Interview: BATES MOTEL Star Vera Farmiga Talks Third Season Surprises

Popular drama-thriller BATES MOTEL returns for its third season tonight at 9pm EST on A&E, and this season is gearing up to be the show's most eerie and suspenseful yet. Serving as a pre-quel to the classic 1960 film PYSCHO, the show centers around Norman Bates' teenage years running the BATES MOTEL with his eccentric, overwhlemingly loving mother.

This week, BWW participated in a conference call with star Vera Farmiga (Norma Bates) and producers Kerry Ehrin and Carlton Cuse. The trio teased various storylines we'll be seeing this upcoming season, and discussed the challenges and rewards that come along with working on an intensely dark show.

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Is it harder these days in a world where everything available on the Internet to do suspenseful TV, to do spooky TV, to do TV that gets our attention?

Carlton Cuse: I think it's harder to get people's attention just because of the sheer magnitude of choices out there.I think there's certain conventions people have. You know, people watch a lot of TV so they think that certain things are going to happen. So I think the process is you're always trying to subvert expectations. So yes, I think we try to stay relevant and at the same time, we're always looking for ways to not have our stories unfold in a predictable manner.

Norma became a stronger and more confident woman in Season 2. Will we continue to see signs of her personal growth?

Vera Farmiga: It's pretty nutty to see now what we explore with this character this season. Like the height of righteousness that she possesses and the depths of manipulation and depravity almost that she is capable of. And there are just so many antics and adventures for me to explore. It's an outstanding role. I have never been challenged the way I am with this story in this particular character.

You've got some great guest stars lined up as per usual for this season one of which is played by Joshua Leonard, which Vera directed in HIGHER GROUND. What was your experience getting to work with Joshua again? And could we get a little tease of how Joshua's character will play into the storyline of Season 3?

V.F.: Norma's determined to make her business a success, And so she starts enrolling in business classes at the local community college. And so there she meets James Finnegan (played by Joshua Leonard). And he kind of launches her into a whole new path of discovery. I rooted for Joshua to get this role. It's very interesting though, in Higher Ground he played a husband in a relationship that I'm leaving. And this is more of a romantic role.

In the upcoming season, the creepy factor between Norma and Norman is vamped up, and he is starting to manifest himself as Norma. Are we going to see more of that, and is Norma going to be oblivious to it?

C.C: She's certainly not oblivious to it. We try to make the relationship between Norma and Norman different every season. It's the story about a mother who desperately loves her son and is trying to prevent him from becoming this guy that's he inevitably going to become. And this season he starts to slide much more significantly into that character.

Norman and Norma walk a fine line; they are in a loving relationship, but they're on the edge of something else that's dangerous. Can you talk about finding that balance and creating that relationship on screen?

Kerry Ehrin: In the writing, we always have approached it that it is a mother son relationship and that on the deepest level it's a loving relationship. There's things that are happening inside of Norman that he's not fully in control of and he doesn't understand that he never separated from his mother emotionally at the right age. So he's way too invested in her while he's going through sexual maturing. But Norma is a mom. She's always innocent.

Kenny Johnson returns this season as Caleb, Norma's brother and father to her son, Dylan. Can you tell us a bit about Caleb's return to White Pine Bay and what it might mean for the Bates family?

C.C.: He's a series regular this season. So you're going to be seeing a lot of him. I think a lot of the season is about untangling all the layers of the relationship that he has with Norma, and also with his - with Dylan, his son.

What can we expect to see more of this season- murder, drugs, or sex?

V.F.: I think they're in equal measure. There are some wicked bombshells thrown this year, and some pretty rude awakening to be had. There's some flabbergasting shakeups. But I can't tell you what they are. There's going to be some extermination, some butchery, some crazy absurdity.

Photo credit: Official site

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