There’s good news and bad news for Bates Motel fans…
First the bad news, although it really isn’t “news…” We already know the upcoming season of the criminally underrated A&E series is the last.
The good news, though, is that we don’t have to wait much longer to see it! Season 5 begins on February 20 (at 9:00 p.m. CT on A&E). Previous seasons launched in April.
Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin have long planned a five-season arc for the story of Norman Bates, the lovable serial killer from Psycho. With the announcement at San Diego Comic-Con that Rihanna is stepping into the shower as Marion Crane, the assumption is that Season 5 will be a re-telling of the movie’s story. However, since Bates Motel has expertly manipulated elements of the original story since it began, that may not in fact be a safe assumption.
We do know the following about Season 5:
- Vera Farmiga returns as Norma, even though the character (SPOILER) died in Season 4.
- Nestor Carbonell (Sheriff Romero) will direct an episode for the third time.
- Max Thieriot (Dylan) will make his directorial debut with an episode.
- Freddie Highmore (Norman) will write an episode for the second time (alongside Cuse and Ehrin).
Oh, and we know one other thing about Season 5… we can’t wait for it to begin!
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:
The haunting fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed drama, “Bates Motel,” from writers and executive producers Kerry Ehrin (“Friday Night Lights,” “Parenthood”) and Carlton Cuse (“Lost, “The Strain”) will premiere on Monday, February 20 at 10PM ET/PT on A&E. Fan favorite and Emmy-nominated actress Vera Farmiga returns for double duty as executive producer while also reprising her role as ‘Mother’ who is very much alive and well but only in the twisted, complicated mind of ‘Norman Bates’ played by Freddie Highmore. In addition, eight-time Grammy Award winner and series super fan Rihanna checks in to play the role of ‘Marion Crane,’ putting a newly reimagined and contemporary spin on the iconic character.
This contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho has provided fans with an intimate look into the unraveling of Norman Bates’ psyche throughout his teenage years. Fans watched as Norman’s dangerous transformation came full circle when he methodically murdered his beloved mother, Norma, in the final gut-wrenching episodes of season four. Season five of “Bates Motel” picks up almost two years later and finds Norman (Freddie Highmore), a grown man now, living a double life. Publicly he’s a happy and well-adjusted member of the White Pine Bay community, but at home Norman struggles; his violent blackouts continue to increase as ‘Mother’ (Vera Farmiga) threatens to take over his mind completely. Meanwhile, Dylan Massett (Max Thierot) and Emma Decody (Olivia Cooke), since leaving White Pine Bay, have been living their lives blissfully unaware of Norma’s death and Norman’s full on descent into psychosis. Unfortunately, for them, they will soon find themselves drawn back into Norman’s insanity, while a vengeful Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell), who is currently incarcerated for a perjury, hungers for a chance to destroy his stepson and avenge the murder of his one true love, Norma Bates.
New faces find their way to the Bates Motel this season to further complicate Norman’s life and threaten to unearth his dark secrets. Viewers will finally meet the iconic Marion Crane played by Rihanna. In addition, a new couple in town, Madeleine Loomis, played by Isabelle McNally (“House of Cards”) and her husband Sam Loomis, played by Austin Nichols (“The Walking Dead,” “Ray Donovan”), as well as Sheriff Dana Greene, played by Brooke Smith (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ray Donovan”) become entangled in Norman’s life causing a chain of events that could blow the lid off Norman’s secret life. Lastly, fans will be greeted by familiar faces when Caleb Calhoun (Kenny Johnson) and Chick Hogan (Ryan Hurst) return with agendas of their own.
