Psycho (franchise)

Psycho
Official franchise logo
Created by	Robert Bloch
Original work	Psycho (1959)
Owner	Universal Pictures
Years	1959–2017
Print publications
Novel(s)	Psycho (1959) Psycho II (1982) Psycho House (1990) Psycho: Sanitarium (2016)
Films and television
Film(s)	Psycho (1960) Psycho II (1983) Psycho III (1986) Bates Motel (1987) Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) Psycho (1998)
Television series	Bates Motel (2013–2017)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)	Psycho: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1960) Psycho II: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1983) Psycho III: Music from the Motion Picture (1986) Psycho: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (1998)

Psycho is an American horror franchise consisting of six films loosely based on the Psycho novels by Robert Bloch: Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, Bates Motel, Psycho IV: The Beginning, the 1998 remake of the original film, and additional merchandise spanning various media. The first film, Psycho, was directed by filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.^[1] Subsequently, another film related to the series was made: an Alfred Hitchcock biopic, and two new novels, by Takekuni Kitayama and Chet Williamson, were released. Also, an independent documentary called The Psycho Legacy was released on October 19, 2010, mostly focusing on Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning, while covering the impact and legacy of the original film.

The franchise focuses on Norman Bates, a deeply disturbed individual who operates the Bates Motel. He is mentally unstable due to his domineering relationship with his mother, which results in him having a psychotic twisted split personality, and, as a result, he occasionally kills people.

A five-season television series, Bates Motel, aired on A&E between 2013 and 2017. In a modern-day setting, it is a re-imagining of the Norman and Norma Bates characters, and their unusual relationship. It stars Freddie Highmore as a teenaged Norman and Vera Farmiga as his mother Norma.