TV Show: Switched at Birth

I'm always impressed when a TV show can overcome a ridiculous premise and turn it into something special, which is the case with ABC Family's newest drama, Switched at Birth (premiering Monday at 9pm). Despite an awkward idea that would be better suited for a Lifetime original movie (two families learn that their now teenage daughters were accidentally switched at birth ... and one of them is DEAF!), the show has heartwarming and relatable characters, creating a TV show that makes viewers feel like a part of the family.

Bay is the artistic daughter of John and Kathryn Kennish, a well-to-do family in Mission Hills, Kan. Daphne is the athletic daughter of struggling mom Regina Vasquez and occasional lagabout Angelo Sorrento. But Bay is also the daughter of Regina. And Daphne's the biological progeny of John and Kathryn. Thanks to a little hospital mix-up, the two kids got switched at birth.

But you probably figured that out already.

Now, ever since John and Kathryn invited Regina and Daphne to live in their guest house, the whole clan is together for the first time. The great news here is that, after a few first-season bumps, everybody gets along (at least most of the time), and thus gives audiences a really encouraging look at how a seriously blended family can go about things. Bay and Daphne consider the parents who raised them to be their true parents, even though they're literally a stone's throw away from their birth moms. They also enjoy hanging out with their birth folks.

For families who've adopted kids or are adoptees themselves (particularly in this era of open adoptions), Switched at Birth tells us that love doesn't necessarily need to be divided between members of a family. Rather, it multiplies if allowed to do so.

It's also cool to see a show that deals with hearing impairment with such deft humor and refreshing sense of normalcy. Daphne is deaf. And there are lots of other deaf characters on the show too: Emmett, Daphne's best friend and Bay's one-time love interest, can't hear and refuses to speak; and deaf Oscar winner Marlee Matlin plays recurring character Melody. Travis is Daphne's newest beau. None of them are token figurines playing, simply, their disability. They're fully fleshed-out people—at least by teen drama standards—going about their business as anyone else would. And I love the fact that, when two hearing characters hold a conversation in the midst of a deaf one, the hearing characters still often sign—a common courtesy, really. No one's trying to exclude anyone else here, no one's trying to keep secrets.

OK, some of them are trying to keep secrets—just not by refusing to sign. This is, after all, a teen soap opera. And it's on ABC Family. So screenplay writers, when they sign up to work for the channel, are likely ordered to write in a full quota of secrets, deceptions and cons.

Switched at Birth contains some really nice messages about the bonds of family and friendship, even in the midst of trying circumstances. As such, it feels at first like a well-meaning series. But when it comes to talking about certain kinds of morality, this ABC family goes not deaf, but dumb.

Are the "switched at birth" premise and the prominence of deaf characters gimmicks to help make the show stand out? Yes, but the magic of Switched at Birth is that it takes those gimmicks and treats them in a realistic and serious manner. Nothing is as simple as it appears on this show, and neither is the show itself. Now that Life Unexpected is gone, Switched at Birth has officially taken its place as my new favorite heartwarming family drama on TV.