Switched at Birth, Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game: ABC Family Series Return

ABC Family has announced the return dates for Switched at Birth, Pretty Little Liars, and The Lying Game, as well as the premiere of a new series called Jane by Design. You can look for them in the first week of January 2012.

Here are the details from the cable channel:

ABC FAMILY SETS PREMIERE DATES FOR ITS 2012 JANUARY LINE UP, INCLUDING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE ONE HOUR SCRIPTED DRAMA “JANE BY DESIGN” AND RETURNING HITS “SWITCHED AT BIRTH,” “PRETTY LITTLE LIARS” AND “THE LYING GAME”

SERIES SCHEDULED TO PREMIERE THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY WITH TWO NIGHTS OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING

ABC Family Original Series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Make It or Break It” to Return in Spring 2012

Burbank, CA (November 3, 2011) – ABC Family will ring in the New Year with the world premiere of a new one hour drama, “Jane By Design,” and with all-new episodes of returning original hit series “Switched at Birth,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Lying Game,” all set to premiere the first week of January 2012.

The girls are ready to kick some “A” in all-new episodes of ABC Family’s hit original series “Pretty Little Liars,” returning on a new night, Monday, January 2, 8:00PM-9:00PM ET/PT. No longer just wanting to sit by and wait for “A’s” latest cruel attack, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer take matters into their own hands and try to finally put a stop to their tormentor. As relationships are put to the test, new and old secrets are revealed and the stakes are raised higher than ever before as the Liars come closer to the truth – will all of their sacrifices be worth it in the end? “Pretty Little Liars” won three Teen Choice Awards in 2011 for Choice Summer TV Series, Choice Summer TV Actress – Lucy Hale and Choice Summer TV Actor – Ian Harding. The show also won the “TV You Betta Watch” Award for 2011’s NewNowNext Awards as well as the “Cast to Watch” for 2011’s The Young Hollywood Awards.

“The Lying Game” will return with all-new episodes on Monday, January 2, 9:00PM- 10:00PM ET/PT. It’s a season of secrets, seduction, and life-and-death stakes, as our twins continue to expose the skeletons in their family closet. Emma and Ethan’s love is stronger than ever, but their relationship is tested by questionable motives and accusations. When Sutton disappears after the big blow-up in the cabin, and the police find the stolen Mercer car at the bottom of the lake, Emma and Ethan don’t know whether Sutton is missing or dead. Thayer keeps their secret… for now… but has his own motive for wanting to tear them apart. Meanwhile, Char’s aunt Annie has returned to town after many years, bringing back old memories and secrets that Alec and Ted would like to keep in the past. Charisma Carpenter has been added to the cast as a recurring guest star as Char’s aunt (role of Rebecca Sewell).

ABC Family’s big summer hit, “Switched at Birth,” returns with all-new episodes on a new day and time, Tuesday, January 3, 8:00PM-9:00PM ET/PT. This season, the families must deal with the arrival of Bay’s biological father Angelo (Gilles Marini), inflaming old passions and creating new rivalries. All in all, everyone struggles to navigate family dynamics that seem to be getting more, not less, complicated. The series uses American Sign Language and explores deaf culture with an array of deaf and hard of hearing actors. The series was named the recipient of AFTRA’s (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) 2011 American Scene “Crystal” Award(R)” — the top individual television program honoree in this year’s competition — “for its groundbreaking and seamless inclusion of performers with disabilities, storylines that showcase new assistive technologies, and ethnic diversity.” Most recently, Executive Producer Paul Stupin was awarded the 2011 Producers Guild of America George Sunga Award by the Media Access Awards. Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, Gilles Marini and Austin Butler are recurring guest stars.

“Jane By Design” will make its world premiere on Tuesday, January 3, 9:00PM- 10:00PM ET/PT. “Jane By Design” follows Jane Quimby (Erica Dasher), a quirky teen with an eclectic chic fashion sense, who lands a job at a hip fashion house when they mistake her for an adult. Torn between her love of fashion and the need to finish high school, Jane conceals her true age to assist the demanding, but talented Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell), who travels the world in search of the next big style trend. Jane quickly learns that working for a successful executive in the cutthroat world of fashion is not as glamorous as she once thought. But with help from her best friend Billy Nutter (Nicholas Roux), Jane tries to keep up appearances as she toggles between two lives and guard her secret. Even with Billy’s support, will Jane’s ruse be a passing fad, or will she be able to fashion a career in the design business?

“Switched at Birth” launched as the network’s No. 1 original series debut in the network’s history in target demos, including Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, Women 18-34, Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49, and ranked as the top-rated new series across all basic cable during Summer 2011 across its core female demographics (18-34, 18-49 and 12-34). Critical darling and cult-favorite “Pretty Little Lairs” ranked as the No. 1 scripted basic cable series in Women 18-34 and Females 12-34 during Summer 2011, while “The Lying Game” was the No. 1 scripted cable show in its time period during its season 1A in the key female demos.

Also, fan favorites “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Make It or Break It” will both return with all-new original episodes in early Spring 2012.

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 97 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today’s families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today’s relationships – told with a mix of diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family’s programming is a combination of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with “13 Nights of Halloween” and “25 Days of Christmas.” ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the return of these shows? Which show do you like better? Will you give Jane by Design a try?