‘Bates Motel’ gets renewed for two more seasons by A&E

Norman Bates and his mom are going to get a little more time to work things out.

A&E announced Monday that it’s renewing “Bates Motel” — the acclaimed prequel to the “Psycho” franchise first laid out by novelist Robert Bloch and made famous by director Alfred Hitchcock — for two more seasons, meaning 20 additional episodes in all. The new episodes will go into production this year and start airing in 2016.

“Bates Motel,” which wrapped its third season last month, tells the story of young Norman (Freddie Highmore), who is slowly descending into mental illness under the tutelage of his overly controlling widowed mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga).

“The vision of our incredible creative team has exposed the steady breakdown of the relationship between Norman and Norma Bates,” Rob Sharenow, executive vice president and general manager of A&E and Lifetime, wrote in a statement. “We are thrilled to bring fans two more seasons to witness the next stages of Norman’s transformation into the most notorious psychopath in cinematic history.”

What do you think of “Bates Motel”? Willing to watch more?

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT