Bates Motel (TV series)

Not to be confused with Bates Motel (film).

Bates Motel
Genre
Based onCharacters from Psycho
by Robert Bloch
Developed by
Starring
ComposerChris Bacon
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes50 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Production locationsVancouver, British Columbia
Cinematography
Editors
  • Christopher Nelson
  • Sarah Boyd
  • Ryan Neatha Johnson
  • Vikash Patel
  • Edward Warschilka
Running time40–47 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkA&E
ReleaseMarch 18, 2013 (2013-03-18) –
April 24, 2017 (2017-04-24)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Bates Motel is an American psychological horror drama television series based on characters from the 1959 novel Psycho by Robert Bloch that aired from March 18, 2013, to April 24, 2017.[1][2][3] It was developed by Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin, and Anthony Cipriano for the cable network A&E.[4]

A "contemporary prequel" to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho, it depicts the lives of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga) prior to the events portrayed in the film, albeit in a different fictional town (White Pine Bay, Oregon, as opposed to Fairvale, California) and in a modern-day setting.[5][6] However, the final season loosely adapts the plot of the novel Psycho. Max Thieriot and Olivia Cooke both starred as part of the main cast throughout the series's run. After recurring in the first season, Néstor Carbonell was added to the main cast from season two onward. Both Nicola Peltz and Kenny Johnson had main cast roles at different points throughout the series’s run.

The series begins in Arizona with the death of Norma's husband, after which Norma purchases the Seafairer motel located in a coastal Oregon town so that she and Norman can start a new life.[4][7][8] Subsequent seasons follow Norman as his mental illness becomes dangerous, and Norma as she struggles to protect her son, and those around him, from himself. The series was filmed outside Vancouver in Aldergrove, British Columbia, along with other locations within the Fraser Valley of British Columbia.

A&E chose to skip a pilot of the series, opting to go straight-to-series by ordering a 10-episode first season.[4] Bates Motel is the longest-running original scripted drama series in the channel's history.[9] The series's lead actors, Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, received particular praise for their performances in the series, with the former receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and winning a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television. Bates Motel also won three People's Choice Awards for Favorite Cable TV Drama, and for Favorite Cable TV Actress (Farmiga) and Actor (Highmore).


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  1. ^ "A&E Network to Premiere New Original Scripted Drama Series 'Bates Motel' on Monday, March 18 at 10PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  2. ^ Langmann, Kurt. "'Psycho' prequel shot in Aldergrove". Aldergrove Star. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  3. ^ "BATES MOTEL Set in Aldergrove is Spitting Image of Alfred Hitchcock's Set in Psycho – Updated". YVR Shoots. Archived from the original on November 27, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "A&E Network Orders 'Bates Motel' to Series". A&E. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  5. ^ McNamara, Mary (March 18, 2013). "Review: 'Bates Motel' a twisty, moody modern prequel to 'Psycho'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Danzis, Alan (March 18, 2013). "'Bates Motel': An Intriguing Contemporary Prequel To 'Psycho'". Starpulse. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (March 17, 2013). "Mother, as She Lives and Breathes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013.
  8. ^ Garvin, Glenn (March 17, 2013). "Tension builds in The Lake, but dies at the Bates Motel". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013.
  9. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 15, 2015). "'Bates Motel' Renewed for Two More Seasons at A&E; 'Returned' Cancelled". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015.