Bates Motel Trivia: 35 facts about the contemporary prequel to “Psycho”

Bates Motel is one of the most exciting horror shows on Netflix, based on the emblematic Hitchcock’s movie, Psycho (1960).

So, let’s dive into some interesting facts and trivia about this television series.

1. Bates Motel is an American psychological horror drama television series that aired from March 18, 2013 to April 24, 2017.

2. It was developed by Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin and Anthony Cipriano.

3. It was produced by Universal Television and American Genre for the cable network A&E.

4. Bates Motel is a contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s incredibly popular 1960 film Psycho, which was also based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel, Psycho.

5. On January 12, 2012, it was reported that A&E were developing a television series titled Bates Motel that would serve as a prequel to the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho.

6. The first script was written by Anthony Cipriano.

7. In March 2012, Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin joined the project as executive producers and head writers.

8. Cuse has cited the drama series Twin Peaks as a key inspiration for Bates Motel. As he said:  “We pretty much ripped off Twin Peaks… If you wanted to get that confession, the answer is yes. I loved that show. They only did 30 episodes. Kerry [Ehrin] and I thought we’d do the 70 that are missing.”

9.  On July 2, 2012, A&E gave Bates Motel a straight-to-series order.

10. Chris Bacon was hired to score the music for the series in January 2013.

11. Bates Motel introduces us to a whole new world before Norman Bates became the killer we all know from Psycho.

12. So, the series depicts the lives of Norman Bates (played by Freddie Highmore) and his mother Norma (portrayed by the excellent Vera Farmiga) prior to the events portrayed in the film, albeit in a different fictional town (White Pine Bay, Oregon, as opposed to Fairvale, California) and in a modern-day setting.

13. However, the final season loosely adapts the plot of Psycho.

14. Max Thieriot and Olivia Cooke both starred as part of the main cast throughout the series’ run.

15. After recurring in the first season, Néstor Carbonell was added to the main cast from season two onward.

16. The series begins in Arizona with the death of Norma’s husband, after which Norma purchases the Seafairer motel located in a coastal Oregon town so that she and Norman can start a new life.

17. Subsequent seasons follow Norman as his mental illness becomes dangerous, and Norma as she struggles to protect her son, and those around him, from himself.

18. The series was filmed outside Vancouver in Aldergrove, British Columbia, along with other locations within the Fraser Valley of British Columbia.

19. A&E chose to skip a pilot of the series, opting to go straight-to-series by ordering a 10-episode first season

20. On June 15, 2015, the series was renewed for a fourth and fifth season, making Bates Motel A&E’s longest-running original scripted drama series in the channel’s history.

21. The series’ lead actors, Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore, received particular praise for their performances in the series, with the former receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and winning a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television.

22. Bates Motel also won three People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Cable TV Drama, and for Favorite Cable TV Actress (Farmiga) and Actor (Highmore).

23. Actress, Vera Farmiga, originally didn’t want to portray Norma Bates, because she felt that trying to regenerate one of the most iconic thrillers in cinematic history, as a TV series, was bound to fail. Nevertheless, she did a spectacular job portraying the desperate mother trying to protect her son and make a normal life for both of them.

24. Famous singer, Rihanna, who appeared in season 5, is a huge fan of Bates Motel. In the series, she was given the role of the infamous “Marion Crane”.

25. In the original version of Psycho, Marion Crane was bathing in her Bates Motel bathroom  when Norman storms in to murder her with a knife. 

This is the iconic shower scene we all have seen (even those who haven’t seen Psycho):

26. However, in A&E’s extended riff on the famous Hitchcock movie, things went down a little differently: Instead of killing Marion, in Bates Motel series, Norman Bates kills her lover, Sam Loomis, who, in the show, is married to Marion.

27. Marion does still take a suspenseful shower, shown via shots and editing that evoke the original shower scene, however, instead of getting murdered, she gives up on the shower herself, stepping out and growling, “Screw this shit.” (It’s Riri we’ re talking about – of course they couldn’t have “kill” her – dahhh).

28. Concerning Rihanna’s interpretation as “Marion Crane”, the showrunner, Kerry Ehrin, has said in an interview at EW that: “I wouldn’t say we were surprised. We’ve seen her perform before, but what she brought that was so beautiful was just a real presence, a reality, a depth, and a humanity to the character.“

29. Bates Motel finale isn’t the same as the movie’s.

30. According to a production team’s interview with Entertainment Weekly, they revealed that the series end would be anticlimactic if it ended the same way as in the movie.

31. As far as critical response is concerned, the first season received positive reviews from critics.

32. On Metacritic, the season holds a score of 66 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.

33. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an 84% “certified fresh” rating with an average score of 7.11/10, based on 43 reviews.

34.  The site’s critical consensus reads, “Bates Motel utilizes mind manipulation and suspenseful fear tactics, on top of consistently sharp character work and wonderfully uncomfortable familial relationships.”

35. Netflix has been streaming Bates Motel since 2015 in the majority of regions with 5 seasons available in total spread out across 50 episodes.

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