ABC Family unveils ‘Bunheads,’ ‘The Lying Game,’ ‘Switched at Birth’ return dates

ABC Family is planning quite a lineup for themselves early next year, and we now have more of a taste than ever of what we can expect courtesy of their latest announcement.

First things first, let’s turn to Monday, January 7, where we will see the official return of “Switched at Birth” (which is airings its midseason finale Monday) with some more new episodes. In following that up, we will have the return of summer sleeper hit “Bunheads” at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. “Bunheads” has more or less taken the place of “Make It or Break It” on the schedule, and has drawn some rather nice ratings for itself over time.

Meanwhile, the return of “Pretty Little Liars” season 3 will air beginning on Tuesday, January 8, and it will keep the same 8:00 p.m. timeslot that it had starting up earlier this summer. It will be followed by the return of “The Lying Game” to the network, which has really been off the air far too long by most estimations. The good news is that the network is still showing plenty of faith in the show courtesy of giving it this timeslot.

With this two-day lineup, ABC Family is obviously hoping to take advantage of the fact that many network shows air repeats in January, and many young viewers will be looking for something to do thanks to it being too cold to really go outside and take part in after-school activities. The only major competition the shows will face right away is from “The Bachelor,” as we will not see “American Idol” return until later in the month; meanwhile, “The Voice” will probably come back in February.