Bates Motel gave us an interesting and necessary finale to a great season of a (surprisingly?) great show.  Though Bates has unfortunately been largely forgotten by most people in the deluge of great TV on at the moment, it’s uncrowded Monday night spot at least gave it the ratings to thankfully warrant a second season.  The show has been a surprise and delight in the way it has woven its story in an open, intricate and twisty way, along with the quality of its cast (particularly, of course, Vera Farmiga), as well as its ability to create some compelling new characters (Dylan and Emma) as well as fascinating new situations (the secrets of White Pine Bay).  Bates Motel has always had hints that will lead up to the film on which it was based, but it saved the biggest nod until the last scene in this finale, and rightfully so.  Hit the jump for why “not in my town, you piece of shit!”

Currently wrapping up its first season and already given a second, the A&E drama series Bates Motel gives viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years.  This contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho reveals the dark, twisted backstory and shows first-hand just how deep the relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly goes, as she helps forge the most famous serial killer of them all.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, co-stars Nicola Peltz (who plays Bradley, the beautiful teenager who Norman is in love with) and Olivia Cooke (who plays Emma, the quirky friend with a crush on Norman) talked about how they each came to the show, how familiar they’d been with Psycho, what they enjoy about their characters, how much input they have with their characters, and what made them each want to become actors.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

The A&E drama series Bates Motel is currently wrapping up its first season and has already been picked up for Season 2.  To celebrate the show’s success, the Paley Center held a panel called Bates Motel: Reimagining a Cinema Icon, and Collider was there to cover and attend the event.  From executive producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights), the show is a contemporary prequel that gives an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (unsettlingly portrayed by Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years and just how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma (in an awards worthy performance by Vera Farmiga), truly is.

During the panel, Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin, along with Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga, talked about the challenges of pulling this show off, what makes the relationship between Norman and Norma Bates so compelling to watch, what the actors bring to their characters, learning more about Norma’s backstory and what made her the way she is, how exhausting it is to write for crazy people, what they look for in directors, and the ideal plan for how long the show will run.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

“Underwater” was an interesting but fragmented penultimate episode for Bates Motel‘s first season, especially after that shocker last week.  This may have been my least favorite episode of the season, because though it set up a final showdown really well, I don’t feel all that invested with the Abernathy situation yet.  We know he’s an uber villain who was Shelby and Keith Summers boss, but his vague threats to Norma seemed to reflect more of her own craziness than his.  Norman hardly had anything to do this week, and Bradley continues to successfully manipulate everyone in town.  Hit the jump for why crazy people keep gravitating towards Norma (hint: she’s crazy!)

First of all: AHHHHH!  Second of all, for anyone who thought Bates Motel would just be a pale imitator to Psycho, as we finish up this first season its been very apparent that there are plenty of places and ways for it to develop that both establish a background to the canon naturally (Norman’s “episodes,” Norma’s control, the taxidermy, the hotel itself), while flourishing in its own new plots.  As I mentioned last week, the wrapping up of the Shelby storyline felt final, but one of the main tenents of the series is that nothing is ever really dead.  How they bring back these stories and incorporate them with new ones (like the Man in Number 9), has been spellbinding to watch unfold.  Hit the jump for more on why you should never handle anything, Norma.

I cannot praise Bates Motel enough for the way it weaves its storytelling (or Vera Farmiga for being Vera Farmiga).  Last week things ended dramatically and with a huge question mark about how Sheriff Romero and the local police would handle everything that went down at the Bates Motel.  Further, what kind of truth would Norma spin or try to hide before they got there?  The answer this week is: none.  Like last week where the Bates all came clean to one another, Norma finally dropped the act and put all of her faith in Sheriff Romero, telling him the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  What came of it?  Nothing.  For now.  Hit the jump for why you should never expect stray dogs to understand commands.

What I have to commend Bates Motel on more than anything (even Vera Farmiga‘s exceptional insanity) is that it doesn’t hide behind mystery to an absurd point, yet it doesn’t burn through plots too quickly.  The pacing is, in a word, excellent.  We’re a little more than halfway through the first season now, and we’ve already had one big mysteries explained and one major plot ended, and yet knowing the “truth,” as it were, hasn’t diminished from the experience — in fact, it has opened up new avenues for drama.  Bates Motel doesn’t drive us crazy with waiting for certain revelations, but rewards our patience with small favors.  Hit the jump for why you should never threaten Norma in front of Norman.

I have to admit, I was having my doubts about Bates Motel, but “Ocean View” really turned things around.  The town’s tangled web of fear and intimidation is starting to have its trickled-down repercussions for our main characters, and is setting up some interesting twists.  One of the biggest questions was answered, too: can we believe what Norman sees?  After the hallucination about his mother that lead him to Shelby’s hose, it’s been confusing whether what Norman sees is real or not.  But in “Ocean View” it seems that, thanks to some corroboration from other characters, unless otherwise notified, Norman’s experiences are real.  Which, in one case, is fairly terrifying. Hit the jump for why you should always ask yourself, “if I had an Asian sex slave, where would I keep her?”

