Switched At Birth begins its 10-episode fifth and final season tonight, but it could have been twice as long. Speaking to THR, showrunner Lizzy Weiss revealed that she originally planned for a 20-episode final season, which was ultimately scraped by Freeform:
I think there was a feeling that we were nearing the end of the run. I thought we might get 20 episodes. There was indication that we might get another 10 so we had a plan for a back 10. Then we were told right around the 100th episode that it was going to be the end so we had to sort of round out the edges a little bit quicker than I anticipated. [It was] a little bit of a surprise, not a complete dead shock. 100 episodes is really a long time for any show and I really don’t like to repeat myself.
Weiss also reflected on Freeform’s 15 month delay of the final season, calling it “frustrating”:
Well, to be honest, it was definitely frustrating. It was a lot longer than we anticipated and we were bummed for the fans that they had to wait so long in between seasons. Honestly, it feels like in the history of television, I don’t know if fans have ever waited over 15 months between seasons, but it does feel like our fans are pretty fervent and they’ve been waiting. [..] The hope is just that they find it at some point because they’ve waited a long time and it’s the last 10 episodes of a very long five-year journey.
Did Switched at Birth deserve a longer final chapter? Is 103 episodes enough?
Will the series be resurrected in years to come? Stay tuned…
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