It won’t premiere on US cable network A&E til March 18th but since this is The Internet you can now watch the first six minutes of drama/psychological thriller TV series Bates Motel, a contemporary-set prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s nightmare inducing 1960 classic Psycho. The series follows the formative years of Psycho Killer Norman Bates played by British actor Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) who lives and works in a newly purchased motel with his just as creepy mother Norma, played by Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up In The Air). The series is executive produced by former Lost EP/writer Carlton Cuse and former Friday Night Lights writer Kerry Ehrin so there’s some pretty good stock at work here.
According to A&E “fans will have access
to the dark, twisted backstory and learn firsthand just how deeply
intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma, truly is – and how
she helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.”
Cue the violin screech.
