Hypable got the chance to chat with Vanessa Marano, one of the stars of ABC Family’s hit show Switched at Birth season 2, about tonight’s anticipated summer premiere.
Switched at Birth is the story of two families whose lives get turned upside down when they realize that their teenage daughters were accidentally switched by the hospital staff when they were born.
We interviewed Vanessa Marano, who plays one of the daughters that was switched, Bay Kennish, and she spilled the beans on what we have to look forward to this season on Switched at Birth season 2, how it feels trying to juggle college and work, and what makes the inner fangirl in her geek out.
On what everyone’s up to on this season of ‘Switched at Birth’:
Vanessa: We’re kicking it off in the summer! We’re doing a summer season of Switched at Birth, which is exciting—we’ve never really gotten to see the characters during the summer. So everybody’s getting a summer job, and Toby’s engaged, so he’s taking on a lot of responsibility that could be contributing to a nervous breakdown, or an overall rethinking… or, you know, happiness and bliss and thinking that it’s the right decision. We’ll see which one of those three options it ends up being. Bay and Daphne aren’t in the best place because of the fight they had over (Daphne) making out with (Bay’s) boyfriend, and (Daphne) not sticking up for (Bay) at Carlton. Regina is coming out of rehab, so she’s trying to win back everybody’s trust. And, probably the most exciting portion of the season: John Kennish, State Senator.
On how her character, Bay, has evolved since season 1 of ‘Switched at Birth’:
Vanessa: I think she’s come quite a long way. With Bay it is a lot of two-steps forward, one-step back kind of thing, though. But especially in the pilot, she was a very spoiled teenager who was coming from a place of never feeling like she fit in, and the way she dealt with that was building up a wall and just being rebellious. She was doing her street art, she was dating a lot of boys, and she also got a piercing in that pilot, if I remember correctly. And then she finds out about the switch, and that turns her world upside down because finally everything makes sense, she understands why she doesn’t feel like she belongs, and then she meets her biological mother and her biological mother doesn’t take her in with the open arms that Katherine and John took Daphne in, and so now she feels totally alone. And when Bay felt totally alone, she definitely was selfish, and she was snarky, and she didn’t really have anybody to lean on…until she met Emmett.
On how meeting Emmett has changed Bay:
Vanessa: When (Bay) met Emmett, she found someone who chose her over Daphne, and she became the most pleasant person in the entire world. She was in love, she was happy, she finally felt like she was able to trust…and then he cheated on her. And that resulted in her freaking out, befriending this girl that she should not have been befriending, committing all sorts of illegal activities, and becoming a hot mess.
On her favorite scene in the series:
Vanessa: My favorite scene in our show is in the season 1 finale when John finally just tells Bay that he wouldn’t change her for all the money in the world. She really needed that. And so when we come into season 2, Bay’s finally kind of found herself, and she’s okay with herself, and she doesn’t have that yearning of feeling like nobody understands her anymore.
On how Bay dealt with Carlton:
Vanessa: When she decides to go to the deaf school, she’s completely outcasted. Old-Bay would have rebelled against that, but New-Bay really tried to make it work, and really put herself out there, and still stayed committed to school. So, just in that she grew a lot. Then at the end of season 2, Daphne cheated with (Bay’s) boyfriend, and the deaf kids didn’t want the hearing kids at (Carlton) anymore, so she’s coming back into this summer like, a little bit of the old-Bay and a little bit of the new-Bay. She’s trying to figure out where she stands.
On Bay’s relationship with Emmett this upcoming season:
Vanessa: It’s not in a good place. I think whenever you cheat on somebody, your relationship’s not going to be in a good place. So what’s great about the beginning of this season is that they’ve found kind of a place where they can be friends. Which is good; she yearned for his friendship because she feels most herself around him. But then at the same time, he completely betrayed her. Which honestly, I think was good for Bay, because Bay needs to realize that she can be herself without the help of a boy, and I think that’s a great message that the show is trying to put out to young girls. She had this love that changed her and made her feel wanted and all that stuff, and then he cheated on her, which is just a blatant form of disrespect. And she still has not gone back to him, which I would like to say kudos to our writers for not having her go back to him right away, for saying, “Look, this was a big deal and you need to win back my friendship, and that’s the most important thing.”
On how she balances college while working full time on ‘Switched at Birth’:
Vanessa: Last semester I was taking one class and working at the same time, so my professor was very accommodating. I’ve been going to college since I was fourteen, and what’s beautiful about this country is how much of an opportunity community college gives you to continue learning even if your circumstances are hard. Both my parents are teachers, so I’ve always been in school, even if it was just taking one class a semester—which most of the time it is because I work twelve-hour days. So that’s kind of the boat that I’m in with my education: whenever I have an opportunity to take a class, I take it and I do it, and I’m excited about it, because I’m very lucky that education is an option for me, and I do not want to take that for granted.
On what television shows bring out her inner fangirl and make her geek out:
Vanessa: I geek out over SO MANY THINGS. I cannot wait for Homeland to come back. That show is my favorite show on television right now…obviously besides Switched at Birth, which is amazing, but I’m biased, so I’m not gonna go there. Love me the New Girl; so excited about Nick and Jess. I squealed like a little girl when they finally hooked up. And Real Housewives of New Jersey is back, so that’s my guilty pleasure that I geek out over. I covered it, right? I’ve got our Emmy-nominated comedy, our Emmy-award winning Drama, and then our trashy reality show on Bravo—which is pretty fantastic I’ve gotta tell you.
The summer season of Switched at Birth premieres tonight, June 10th, at 8pm EST on ABC Family.