A&E developing prequel TV series to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho

A&E is developing television series projects based on the iconic hotel featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s original classic Psycho, along with a Danish format about serial killers, THR reports.

The cable network announced that it’s in early development on the series Bates Motel from Universal Television, serving it up as a prequel to the Alfred Hitchcock 1960 horror classic, which starred Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Janet Leigh.

Bates Motel would offer an understanding into how Norman Bates’ homicidal tendencies developed, telling his back story, learning of how his mother Norma, and her lover permanently damaged him, transforming him into a serial-killing motel keeper. Anthony Cipriano (The Jersey, Twelve and Holding) wrote the script for the upcoming show.

According to the report, Bates Motel is not the first time a Psycho spinoff has been attempted. NBC aired a 90-minute TV movie titled Bates Motel in 1987.

In addition, the cable net has acquired the rights to Danish format Those Who Kill. Based on the best-seller by Elsebeth Egholm, the Danish series is about serial killers and the people who pursue and catch them. The original show revolves around a female police detective who works to understand her connection into the mind of a serial killer and a profiler who has a deeper psychological understanding that connects them to the killer and their victims.

Those Who Kill comes from Imagine Television and Fox 21. Glen Morgan will write the script and executive produce alongside Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Peter Bose and Jonas Allen.