Tag Archives: Bates Motel

TV reminder: ‘Bates Motel’ premieres Monday night at 10PM on A&E [Update: A&E ratings record]

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Perhaps the most anticipated new drama of the season is about to begin. From Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) comes Bates Motel, a modernized prequel series to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Psycho. Freddie Highmore stars as a young Norman Bates and we will witness the events that unfold in his life that eventually lead to him becoming the psychotic murderer we see in the film from 1960. Vera Farmiga stars as his mother Norma, and Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, Nicola Peltz, Mike Vogel, and Nestor Carbonell round out the cast.

In the pilot episode Norman and Norma move to a new town and Mother becomes the owner of a motel. “This town looks really beautiful on the outside. But underneath it is something very dark and malevolent,” shares Cuse. Pay attention, because over the course of the 10-episode season there will be many twists and turns you won’t see coming according to Highmore. He tells EW that there is “a big revelation at some point in the middle of the season” that will force audiences and the characters to shift their perspective in a big way. “It’s nice to perhaps have this weird false sense of hope that Norman might turn out okay, that there’s something in him you think, ‘Maybe he doesn’t have to go down this line,’” he opines.

In a recent interview with EW, Cuse described the show as “one part Friday Night Lights, one part Lost and one part Twin Peaks.” He continued, “We also liked the idea that there’s two parts to every person. There’s the superficial veneer, which in this town is the very beautiful bucolic place and everybody seems great, but underneath that all these characters have these dark desires and secrets. We felt like that would be a wonderful territory in which to land Norma and Norman.”

Bates Motel premieres Monday, March 18 at 10PM on A&E. Check out the gallery below to view five new teaser posters, a couple inspired by previously released trailers.

Update: I hope you checked into Bates Motel this week, because a lot of people did and if these early numbers are any indication it’s that the show is here to stay. 3 million total viewers tuned into the 10PM airing of the series premiere, 1.6 million of which fall into the coveted 18-49 adult demographic. If you include the encore airing, a grand total of 4.6 million watched the pilot episode of Bates Motel on Monday night (2.4 million in the 18-49 demo). These impressive numbers make it the highest rated original drama for A&E ever (the previous record-holder was the gone-too-soon Breakout Kings).

A&E president Bob DeBitetto on Bates premiere: “Bates Motel represents the very best of quality storytelling with an incredible cast led by Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore. We are extremely pleased with the initial viewer response to this edgy and provocative series and are confident that it will continue to draw in new audiences.”

‘Bates Motel’ gets a poster, watch it come alive

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A boy’s best friend is his mother.

That’s the oh-so-approproate tagline for first season of Bates Motel, the upcoming A&E Psycho prequel series from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights). A poster featuring young Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Norma (Vera Farmiga) Bates hangs after the break. Above, it comes to life in a such a creep-tastic way. Highmore solidifies the role here and now; that single smirk strikes a chord and he nailed it.

Bates Motel premieres Monday, March 18 at 10PM on A&E. Continue reading ‘Bates Motel’ gets a poster, watch it come alive →

TCA 13: Carlton Cuse talks ‘Bates Motel’, series premiere date revealed

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If you aren’t amped for the Psycho prequel series Bates Motel from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights), you should be. Today at the launch of the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, the showrunners and some of the cast talked about A&E’s upcoming psychological thriller.

First and foremost, Cuse made it a point to say that Bates Motel is inspired by but does not serve as an homage to Hitchcock’s classic film. “We did not want to do an homage to Psycho, we wanted to take these characters and setup as inspiration,” Cuse said specifically. “We don’t really view any of [the original movie] as canon,” he added. “The idea of an homage was just not going to be engaging to me. Making the fundamental decision to make it contemporary gave us the freedom to take these characters wherever we wanted. There’s a certain amount of baggage that comes with taking on ‘Psycho’ … making it contemporary made it become liberated from the original movie.”

Mystery and intrigue line the modernized story of Norman Bates (Freddy Highmore) and his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga). “The mythology that you think is what dictates the relationship between Norma and Norman is not what it’s going to turn out to be,” tantalized Cuse. The former Lost showrunner mentioned that his new series will not feature out-of-this-world characters or scenarios. “No polar bears, no smoke monsters — just say no right off the top. There’s no supernatural elements in play. We view this as a psychological thriller.” He confirmed that the show is in fact of the serialized sort, and it will tell a contained story with a defined beginning, middle, and end. “There is an endpoint to this narrative, absolutely. … In some general form we are going to catch up with a version of [Norman] from the movie.” Additionally: “Like all the best serialized shows, whether Breaking Bad or Homeland, it’s a kind of a story that takes ten episodes to unfold. And there’s some hooks that will hopefully carry us into a second season. We’re not just solving one particular crime. There’s a number of mysteries.” Continue reading TCA 13: Carlton Cuse talks ‘Bates Motel’, series premiere date revealed →

Explore A&E’s ‘Bates Motel’ in this expanded trailer

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If those two teasers got your blood pumping for A&E’s upcoming Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, then you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This newly released two-and-a-half minute expanded trailer features never-before-seen footage as well as talking segments from executive producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) and the main cast including Freddy Highmore, Vera Farmiga, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, Nicola Peltz, Mike Vogel, and Nestor Carbonell. Some quotables…

Vera Farmiga: “We’re not remaking Psycho. We’re using it as an inspiration.” I’m in.

Carlton Cuse: “This town looks really beautiful on the outside. But underneath it is something very dark and malevolent.” Ah, sounds a bit like Lost (read: The Island)? Or maybe this reminds you of The Walking Dead (read: Woodbury).

After watching the trailer do you sense some incestuous tension between mother and son? Intriguing, if not a bit disturbing. The contemporary take on the story of Norman Bates, serial killer premieres this March.

Think you got what it takes to come up with the opening title sequence for the show? If you produce something that catches the creator’s eye it might end up at the start of every episode. “We want to give fans the chance to participate in the show,” Cuse told THR. “We’re looking for an awesome 15-second title sequence that captures the feel of Bates Motel — not as a slasher/horror show, but as a complex, character-based thriller.” Participants can submit their video creations through January 3. For more information about the contest and to accept the challenge directly from Cuse, head over to the show’s Facebook page.

More ‘Bates Motel’ stills surface, plus two teaser trailers inside

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Just last week we got our first look at Freddy Highmore and Vera Farmiga as Norman and Norma Bates in A&E’s upcoming Psycho prequel series Bates Motel. So soon after we are fed with 16 more pictures featuring Highmore, Farmiga, Max Thieriot as brother Dylan Bates, Olivia Cooke as Norman’s classmate Emma Decody, Mike Vogel (Pan Am) as Deputy Zach Shelby, Nestor Carbonell (Lost) as Sheriff Alex Romero, Nicola Peltz as Norman’s crush Bradley, plus several shots of the famous “Bates Motel” grounds.

THR is hosting the latest batch of images; click over to their site to view ’em all.

Also new today are two tantalizing teasers for the new series hailing from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights). They are short but oh-so-creepily sweet. Watch ’em both after the break.

Bates Motel premieres on A&E next year. Continue reading More ‘Bates Motel’ stills surface, plus two teaser trailers inside →

First look: Freddy Highmore & Vera Farmiga in ‘Bates Motel’

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Here we have our very first look into Bates Motel, A&E’s Psycho prequel series from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights). The image captures Freddy Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as a young Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air) as his mother Norma in the brush that crawls up to the now-infamous house on top of the hill.

Bates Motel is described as “a contemporary exploration of the formative years of Norman Bates’ relationship with his mother, Norma, and the world they inhabit. Viewers will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn firsthand how Norma helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.” Norman and his mother move into the eerie home following the death of his father.

Also starring is Max Thieriot as Norman’s older brother, Nicola Peltz as Norman’s friend, and Olivia Cooke as one of his classmates.

