A&E Developing Psycho Prequel and Those Who Kill

A&E is in early development on two potential new series with “Bates Motel,” from Universal Television and “Those Who Kill,” from Imagine Television and Fox21, it was announced today by Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager, A&E and BIO Channel. From the press release:

“Bates Motel” serves as a prequel to the most famous fright film of all-time, “Psycho.” A&E is currently in script development. “Bates Motel” will give viewers an intimate understanding of how Norman Bates’ psyche developed from his childhood through his teen years. Fans will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn first hand how his mother, Norma, and her lover damaged Norman, helping forge the most well-known serial killing motel owner in history.

“Those Who Kill” is a Danish format based on the bestselling work of author Elsebeth Egholm. A&E has secured the U.S. format for the critically acclaimed crime series in Denmark. The series is about violent criminals who are surrounded by fear and mystique- the serial killer. When murders are not grounded in traditional motives and patterns of behavior, it takes a very particular kind of person to catch the serial killer; someone who knows and understands the killer’s dark side and the fantasies that plague him. Someone like the two lead characters- a police detective that is trying to understand her own mysterious personal connection in to the mind of a serial killer, and a “profiler” (forensic psychiatrist), who both in very different ways possess a deep psychological understanding that connects them to the killer’s victims and to the killer himself, driving them to pursue each case to the end of the line, again and again.

“Bates Motel” is produced by Universal Television for A&E Network. The script was written by Anthony Cipriano.

“Those Who Kill” is produced by Imagine Television and Fox 21. Glen Morgan will write the pilot script. Morgan, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Peter Bose and Jonas Allen will serve as executive producers.