A&E renews ‘Bates Motel’ for Season 3

A&E is checking into The Bates Motel for a third season of… um… “Bates Motel.”

The network formally announced on Monday (April 7) that “Bates Motel” will begin production this fall on a new run of 10 episodes. Presumably, they'll premiere in early 2015, following in the footsteps of the first two “Bates” seasons.

“Bates Motel” premiered last month to an audience A&E is now pinpointing at 4.6 million viewers including 2.6 million in the 18-49 demographic in Live+7 viewing. The not-quite-prequel to “Psycho” is A&E's top drama series of all-time in the 18-49 demo.

“The incredible writing team and talented ‘Bates Motel” cast has made this series one of the most compelling original dramas on television,” blurbs A&E EVP and GM David McKillop. “The brilliant twists and turns of the past two seasons keep its loyal fan base coming back for more. We are so proud of the show.”

In its first season, “Bates Motel” earned a slew of award nominations including Emmy and TCA Award nods for star Vera Farmiga, plus guild nominations for casting and hair styling.

While A&E is excited about the “Bates Motel” performance, the network got a sense of its limitations last month when the drama was moved up to 9 p.m. and used as a launching bad for the Chloe Sevigny thriller “Those Who Kill.” It took all of two weeks for that serial killer series to flame out, causing A&E to shift “Bates” back to 10 p.m. and to ship “Those Who Kill” off to the Lifetime Movie Channel.

Produced by Universal Television, “Bates Motel” is executive produced by Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin.

I need to catch up on “Bates Motel.” How are people feeling about this season? How long do I have to wait to get to Kathleen Robertson?

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