Bates Motel casts its young Norman Bates and Norman Bates' older, motorcycle-riding brother that he has, apparently

By Sean O'Neal | September 17, 2012 | 6:29pm

Aux Features TV

A&E's Bates Motel, the Psycho sort-of-prequel has cast Freddie Highmore as its young Norman Bates, having apparently decided that the Charlie And The Chocolate Factory star had the most sexual chemistry with Vera Farmiga as his mother. Of course, that uncomfortable, not-so-subtle tension—along with Norman's inevitable transformation into a killer, the seedy motel setting, and other things that have already been well-established by many years of Psycho franchising—eventually may be the only thing you recognize about Bates Motel. Having perhaps realized that it might otherwise be a rehash of the TV movie Psycho IV: The Beginning, the Carlton Cuse-produced series has been revealed (via a script leak to Shock Till You Drop) to be less straight prequel than contemporary reimagining, with all the creative liberties and cell phones that implies.

On that note, the recent casting of Max Thieriot also answered the question of "Who will play Norman Bates' motorcycle-riding, rebellious, James Dean-like brother Dylan?" that was likely never asked, because Norman doesn't have an older brother, because his being an only child and thus his mother's best friend is seemingly crucial to their weird dynamic. But in this new, more modern take on Psycho lore, Dylan is as much a part of Norman's world as his trying out for the track team, going to wild high school parties, hanging out with a quartet of rebellious teen girls, and sneaking looks at Japanese manga comics filled with "young, Asian girls in various states of sexual slavery." Boy, for his mother to compete with all of that, she must be super sexy. Maybe they should just forego the Psycho connection entirely and rename this Sexy Mom Motel?