Should You Watch A&E’s “Bates Motel”?
Yes, says THR, which pronounces: ‘A&E’s sort-of prequel to “Psycho” from “Lost’s” Carlton Cuse is refreshingly creepy. There’s one thing Bates Motel creators Carlton Cuse (“Lost”) and Kerry Ehrin (“Friday Night Lights”) want to emphasize about their new A&E series: No, it’s not an homage to “Psycho.” Yes, it’s about Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore of “Finding Neverland”) and his mother, Norma (“Up in the Air” Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga, pictured), and there’s a hotel and an exact replica of the famous house, but this is what the creators are calling a “contemporary prequel†to the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock movie — one that frees them up to tell new stories.’