‘Bates Motel’ EPs: Romero Wasn’t Originally Envisioned As Major Player On The A&E Series

Nestor Carbonell as Romero — “Bates Motel” executive producer Carlton Cuse said that unlike other major players on the show, Nestor Carbonell’s Romero is a figure that forced his way into the show’s main character lineup. A&E

“Bates Motel” executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin revealed that Romero (Nestor Carbonell) wasn’t initially planned to be a major player on the A&E series.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Cuse said that originally, Romero only had a small arc on the “Psycho” prequel series. But as the show continued, Romero became a pivotal figure that eventually forced his way into the show’s main character lineup.

Ehrin pointed out that one of the things that convinced them to keep Carbonell on the show is his undeniable onscreen chemistry with Vera Farmiga, saying, “Especially in the first season with Nestor, by the time he was doing those scenes with Norma (Farmiga) where she was going in his office, from there you’re like: ‘Oh, these two. There’s something very good with these two.’”

READ: Freddie Highmore reveals things he’ll miss after “Bates Motel” ends

Since Cuse and Ehrin didn’t expect the incredible onscreen rapport between Carbonell and Farmiga, the romance between Norma and Romero wasn’t also part of the series’ original five-year plan. “When we first started conceiving the show, and we started talking about the importance of the sheriff character, Nestor immediately popped into my brain from ‘Lost,’ but there was no way that Kerry or I knew that he would work so well romantically with Vera until they started doing scenes together,” Cuse told Yahoo TV in June.

“That’s the organic quality of television, that you have intensions, but then your collaborators speak to you, and particularly actors,” Cuse continued. “The symbiotic relationship between actors and writers on a long-term television show is one of the coolest parts of the whole process. We watch relationships unfold. We see what kind of chemistry is between the characters.”

In the trailer for tomorrow’s Season 5 finale, Romero takes Norman (Freddie Highmore) into the woods and brutally beats him. At some point in the clip, Romero also points a gun to Norman’s head, meaning to end his step-son’s life. Will Romero ultimately kill Norman or will it be the other way around?

“Bates Motel” Season 5 finale, which is also the series finale, airs on Monday, April 24 at 10 p.m. EDT on A&E.