'Bates Motel' Updates: Season 6 Still Possible After Season 5's Universal Acclaim?

"Bates Motel" season 5 has just wrapped up and sadly for fans, the psychological horror series is finally closing its doors after five years of soaring high in the small screens. The showrunners have announced last year at the San Diego Comic Con that the series will no longer be renewed after five years. However, despite this official announcement, many fans are still hoping that there will be another season for A&E's series. There have been speculations that the reason why the series was not renewed is because it doesn't earn enough high ratings.

Critics and fans have previously given "Bates Motel" generally favorable reviews, where season 1 has triumphed in utilizing mind manipulation as well as suspenseful fear tactics. The series has been consistent with showcasing sharp characters and breathtaking but distressing familial relationships. Season 5 was universally acclaimed, leading fans to wonder if there is a chance for another season.

"Bates Motel" is a re-imagined and a contemporary prequel to a 1960 film "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock, which follows the story of Norma (Vera Farmiga) and her son Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore). The story is being portrayed before the events in Hitchcock's film although its setting is in a different fictional town White Pine Bay, Oregon. Despite season 5's favorable reviews, its ratings were still down by 20 percent compared to season 4.

Speaking to Deadline, "Bates Motel" showrunner Carlton Cuse said that he had special ideas for the series and one is the contemporary setting of the show as well as filling in more characters. "But I think we always labored under the shadow of the movie," he further explained. Five years ago, then-Universal TV EVP Bela Bajaria and drama chief Russell Rothberg approached Cuse to have Hitchcock's film revived into a series.

Many audiences might have believed that "Bates Motel" was not renewed because of its ratings. However showrunners Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin both told Variety that they have originally planned five seasons for the series. Nonetheless, fans remain hopeful.