Horror on television has gotten better and better in recent years, with A&E’s suspenseful and well-developed series, Bates Motel becoming one of the latest additions to the genre. The series is a re-imagining of sorts of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, set in the present and following a young Norman Bates and his relationship with his mother, Louise. The first season became a critical and ratings success for the network and has already earned a Season 2 renewal on A&E. Those who may have missed the series during its initial run and especially fans of the series should be pleased to learn that Bates Motel: The Complete First Season will be hitting Blu-ray and DVD on September 17.
The series starts out moody and throughout the first season builds a narrative that is full of twists and turns. If you haven’t gotten a chance to catch the series yet or just want to be reminded of some of its big moments, you can check out the Blu-ray trailer Universal Studios Home Entertainment has put together, below.
The life of Norman and Louise Bates prior to the events in Hitchcock’s Psycho are not calm or tranquil. The town of White Pine Bay, Oregon is filled with secrets and plenty of bad personalities abound. Even Norman and his mother often have a turbulent relationship and that friction is at the heart of the narrative in Season 1.
All 10 episodes of Season 1 will be included with the Blu-ray and DVD sets, but bonus features will be pretty scarce and only seem to include one featurette and deleted scenes. If you are planning to purchase the first season of the series, you may want to order a copy sooner rather than later, as Universal Studios Home Entertainment will, for a limited time only, include a set of collector cards featuring artwork from the series. This might seem a little gimmicky, but the artwork is from Jiao’s Sketchbook. I’ve actually encountered a copy of the sketchbook and if you are into the series, the sketches are a pretty cool tie-in.
TV sets aren’t typically a casual purchase, but if you are a huge fan of the series, these sets won’t break the bank. Blu-ray copies retail for $49.98 and are already available for pre-order for $34.99 via Amazon. DVD copies have a similar deal going. You can check out the full list of extras, below.
Bates Motel Blu-ray and DVD Extras
- Deleted Scenes
- “Paley Center Panel Discussion with the Cast and Creative Team”