Is everyone on sedatives this week?  All of my regular shows to review seemed to take some sleepy time tea before they aired, and Bates Motel was no exception.  After last episode’s shocking ending, “Trust Me” was a very slow burn.  Before this week things seemed to be headed in a fairly clear direction, even with the inclusion of the “darker” side of town, but now things seem set up in a very strange way for future episodes.  The meandering didn’t seem to lead anywhere except, ultimately, to Norman and Norma’s “secret” finally coming to light (no not that one), but that seems an odd turn to take.  Hit the jump for why “death is profound, isn’t it?”

The A&E drama series Bates Motel (which was recently renewed for a second season) gives viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years.  This contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho reveals the dark, twisted backstory and shows first-hand just how deep the relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly goes, as she helps forge the most famous serial killer of them all.  The show also stars Max Thieriot, Nicola Peltz, Olivia Cooke, Nestor Carbonell and Mike Vogel.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, executive producers/writers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin talked about how they each came to be involved with Bates Motel, how much they use Psycho as an inspiration, just how crucial the casting of Norman and Norma Bates was, the overall story they’re looking to tell this season, how far ahead they plan out the story, what it will add to the show when guests start checking in to the Bates Motel, and the importance of transmedia to make viewers more directly active with the show.  Cuse also talked about how he’ll divide his time, if the adaptation of The Strain goes into production at FX.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

A&E’s Psycho prequel series will be continuing for at least another year.  The network announced today that it has ordered a second season of Bates Motel, which premiered a couple of weeks ago to solid ratings and positive reviews.  The drama series comes from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kerry Ehrin and centers on the relationship between a teenage Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother (Vera Farmiga).  The show is similar to Lost in that it has set up a number of mysteries in its first few episodes, some of which may or may not be resolved by season’s end.  Hit the jump for more, including the full press release.

After about forty minutes of leisurely pacing and giving time over to exposition (not that that is a bad thing for a show just starting out to do), things got real on Bates Motel in the final, bizarre minutes.  White Pines Bay has plenty of secrets, and even the cleanest of citizens are part of its dirty underground.  But it is Norman this week who makes the strangest turns, on a clear trajectory from his unsettling violence last week to ever-increasing weirdness.  And, apparently, the past is not well-buried in White Pines for anyone.  Hit the jump for more on what exactly is wrong with Norman.

This week, Bates Motel was a lot more low-key than last, but it was no less strange.  I gave most of the kudos to Vera Farmiga for her wacky, totally creepy performance as Norma, but already Freddie Highmore is really starting to find his own inner creep, from his nascent violent tendencies to his obsession with snuff manga.  In fact, there are very few things about White Pine Bay that aren’t creepy, and this is where the Twin Peaks comparisons start to gain traction (ever so slightly, or did I confuse that with Top of the Lake? So many creeper shows on right now).  The town is described by Deputy Shelby as being fake (how could people without real jobs have such fancy homes and drive such fancy cars?) with a vigilante underground.  Will the Bates fit in, or will they be targeted?  Hit the jump for why “I’m your mother, it’s not like it’s weird or anything.”

Monday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• Former Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse’s new Psycho prequel series Bates Motel has a solid opening, scoring 3 million total viewers and 1.6 million in the 18-49 demo for its series premiere.  That’s a demo high for an original drama series debut on A&E and a vote of confidence for the intriguing show.  Read Allison’s recap of the premiere here.
• Fox’s The Following—which is somehow more violent than Bates even though it airs on network TV—hit a 2.4 rating and 7.09 million viewers, dropping 11% from last week’s 2.7 rating.
• CBS’ How I Met Your Mother was also down, scoring a 2.9 rating and 7.35 million viewers for a drop of 12% from its last new episode’s 3.3 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Monday, March 18th, including Rules of Engagement, Bones, 2 Broke Girls, Castle, and more.

A&E has gathered together some formidable talent to creates its Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, with Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) producing, and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) as Norma and Norman Bates.  The series is billed as a “contemporary” prequel to Hitchcock’s 1960 classic, and while the show does take place in that familiar setting with a few winking call-backs to the original film, it’s clear that it wants to be its own thing.  The show is seeking to straddle that difficult line of basing itself off of very familiar material (which guarantees an audience, if just from the curiosity) — though which also burdens it with the fact that things have to end up at a certain place at a certain point — and doing something new with the story.  Things have started off slowly and strangely in the first hour, with the show seeming to not quite find its tone, but there are also some legitimately promising elements.  Hit the jump for why “we belong to each other.”