The fifth and final season of Bates Motel aired from February 20-April 24, 2017. The season consisted of 10 episodes and aired on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on A&E. The series itself is described as a "contemporary prequel" to the 1960 film Psycho, following the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in the Hitchcock film. The final season of the series loosely adapts the plot of Psycho. The series takes place in the fictional town of White Pine Bay, Oregon.
The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 19, 2017.
Cast and characters
Main
Vera Farmiga as Mother
Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates
Max Thieriot as Dylan Massett
Olivia Cooke as Emma Decody
Nestor Carbonell as Alex Romero
Recurring
Kenny Johnson as Caleb Calhoun
Ryan Hurst as Chick Hogan
Brooke Smith as Sheriff Jane Greene
Isabelle McNally as Madeleine Loomis
Austin Nichols as Sam Loomis
Jillian Fargey as Maggie Summers
Damon Gupton as Dr. Gregg Edwards
Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Julia Ramos
Special guest
Rihanna as Marion Crane
Guest
Carlton Cuse as Highway Patrol Officer
Raphael Sbarge as George Lowery
John Hainsworth as Jim Blackwell
Antonio Cayonne as Bruce Herman
Ian Tracey as Remo
Production
Casting
In June 2016, showrunner Kerry Ehrin confirmed the return of Kenny Johnson as Caleb Calhoun for the final season. The following month, Rihanna was cast in the iconic role of Marion Crane. In September, Isabelle McNally joined the cast of the series, portraying the role of Madeleine Loomis, a young woman who resembles Norma. The same month, Brooke Smith joined the cast as Sheriff Jane Greene. The following year in January, Austin Nichols was cast in the role of Sam Loomis, a prominent role in both the source material and the film adaptation. Ryan Hurst returned as Chick Hogan. The series executive producer Carlton Cuse appeared as a police officer trailing Marion Crane. Natalia Cordova-Buckley joined the cast as Julia Ramos, an attorney.
Filming
The series was filmed on location in Aldergrove, British Columbia. At the beginning of the first season, a replica of the original Bates Motel set from the film Psycho was built on 272nd Street. Freddie Highmore was tapped to write an episode for the season, as well as direct an episode, marking his directorial debut. Max Thieriot and Nestor Carbonell were also tapped to direct an episode each for season 5.
Production on the season began on September 16, 2016. The series filmed its final scenes at the specially-built Bates Motel set in Aldergrove on January 25, 2017, and production began tearing the house down the following day. Carbonell filmed his final scenes as Sheriff Alex Romero on January 27. Filming officially wrapped for the series on January 31. Later in February, the Bates Motel exterior set in Aldergrove was subsequently demolished.
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
The season has received positive reviews from television critics. It received 81 out of 100 from Metacritic, based on 8 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21 out of 21 critical responses were positive, averaging a 100% rating.
Ratings
Overall, the fifth season of Bates Motel averaged 1.29 million viewers, with a 0.5 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
A Cable Live +3 data is used here as Live +7 was not made available.
Awards and nominations
In its fifth and final season, Bates Motel was nominated for one award.