Since it’s announcement early last year, people have been talking about A&E’s ‘Bates Motel’. Starring Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga as one of cinema’s most famous mother and son duos, the show has certainly been getting a lot of buzz. Exploring the formative years of one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most recognizable characters, the show follows a young Norman Bates and his mother after moving to a small town to start a new life by running the local motel. And generally, it has been getting pretty good ratings and reviews, so this news isn’t really much of a shock.
According to Collider, the network will be renewing the series based on the ‘Psycho’ film franchise for a second season. The 10-episode season will begin production later this year and then premiere some time in 2014. In the press release sharing the news, Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E Network and BIO Channel, had this to say about the announcement:
“’Bates Motel’ has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal audience in its first few weeks. With superb writing and exceptional acting, led by the critically acclaimed performances of Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, we’re incredibly excited to see where Carlton [Cuse] and Kerry [Ehrin] take Norma and Norman Bates next.”
It’s no surprise that A&E believes in this show. First of all, when it was first picked up, it went straight to series. Then, among the sea of reality programming, ‘Bates Motel’ became one of the most-watched shows in the key demographics in the network’s history. On top of that, as DeBitetto mentions in his quote, there are some pretty stellar performances from Farmiga, Highmore, and the rest of the gang that manages to capture the essence of the Master of Suspense’s work, while creating something completely different. Considering the amount of mindless television they air, they’d be very foolish to let go of the one intelligent and original program that they have.
What do you think about ‘Bates Motel’? Are you one of the millions of viewers tuning in? Are you excited for another season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
‘Bates Motel’ starring Freddie Highmore, Vera Farmiga, Max Thieriot, Vogel, Nestor Carbonell, Nicola Peltz, and Olivia Cooke airs on A&E on Mondays at 10:00pm.
