Freddie Highmore plays the adolescent Norman in Bates Motel.

The series offers a look at the

origins of the character immortalized in Alfred Hitchcocks classic thriller, Psycho.
Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) takes possession of a defunct motel and looks forward to a
successful stint in the hospitality trade, assisted by her teenage son, Norman. Her other son
(Normans half-brother, Dylan) appears later in the first seriesmuch to his mothers dismay.
Norma is beset by adversaries on every side: the hotels former, bankrupted owner; drugged-out
marijuana harvesters; overly-attentive law enforcement officers; and the town council, whose
commitment to constructing a bypass will divert traffic away from her hotel , thereby threatening
her livelihood.
Norman tries very hard to fit in, both at school and around town, but his domineering, possessive
mother makes it all but impossible. And Normas ruthless nature stops at nothing to ensure she
gets her way.
A creepy, atmospheric, sometimes darkly funny offering (Norman isfittinglyobsessed with
taxidermizing any number of critters in the mansions dungeonesque basement!), Bates Motel
makes for entertaining Halloween viewing.
Nathaniel T., RPL Reference Librarian