The third season of A&E’s Bates Motel drops on the network at 9PM tonight (March 9) preceding the premiere of the network’s new series The Returned.
A&E promises “a gripping third season filled with family strife, murder and mystery” for Norma (Vera Farmiga) and Norman (Freddie Highmore). There will be some evolution for the Bates family and the show will dive head first into Norman’s waning ability to stay in denial about what’s happening to him and the lengths he will go to gain control of his fragile psyche. The dramatic events of last season leave Norma reluctantly more aware of Norman’s mental fragility and is fearful of what he is capable of.
Guest stars in Season 3 include Revolution’s Tracy Spiridakos and other new characters coming in from the outside world.
We visited the set of Bates Motel late last year, and while we were there, Executive Producer Kerry Ehrin told us a bit about what to expect.
“Season 3 is very much about the characters trying to figure out right and wrong. You know, walking through that kind of murky terrain. Norman definitely is getting to a point where he is more torn between two parts of him. And in a lot of ways it’s kind of about the battle for his soul; for who he is,” she teases.
“Norma is going through a lot of enlightenment. In a weird way, Norma has become so much stronger since we first met her. And she’s starting to develop the ability to look at the truth a little bit, which she has never really been strong enough to do before,” Ehrin adds.
With this amount of character development, is there an end point that the show is aiming for? Ehrin confirms that they have a plan. “Carlton [Cuse] and I have talked a lot about it,” she says. “We feel like you’re doing a story and you definitely have to deliver a whole story. You want it to land in a real place. We always thought of it as a tragedy. Like with any tragedy, you want there to be a catharsis to the tragedy, so its not just horrible. That it all has a point. That it is all building somewhere and leading and telling a story. So we have a pretty specific plan in mind for probably over five seasons in total,” she reveals.
Bates Motel has a season premiere tonight (March 9) at 9PM on A&E.
