TV Weekly

The A&E network is about to check into the Bates Motel, a new television series described as Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho prequel.

From LOST’s Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights’ Kerry Ehrin, the Psycho-inspired series will offer a contemporary exploration of Norman Bates, the motel proprietor, focusing on his relationship with his mother and his formative years leading to his ‘psycho’ nature. The show has been dubbed a cross between Twin Peaks and Smallville.

“We are proud to be partnering with Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin on their thrilling reinvention of one of the most compelling characters in cinematic history,” Bob De Bitetto, A&E network president, and David McKillop, A&E’s executive vice president of programming, said in a statement. “It’s a provocative project from two of the best storytellers in the business and we’re looking forward to getting started.”

The A&E series is not the first attempt at a Psycho-inspired plot. In 1987, NBC released a 90-minute TV movie with the same title yet this time around, producers hope to make a lasting impession.

The series has been ordered for 10 episodes from Universal Television and Carlton Cuse Productions and casting will begin shortly. Bates Motel is scheduled for a 2013 release joining another serial killer prequel Hannibal on NBC.