8.1
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
Bates Motel (2013)
Bates Motel (2013)
Overview
A "contemporary prequel" to the 1960 film Psycho, depicting the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in Hitchcock's film, albeit in a different fictional town and in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma's husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Center
Political: Center
Diversity: Moderate
LGBTQ: Neutral
Race Swap: Yes
Viewer Rating
8.1
Overview
A "contemporary prequel" to the 1960 film Psycho, depicting the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in Hitchcock's film, albeit in a different fictional town and in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma's husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Center
Primary
The series primarily explores psychological horror, family dysfunction, and mental illness, themes that lack a strong inherent political valence. It does not explicitly promote or critique specific political ideologies, focusing instead on character study and the tragic unfolding of events.
The series features a cast that includes some visible diversity, though it does not explicitly recast traditionally white roles for DEI purposes. Its narrative focuses on psychological drama and character development, without explicitly critiquing traditional identities or centering on DEI themes.
Secondary
Bates Motel features bisexual character Caleb Calhoun and his ambiguous, queer-coded relationship with Chick Hogan. Their sexual orientations are presented as incidental aspects of their complex, morally gray characters, neither celebrated nor condemned. The portrayal avoids harmful stereotypes but also doesn't actively affirm LGBTQ+ identity, resulting in a neutral depiction.
Marion Crane, a character established as white in the original Psycho novel and film, is portrayed by a Black actress in Bates Motel. This constitutes a race swap.
Bates Motel does not feature identifiable transsexual characters or themes. Norman Bates's cross-dressing and identification with his mother are portrayed as manifestations of severe mental illness and dissociative identity disorder, distinct from transgender identity.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
The show is a contemporary prequel to Psycho, but its main characters (Norman Bates, Norma Bates, Marion Crane, Sam Loomis) retain their original genders from the source material. New characters introduced for the series do not constitute gender swaps of established figures.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
8.1
8.1
Critic Ratings
9.3
6.9
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