STARS LEA THOMPSON OF "SWITCHED AT BIRTH" AND BIANCA SANTOS OF "THE FOSTERS" TO PARTICIPATE IN LIVE CHATS VIA TWITTER DURING THE EAST COAST BROADCASTS OF THEIR SERIES MONDAY, JULY 8, ON ABC FAMILY

Burbank, CA (July 5, 2013) - Lea Thompson, who stars on "Switched at Birth" as Kathryn Kennish, and Bianca Santos, who guest stars as Jesus' girlfriend Lexi Rivera on "The Fosters," will participate in live Twitter chats with fans during the East Coast broadcasts of their series Monday, July 8th, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

Lea Thompson will be tweeting live during the East Coast broadcast of "Switched at Birth" from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. PT. Fans should tweet at Lea's handle @LeaKThompson and include the hashtag #SwitchedAtBirthChat in their tweets to ask their questions. In the new episode of "Switched at Birth," an alternate reality is revealed where both Daphne and Bay were raised by the Kennish family from age three. As a result, Daphne has a cochlear implant, and doesn't know American Sign Language. Having been spoiled by her parents to make up for the switch, she's manipulative and not the best student. Bay, on the other hand, is a straight-A student, often trying to compensate for being the Kennishes' non-biological daughter. In addition, Kathryn is a successful author of bodice-ripping novels and, while still married to State Senator John Kennish, their marriage is far from perfect.

Bianca Santos will be tweeting via her handle @Bianca00Alexa during the East Coast broadcast of "The Fosters" from 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. PT. To ask Bianca a question, fans should tweet at her handle and include the hashtag #TheFostersChat. Bianca guest stars on "The Fosters" as Lexi Rivera, Jesus' girlfriend and Mariana's one-time best friend. In the all-new episode titled "Saturday," the Fosters invite Lexi's parents to dinner and Stef worries that they will subjugate Jesus to views that disapprove of his non-traditional family. To make matters worse, Stef's conservative father shows up and the family dinner threatens to turn into an all-out moral debate.

Summary:

8:00PM ET/5:00PM PT - Lea Thompson of "Switched at Birth" - @LeaKThompson #SwitchedAtBirthChat

9:00PM ET/6:00PM PT - Bianca Santos of "The Fosters" - @Bianca00Alexa #TheFostersChat

"Switched at Birth" is executive-produced by Lizzy Weiss ("Blue Crush"), Paul Stupin ("Make It or Break It"), Becky Hartman Edwards ("Parenthood") and John Ziffren ("Melissa & Joey," "Make It or Break It"). The series stars Katie Leclerc as Daphne Vasquez; Vanessa Marano ("Gilmore Girls") as Bay Kennish; Constance Marie ("George Lopez") as Regina Vasquez; D.W. Moffett ("Friday Night Lights") as John Kennish; Lea Thompson ("Back to the Future," "Caroline in the City") as Kathryn Kennish; Lucas Grabeel ("High School Musical") as Toby Kennish; Sean Berdy as Emmett Bledsoe; and Gilles Marini ("Brothers and Sisters") as Angelo Sorrento with guest star Marlee Matlin ("The West Wing").

"The Fosters" is from executive producer Jennifer Lopez, ("American Idol," "What to Expect When You're Expecting," "The Back-Up Plan") and created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige ("Queer As Folk"), who also serve as writers and executive producers, "The Fosters" stars Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Jake T. Austin, Hayden Byerly, David Lambert, Maia Mitchell, Danny Nucci and Cierra Ramirez. Joanna Johnson ("Make it or Break it"), Elaine Goldsmith Thomas, Benny Medina and Greg Gugliotta also serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Nuyorican Productions, Inc., and Prodco, Inc.

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, 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. Emmy(R) Award-winning ABCFamily.com provides a variety of interactive entertainment and community features from rich, fan-centric programming - including blogs, viewing parties, webisodes, full episodes of the network's hit programming, along with sneak peek exclusive previews and behind-the-scenes clips. 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.