max Lloyd-Jones
Noah
8 eps
Todd Williams
Zane
5 eps
Danielle Rayne
Patricia Sawyer
4 eps
Kari Coleman
Whitney
6 eps
Brandon J. Sornberger
Mark
6 eps
Matt Kane
Jace
8 eps
Morgan Krantz
Mac
6 eps
B.K. Cannon
Mary Beth Tucker
20 eps
Matthew Risch
Senator Chip Coto
10 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Switched at Birth actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Switched at Birth reads strongest on Character Depth, Emotional Weight and Serialized.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
The story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 103 episodes.
- Poster unavailableSpecials
Season 0 · Unannounced
Specials
0 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
201130 episodes
8.7IMDbIn the first season, the lives of Bay Kennish, who grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, and Daphne Vasques, who grew up with a single mother in a poor neighborhood, are turned turned upside down when they discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. When financial difficulties arise, the Vasques move into the Kennishes' guest house, giving everyone a chance to get to know each another.
Best episode · S01E10 The Homecoming
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
201321 episodes
8.5IMDbThis season sees dramatic changes in the lives of the Kennish and Vasquez families as a result of the verdict in the baby switch trial. Bay enrols in an experimental program at Carlton for siblings of deaf students. Meanwhile, Daphne starts her own food truck business.
Best episode · S02E02 The Awakening Conscience
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
201422 episodes
9.1IMDbSenior year means big changes for Bay and Daphne, as the Carlton School for the Deaf receives an influx of hearing students who are not happy to be there. Daphne begins working at a free clinic as part of her probation and Bay takes an art class at a local college.
Best episode · S03E22 Yuletide Fortune Tellers
Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
201520 episodes
9.0IMDbThe fourth season picks up right after graduation with the family and Emmett discovering Bay's impulsive decision - and no one is happy about it. Meanwhile, Daphne is determined to prove herself worthy of her switchster's sacrifice while also dealing with the challenges of a whole new world of college.
Best episode · S04E18 The Accommodations of Desire
Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
201710 episodes
8.6IMDbIn the fifth and final season, Bay and Daphne return home after a transformative 10-month trip to China. Daphne tries to integrate herself back into campus life but finds that things have changed without her. Meanwhile, Bay experiences a setback in her career as a tattoo artist.
Best episode · S05E06 Four Ages in Life
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E01
This Is Not a Pipe
In the series premiere of this drama, a hospital error that involved sending two newborns home with the wrong families is uncovered years later, when the girls are teenagers. The girls went on to lead very different lives: Artistic Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano) grew up in a world of privilege, while athletic Daphne Vasquez (Katie Lecleric) was raised by a single mother and contracted an illness that left her deaf at a young age.
- Directed by Steve Miner
- Written by Lizzy Weiss
S01E03
Portrait of My Father
Bay becomes curious about her birth father. Meanwhile, Kathryn deals with her nosy neighbors; and John takes an interest in Daphne's basketball games and meets Melody (Marlee Matlin), a friend of Regina's who works at Daphne's school.
- Directed by Michael Schultz
- Written by Becky Hartman Edwards
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S05E10
Long Live Love
S05E09
The Wolf is Waiting
- Directed by Jill D'Agnenica
- Written by William H. Brown, Terrence Coli
S05E07
Memory (The Heart)
- Directed by Lea Thompson
- Written by Linda Gase
S05E06
Four Ages in Life
- Directed by Janice Cooke
- Written by Lenn K. Rosenfeld, Terrence Coli
S05E05
Occupy Truth
- Directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd
- Written by Talicia Raggs, Lizzy Weiss
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Lizzy Weiss
Showrunner
- Photo unavailable
John Ziffren
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Linda Gase
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Paul Stupin
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Becky Hartman Edwards
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
James Patrick Stoteraux
Writer
David Paymer
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Rasheed Newson
Writer
Bekah Brunstetter
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Lenn K. Rosenfeld
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Dayna Lynne North
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Chad Fiveash
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Anne Kenney
Writer
- Photo unavailable
William H. Brown
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Ariel Rubin
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Liz Sczudlo
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jessica Phillips
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Darla Lansu
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Talicia Raggs
Writer
Joy Gregory
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Michael V. Ross
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Terrence Coli
Writer
- Photo unavailable
T.J. Brady
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Henry Robles
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Alexander Georgakis
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Sean Reycraft
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- John ZiffrenExecutive Producer
- Linda GaseExecutive Producer
- Paul StupinExecutive Producer
- Becky Hartman EdwardsExecutive Producer
- Lizzy WeissExecutive Producer
Writing
- James Patrick StoterauxWriter
- David PaymerWriter
- Rasheed NewsonWriter
- Bekah BrunstetterWriter
- Lenn K. RosenfeldWriter
- Dayna Lynne NorthWriter
Direction
- Arlene SanfordDirector
- John BehringDirector
- David PaymerDirector
- Bethany RooneyDirector
- Glenn SteelmanDirector
- Michael GrossmanDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- HuluStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- fuboTVStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- FreeformStreaming
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