It'll take more than a rendition of "SOS" to save Rihanna in the fifth and final season of Bates Motel; the singer is taking on the iconic role of Marion Crane (made famous by Janet Leigh in Psycho) as the show ramps up towards its chilling conclusion.
Freddie Highmore plays Norman Bates in Kerry Ehrin and Carlton Cuse's contemporary prequel to the Alfred Hitchcock film, which returns Monday, February 20 at 10 p.m. on A&E.
Set two years after the events of Season 4 -- in which Norman murdered his beloved mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga) -- Season 5 finds Norman living a double life. Publicly he’s a happy and well-adjusted member of the White Pine Bay community, but at home Norman struggles; his violent blackouts continue to increase as "Mother" threatens to take over his mind completely.
Rihanna, a self-proclaimed superfan of the show, will check in as Marion during the final season -- but fans of Psycho know that checking out will be a little more complicated.
Elsewhere in Season 5, Norman's half-brother Dylan (Max Thierot) and his girlfriend Emma (Olivia Cooke), since leaving White Pine Bay, have been living their lives blissfully unaware of Norma’s death and Norman’s full on descent into psychosis. Unfortunately, for them, they will soon find themselves drawn back into Norman’s insanity, while a vengeful Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell), who is currently incarcerated for a perjury, hungers for a chance to destroy his stepson and avenge the murder of his one true love, Norma Bates.
New faces will find their way to the Bates Motel this season to further complicate Norman’s life and threaten to unearth his dark secrets. In addition to Marion, a new couple in town, Madeleine Loomis (Isabelle McNally) and her husband Sam (Austin Nichols), as well as Sheriff Dana Greene (Brooke Smith) become entangled in Norman’s life causing a chain of events that could blow the lid off Norman’s secret life.
And fans will be greeted by familiar faces when Caleb Calhoun (Kenny Johnson) and Chick Hogan (Ryan Hurst) return with agendas of their own.
