Tonight, season four of Switched at Birth resumes on ABC Family. It’s been five and a half months since the last episode aired so the cast and crew are no doubt hoping that the fans haven’t forgotten about the show.

This season’s down by more than 17% year-to-year in the ratings. While that’s not positive news, it remains one of the cable channel’s top-rated scripted shows.

While the series hasn’t been renewed for a fifth season yet, series creator Lizzy Weiss has a plan for season five. Does she envision that as the end? She hasn’t put any thought into a series finale.

At the end of this season, you’ll have 93 episodes in the bag, you have the characters in college and growing up. Looking at the long-term plan of the show, have you put any thought into what the endgame might be?

No, I’m just focused on [the season] right now. I’m so excited to have the fans respond to what we’ve done this season. There is a plan for season five, and if that happens, we’re going to do something cool. But right now, I’m just excited about these next 10. We’ve been off the air for so long that I think people are really impatient and excited to see it. After all the hard work we’ve put into these episodes, we love seeing what people say. Just like with the campus assault story, we’re putting stuff out there that people may disagree with. It stirs up some feelings for people and I think that’s a good thing to start a conversation with young people and get them talking about things that they’re passionate about.

One of ABC Family’s other long-running shows, Pretty Little Liars, is doing a big time jump and you talked about a plan for season five. Is that something you would ever consider doing with the characters?
I think time jumps are in the ether. I have heard what PLL is doing. I think it’s super cool. For sure, it’s something we have talked about and will continue to talk about. But we also feel like we just got to college, and I think PLL is skipping college altogether. … We still are enjoying seeing these girls make their way through college. I think creatively, there is still stuff for us to play in college and we don’t have to jump ahead, but it is something we have discussed.

What do you think? Do you like this show? Are you hoping that Switched at Birth is renewed for a fifth season — or cancelled to make way for something else?