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Academy Award nominee Vera Farmiga is moving into A&E’s Bates Motel.
The Up in the Air actress has been tapped to star in the network’s Psycho prequel, Bates Motel.
From Lost‘s Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights‘ Kerry Ehrin, the series is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1960 classic Psycho and is described as a contemporary exploration of Norman Bates’ formative years. It will explore his relationship with his mother, Norma, and offer a look at the backstory that helped forge the infamous serial killer. It’s been dubbed a cross between Twin Peaks and Smallville.
Farmiga will play Norma Louise Bates, described as a complicated, passionate and compelling woman who is smart, multidimensional and always capable of surprising people.
STORY: A&E Orders Carlton Cuse’s ‘Psycho’ Prequel ‘Bates Motel’ Straight to Series
“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.”
Farmiga, who starred in USA Network’s Touching Evil, will play Norma, who was voiced by three actresses — Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin and Jeanette Nolan — in the 1960 feature.
Bates Motel marks former Lost co-showrunner Cuse’s first TV project since his run on the island-set ABC drama. The series, from Universal TV and Carlton Cuse Productions, joins a growing roster of scripted programming at A&E that includes Western drama Longmire, which has been renewed for a second season.
Farmiga, repped by CAA, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Peikoff, picked up an Oscar nom for her role opposite George Clooney in Up in the Air. Her credits also include Safe House, Source Code and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
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