Taking one of the most iconic characters in cinema history and exploring his deeply troubled adolescence is not only bold, but it makes for amazing television. While one wouldn’t expect to find Norman Bates a sympathetic and relatable protagonist, Freddie Highmore brings a nuanced, peculiar and yet empathetic performance into the mix. It’s so captivating that it’s hard to turn away.

Although we know where Norman ends up later in life (in a word, a horrific nightmare) young Norman deals with all the same things we have to confront on a day to day basis – brooding siblings, crushes at school, bullies, moving into new towns, the list goes on. The crux of his performance and perhaps the thing that we find most relatable about him is his struggle with his overbearing mother, Norma. While we all struggle with overbearing parents, Norman’s mother is so out of line it’s only natural he struggles with it. What isn’t so natural is when that struggle turns into psychopathy…but until then, we’re with you Norman.