A&E’s Bates Motel officially announces its series end… and the arrival of Rihanna
The Bates Motel crew hit Comic-Con today and made a handful of announcements. First, A&E confirmed that the critically acclaimed series would end with 2017’s Season 5. That’s not really news to those of us at AwardsDaily TV – series creator/writer Kerry Ehrin told us back in May this Season 5 marks the final season. As we also expected, Season 5 will provide a spin on Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho. What we didn’t know, however, was that pop star Rihanna will be playing the infamous Marion Crane.
Taking over the role originated by the Oscar-nominated Janet Leigh, Rihanna will join the crew as the doomed Crane. There is no information as to how closely the season will adhere to the original material. Ehrin told AwardsDaily TV in May that “We are definitely taking a drive through Psycho and its events. It isn’t the whole season, but it weaves in with the story we are telling.” Here’s hoping the role of Crane will be limited in nature as Rihanna is, to politely put it, a relatively untested actress. It’s a shame to see her get the role as I’d secretly hoped the great Anna Camp would take a turn in the shower. Still, Ehrin and Carlton Cuse have yet to steer us wrong.
In other news, Nestor Carbonell (Sheriff Romero), Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates), and Max Thieriot (Dylan) will all direct episodes of the drama. Bates Motel will return to A&E for its final season in 2017.