Question: where is bates motel supposed to take place
Answer: The series , a contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock 's 1960 film Psycho ; based on Robert Bloch 's 1959 novel of the same name , depicts the lives of Norman Bates ( Freddie Highmore ) and his mother Norma ( Vera Farmiga ) prior to the events portrayed in the novel and film , albeit in a different fictional town ( White Pine Bay , Oregon , as opposed to Fairvale , California ) and in a modern - day setting .