Nellie Andreeva

In her return to television, Vera Farmiga is set for the plum female lead in A&E’s upcoming series Bates Motel, which serves as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock horror classic Psycho and examines the twisted relationship between serial killer-to-be Norman Bates and his mother Norma. Farmiga will play Norma Louise Bates who is described as passionate, and compelling, a smart, multidimensional character who is always capable of surprising us. The Universal TV-produced Bates Motel has a 10-episode straight-to-series order for a 2013 premiere. Former Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin (Parenthood)  serve as writers-executive producers. “We are delighted to welcome Vera Farmiga to Bates Motel,” Cuse said. “She is a phenomenal talent who has demonstrated incredible range and intelligence in a number of landmark film roles, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her join our project.”

Bates Motel had been developed as a miniseries when A&E bought it in January. When Cuse and Ehrin boarded the project two months later, they reworked it as a series and wrote several scripts. That prompted A&E’s July decision to forgo a pilot and go straight to series. Farmiga co-starred on several series, including NBC’s UC: Undercover and USA’s Touching Evil, and in the HBO telefilm Iron Jawed Angels before breaking out in features. She was nominated for an Oscar for Up In The Air and also starred in the Oscar-winning The Departed.

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