If you loved
Bates Motel
Carlton Cuse · Series · 2013
What hooked you in Bates Motel was the unsettling way domestic intimacy and small-town isolation spiral into profound psychological disintegration.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock · Film · 1960
Books on the same thread
Psycho
Robert Bloch · Book · 1959
Shares a thread with Bates Motel: Mental Illness.
If the complex descent of Norman Bates in Bates Motel fascinated you, this original novel provides the foundational look at the obsession and mental illness defining his dark identity.
Films on the same thread
Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock · Film · 1960
Shares a thread with Bates Motel: Mother-Son Relationship.
Since Bates Motel functions as a modern prequel, you will appreciate Hitchcock's cinematic masterpiece for its definitive exploration of the toxic mother-son dynamic and the iconic, isolated motel setting.
Podcasts on the same thread
S-Town
Serial Productions · Podcast · 2024
Explores: small-town isolation, eccentricity, social decay.
Bates Motel thrives on the tension of small-town secrets, and this podcast captures that same eerie sense of social decay and isolation found within a claustrophobic rural community.
Small Town Murder
James Pietragallo, Jimmie Whisman · Podcast · 2026
Explores: provincial life, tragic irony, forensic breakdown.
Much like the unsettling environment of Bates Motel, this podcast examines how the specific eccentricities of provincial life can serve as a grim backdrop for inevitable, tragic human violence.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Bates Motel a direct prequel to the 1960 movie Psycho?
Bates Motel is a contemporary prequel to the 1960 film Psycho. While it depicts the life of Norman and Norma Bates prior to the events of the film, the series is set in a modern timeframe and takes place in a different fictional town than the original movie.
Should I read the 1959 book Psycho before watching Bates Motel?
You do not need to read the 1959 book Psycho to understand the plot of Bates Motel. The series serves as a modern reimagining that explores the backstory of the main characters before the events portrayed in both the original novel and the 1960 film adaptation.
How does Bates Motel relate to the original Psycho film?
Bates Motel functions as a contemporary prequel to the 1960 film Psycho. It focuses on the relationship between Norman Bates and his mother, Norma, starting from when they purchase a motel in a coastal Oregon town to begin a new life before the events of the movie occur.
What is the setting of Bates Motel compared to the film Psycho?
While the 1960 film Psycho is set in a classic era, Bates Motel is a contemporary prequel. The series takes place in a modern setting within a fictional coastal town in Oregon, rather than the specific location depicted in the original film and the 1959 source material.