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'Switched at Birth' season 5 updates: New premiere date set; premiere pushed back due to writers' other projects?

Promotional image for the Freeform series "Switched at Birth" | Facebook/SwitchedatBirth

"Switched at Birth" is now heading to its fifth and final season, and Freeform recently announced that the show's premiere date has been pushed back.

According to TV Line, the premium cabler announced last Monday that the program's 10-episode farewell season is slated to premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 31, exactly one hour after the season 4B premiere of hit family drama "The Fosters."

Back in August, the network revealed that the show would premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 24. Although the reason behind the one-week delay was not mentioned, rumor has it that the fifth season has been pushed back due to the writers working on other projects. The speculations started when series creator Lizzy Weiss posted a tweet last Oct. 14. "Where are my #SwitchedatBirth writers now? @beckhartwards is on #Pitch, @terrencecoli is on #Notorious, @funstetter is on #ThisIsUs," she posted via Twitter. Despite mentioning the writers' other projects, it's clear that she is just messing with her team.

On another note, Weiss previously hinted that the series will incorporate themes focusing on "racial inequality," specifically within campuses. Latest spoiler reports claim that season 5 will see Daphne and her boyfriend Greg become targets of campus hate. It turns out that Greg gained black student enemies in school after dressing up as famed rapper Lil Wayne.

Aside from the relevant issue being tackled in the storyline, viewers will also see new and familiar faces in the cast lineup. Newcomers for season 5 are Michael Galante and Valery Ortiz, who will portray Luca and Noelle respectively. Returning characters include Max Adler as Tank and Gilles Marini as Angelo Sorrento. Since Angelo already died in season 3, his appearance for this coming season might be in the form of flashbacks.

Catch the fifth and final season of "Switched at Birth" which premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. ET on Freeform.