The Show Like The Fosters That Family Drama Fans Need To See

"Switched at Birth," created by Lizzy Weiss, ran on Freeform from 2011-2017, also for five seasons. It concerns two teenagers, Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano) and Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc), who discover that they were switched at birth as newborns in the hospital. To deal with this bombshell, they and their families decide to merge their lives. 

Much like "The Fosters" did, "Switched at Birth" also pushes boundaries in terms of representation. Because Daphne and her mother have become fully immersed in the deaf community — Daphne attends an all-deaf school — a huge chunk of the characters on the show are deaf (and the majority are played by deaf actors). Hypable wrote an extensive piece on the show's representation of deaf culture, writing that it "opens the door for deaf representation." Further, the article praises the series' use of American Sign Language — which is almost as common on the show as spoken English. 

In addition to the strides the show made in representation, it's also an entertaining watch, full of drama unfolding between the teens and their families. With five full seasons out and available to watch, "Switched at Birth" is the perfect binge for fans of "The Fosters" and other forward-thinking family dramas.