‘Bates Motel’ Renewed For Two More Seasons
Norma and Norman Bates' toxic relationship will continue for the foreseeable future. A&E has renewedBates Motelfor two more seasons, the show’s fourth and fifth. ThePsychoprequel starsFreddie HighmoreandVera Farmiga. More on theBates Motelrenewal after the jump.
Varietyreports the next two seasons ofBates Motelwill consist of ten episodes each, just as the last three seasons have. But they’ll break from the pattern a bit in one major way: Both seasons will air in 2016, with production on the new episodes expected to begin later this year.
Set in the modern-day Oregon,Bates Motelfollows Norman Bates (Highmore) as he transforms from a shy teenager into the terrifying killer we met inPsycho. Key to that evolution is his mother Norma (Farmiga). Other major characters include Norman’s relatives Dylan (Max Thieriot) and Caleb (Kenny Johnson), his ex-girlfriend Emma (Olivia Cooke), and the local sheriff Romero (Nestor Carbonell).
The series premiere ofBates Motelin 2013 earned A&E’s highest ratings ever for an original drama series. Viewership drooped a bit in the third season, but it remains one of the highest-rated ad-supported cable shows.Bates Motelhas proved popular with critics as well, and earned Farmiga an Emmy nomination.
It is unclear whether A&E intends for the just-announced fifth season to be its last. Series creatorsKerry EhrinandCarlton Cusehave said before that they envisioned the show running for about five seasons.
“Yes, [it will be] five seasons. Kerry and I have a pretty clear roadmap,” Cuse toldThe Observerearlier this year. “We have a pretty clear plan of where we want to go and we want to bring this story to its inevitable conclusion. I thinkBatesis not its best version if it’s an open-ended series.”
But the network hasn’t confirmed anything, and considering the show’s success it wouldn’t be surprising if A&E tried to talk the producers into extending their stay a little while longer. In any case, we can look forward to lots more of Norma and Norman’s twisted dynamic next year.
