Entertainment NOW

TV Media Weekly | March 12 - 18, 2016 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Will "Switched at Birth" be returning? If so, when and where? A: Award-winning teen drama "Switched at Birth" will absolute- ly be returning for a fifth season, but it's still up in the air as to when. The fourth season had al- ready premiered by this time last year, but there's still no word on when the fifth will launch. And it's interesting that you ask "where," because technically that's changed. The show's net- work, previously known as ABC Family, has rebranded as Free- form. From the viewer's perspec- tive, nothing has changed, except the translucent logo that shows up periodically at the bottom of the screen, but the network is, un- derstandably, making a big deal out of it. Whether that's the reason for the delay is impossible to say, but the show still hasn't returned or even announced a date when it'll do so. But it will. The network re- newed it back in October, before the fourth season had even end- ed. Another reason we can be sure it's coming back is that Lea Thompson, who plays Kathryn, one of the mothers of the switched-at-birth teens, posted a photo online of herself on set, filming the new season. News of its impending return will come as a relief to fans, since last season ended on a major cliff- hanger. I won't spoil that, except to say that the season ends by jumping ahead 10 months into the future. That could be part of the reason for the long delay in airing season 5 — the network wants fans to experience at least some of those months in real time. Previous seasons have been split into two halves, premiering in winter and then returning in summer after a long break. It's possible that the network will forego the hiatus this year and air the whole season at once to make up the delay. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Hollywood Q&A By Andrew Warren TV Media I f there's a lesson to be learned from shows like "MasterChef," it's that home cooks can be a force to be reckoned with. On the flip side, a lesson that can be taken from shows like "Restaurant: Impossi- ble" is that restaurant chefs aren't necessarily the cream at the top of their profession. The idea of taking skilled home cooks and having them compete against experienced chefs is far from a new one. NBC's "Food Fighters" is just one example of this culinary genre, but now Food Network has its own special ingredient to add to the recipe. "Cooks vs. Cons" starts siz- zling Thursday, March 17, on Food Network, with "The Kitch- en's" Geoffrey Zakarian presid- ing as the show's charismatic host. It's a pretty classic culinary battle, with four contestants cooking against a tight time lim- it and struggling to work with a mystery ingredient that they must incorporate into their dish- es. The big twist here, though, is that not all of the contestants are chefs — some of them are home cooks. And no one, not the judges, not the audiences watching at home, not even the contestants themselves, know who's who. With a rotating panel of expert judges, including "MasterChef's" Graham Elliot and "The Chew's" Daphne Oz, the big question is this: do judges in culinary compe- titions give more leeway to ama- teurs while expecting more from professionals? If the professional chefs com- peting think that they can let their guards down, they may be surprised by the drive to win — and the culinary skills — that the home cooks are bringing to the competition. There's $10,000 in the pot if one of the pros ends up outperforming the competition, but if a home cook manages to beat the odds and show the pros that "home cook" doesn't have to mean "losing cook," he or she gets to take home an even bigger $15,000 prize. It's "Food Fighters" meets "Chopped" in a fun new mash- up with Food Network's "Cooks vs. Cons," premiering Thursday, March 17. Geoffrey Zakarian as seen in "Cooks vs. Cons" The long con Food Network's newest competition pits amateurs against pros 10 | Cooking this week Robin Hood Muffler 2 x 2.5" Noah's Ark 2 x 2" Barkers B&K 1 x 3" Main Street United Methodist 1 x 2" We Are A Smart Choice Foods Distribution Site! 830 S. Main St., Kokomo www.msumc.info • 457.8248 KOKOMO TRIBUNE print | online | mobile kokomotribune.com/ktdailynews YOU'RE INVITED. JOIN OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER NOW! EACH MORNING YOU'LL RECEIVE THE MOST CURRENT NEWS AND INFORMATION TO START YOUR DAY.

• Cover