Bates Motel (TV series)
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]
Not to be confused with Bates Motel (film).Bates Motel
Characters from Psycho
by Robert Bloch
United States
English
5
50 (list of episodes)
- Mark Wolper
- Roy Lee
- John Powers Middleton
- Kerry Ehrin
- Carlton Cuse
- Vera Farmiga
- Tucker Gates
- Justis Greene
- Steve Kornacki
- Alyson Evans
- Scott Kosar
- Erica Lipez
- Christopher Nelson
- Tim Southam
- Jamie Kaye Wheeler
- Cory Bird
- Christopher Nelson
- Sarah Boyd
- Ryan Neatha Johnson
- Vikash Patel
- Edward Warschilka
40–47 minutes
- Cuse Productions[a]
- Kerry Ehrin Productions
- Universal Television
March 18, 2013 –
April 24, 2017
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).
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The first season received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 66 out of 100, based on 34 critics.[27] On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an 84% rating with an average score of 7.11/10, based on 43 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Bates Motel utilizes mind manipulation and suspenseful fear tactics, on top of consistently sharp character work and wonderfully uncomfortable familial relationships".[28]
The second season also received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic the season had a score of 67 out of 100, based on 11 critics.[29] On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a 90% rating with an average score of 8.02/10, based on 21 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Bates Motel reinvents a classic thriller with believable performances and distinguished writing".[30]
The third season of Bates Motel received a score of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic.[31] Rotten Tomatoes reported a 95% rating from 21 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Bates Motel further blurs lines around TV's creepiest taboo mother/son relationship, uncomfortably darkening its already fascinating tone".[32]
The fourth season of Bates Motel was met with critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% positive rating from 17 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Bates Motel fulfills its menacing potential in a fourth season that confidently careens toward the mother-son duo's ghastly destiny".[33] Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx considered Bates Motel to have only become a good series midway through season four due to obtaining a better narrative purpose and "tragic grandeur" with the season's latter episodes.[34]
The fifth and final season of Bates Motel received a score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic.[35] Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% rating from 21 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Bates Motel's final season brings the franchise full circle, with a satisfyingly creepy conclusion to the trials and tribulations of Norman Bates".[36]
International broadcast[edit]
In Canada, the series airs only on the U.S. network A&E, which is available through most Canadian cable and satellite companies. In Australia, the series premiered on Fox8 on May 26, 2013.[58] In the UK and Ireland, it premiered on Universal Channel on April 2, 2014 and then on BBC One on February 23, 2021.[59][60] In Jamaica, it premiered on CVM TV on August 11, 2014. In the Middle East, it premiered on OSN First HD in mid-2014. The second season premiered on January 5, 2015.[61] In the Philippines, Bates Motel began airing on Jack TV on August 12, 2013. In South Africa, the series premiered on MNet on June 21, 2013.[62] The series premiered in India on Colors Infinity on November 6, 2015. As of May 2019 Netflix has licensed worldwide distribution for at least 30 countries.[63]