The fourth season of Bates Motel premiered on March 7, 2016, and concluded on May 16, 2016. The season consisted of 10 episodes and aired on Mondays at 9 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 series takes place in the fictional town of White Pine Bay, Oregon. The season received critical acclaim from television critics, and was nominated for two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. It also won three People's Choice Awards for Cable TV Drama, Cable TV Actress, and Cable TV Actor. Bates Motel fourth season maintained consistent ratings throughout its airing, with the season premiere drawing in 1.55 million viewers and the finale totalling 1.50 million. The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 18, 2016.
In August 2015, TVLine reported that Ryan Hurst would be returning to the series as Chick Hogan, a recurring character throughout the third season. On November 5, 2015, reports surfaced that the series was casting the recurring role of Gregg Edwards, a doctor at Pineview Mental Institution. On December 3, 2015, Damon Gupton was cast in the role. In mid-December 2015, it was announced that Jaime Ray Newman would play a major recurring role throughout the season as Rebecca Hamilton, a former girlfriend of Romero.
Filming
The series is 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. In early November 2015, Nestor Carbonell confirmed he, like the third season, would be directing one episode of this season. Principal photography for season 4 began on November 30, 2015 in Vancouver and surrounding areas, and concluded on April 6, 2016. On February 11, 2016, the first image was released featuring Farmiga and Highmore. In March 2016, it was revealed Highmore had written the eighth episode of the season.
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
The fourth season of Bates Motel has been met with critical acclaim. The season holds a 100% positive rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 responses from television critics.
Ratings
Overall, the fourth season of Bates Motel averaged 1.45 million viewers, with a 0.6 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 fourth season, Bates Motel was nominated for 17 awards, winning three.