Bates Motel’s 13 episode order premieres in 2013. Click after the break to view the first print ad for the anticipated series courtesy of THR. Continue reading First look: Freddy Highmore & Vera Farmiga in ‘Bates Motel’ →

‘Bates Motel’ finds its Norman Bates

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A&E’s upcoming Psycho prequel series from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) has just found its Norman Bates. Twenty-year-old Englishman Freddy Highmore, who you should remember from films such as Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, August Rush, and The Spiderwick Chronicles, has been cast as the famous series killer invented by Alfred Hitchcock. Cuse celebrated the news in a tweet: “I am so delighted that Freddie Highmore will play our young Norman Bates. He is a wonderfully gifted actor and a great guy.”

In other casting news, actor Max Thieriot (Jumper) has landed the role of Norman’s brother Dylan. In another tweet Cuse shared, “Max Thieriot joins BATES MOTEL playing Norma’s OTHER son, Dylan. Max is a phenomenal, smart & magnetic actor. An amazing casting day.”

Bates Motel is described as “a contemporary exploration of the formative years of Norman Bates’ relationship with his mother, Norma [played by Vera Farmiga], and the world they inhabit. Viewers will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn firsthand how Norma helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.”

It’s expected to premiere on A&E in October 2013.

[Via TV Guide; Twitter]

A&E greenlights a 10-episode season for ‘Bates Motel’

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Are you ready to check into Bates Motel? Well get ready because A&E is skipping over the pilot stage and ordering a ten episode first season of the Psycho prequel series from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights). Traditionally networks will decide if a series is worth producing in full after they’ve watched a pilot episode; in this case, however, the cable execs jumped the gun because they believe in the concept that much.

A&E released a statement saying, “We are proud to be partnering with Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin on their thrilling reinvention of one of the most compelling characters in cinematic history. It’s a provocative project from two of the best storytellers in the business, and we’re looking forward to getting started.”

The press release provides an updated synopsis: “Bates Motel, inspired by Hitchcock’s genre-defining film, Psycho, is a contemporary exploration of the formative years of Norman Bates’ relationship with his mother, Norma, and the world they inhabit. Viewers will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn firsthand how Norma helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.”

Pre-production and casting are already underway (who do you think will fill the shoes originally worn by Anthony Perkins?) and A&E promises a series premiere in 2013.

[Via A&E]

‘Lost’ EP Carlton Cuse checks into A&E’s ‘Bates Motel’

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Earlier this year A&E announced that they are working on a Psycho prequel TV series based on the classic 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller. This week THR reveals that former Lost executive producer and showrunner Carlton Cuse is attached to this buzz-worthy project that’s being described as Twin Peaks meets Smallville. Bates Motel will tell the dark back story of how Norman Bates’ mother twisted her son’s psyche, molding him into a serial killing motel owner. Cuse will serve as executive producer and oversee the writing and production of the series. THR also reports that A&E plans to hype the show with an initial six-episode “event” which will eventually lead into a standard 13 or 20-something episode first season and beyond. Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) will exec produce with Cuse, Mark Wolper and Roy Lee also share producing titles, and Anthony Cipriano is developing the script. Next up: find a suitable actor to play the historic lead role of Norman Bates. This delicate decision will likely determine the success of the show.

[Via THR]

A&E has a ‘Psycho’ prequel series in the works

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Cable network A&E has announced it is developing a new series based on the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho. The show is titled Bates Motel and it will serve as a prequel to the 1960 black-and-white film which starred Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. It is currently in script development with Anthony Cipriano holding the pen. The official announcement:

“Bates Motel” will give viewers an intimate understanding of how Norman Bates’ psyche developed from his childhood through his teen years. Fans will have access to the dark, twisted back story and learn first-hand how his mother, Norma, and her lover damaged Norman, helping forge the most well-known serial killing motel owner in history.

In the ’80s multiple Psycho sequels were made but simply couldn’t live up to the cinematic masterpiece by Hitchcock. There was even an attempt to develop Psycho as a made-for-TV anthology series and it was called–get this–Bates Motel. After only one airing the idea was scrapped. So, can another reincarnation of Psycho work today? Though the track record is poor, I am certainly interested in seeing what A&E cooks up here. A psychological trip with a nostalgic flair might just work in today’s TV landscape. More as this project develops.

[Via DreadCentral]