‘Bates Motel’ season 4, ‘Damien’ premiere dates announced by A&E

While we’re not going to say that A&E has necessarily figured out what in the world they are doing with their scripted programming slate (canceling “Longmire,” bringing on “Unforgettable” to some abysmal ratings), it does seem that the network is doing the right thing in their attempts to create a lineup all about suspenseful, at-times scary TV. Also, maybe they think that they can form a niche here in “shows based on scary movies from decades ago.”

Today, the network confirmed that the upcoming fourth season of “Bates Motel” is going to premiere starting on March 7 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. We’re starting to near the end of the Freddie Highmore series, which to us means that we’ll be seeing more and more of the descent into madness. You already know that this doesn’t end well, but there is still a little bit of fascination that comes in watching the journey.

Meanwhile, the premiere of the new series “Damien” from Glen Mazzara (formerly of “The Walking Dead”) is going to be airing in the hour that follows. The only real concern that we have here is that you’re putting “Bates Motel” now into a more competitive spot that includes “Scorpion,” “The Voice,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and a wide array of other shows. Sure, many of them are very different, but still, that is a big share of the market that is gone.

We’ll have some other news on some of these shows as we get closer to the premiere; stay tuned for more!