With the financial failure of "Psycho III", Universal decided to continue the "Psycho" franchise as a television series, "Bates Motel", taking inspiration from the "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street" TV series. In this televised spin-off of "Psycho", Norman Bates is portrayed by Kurt Paul, who previously stood in as a stunt double for Anthony Perkins in "Psycho II" and "Psycho III". Perkins declined involvement in the project and even heavily boycotted it. The film was made as a pilot for a weekly anthology television series, but the series was never picked up. Thus, Universal decided to air the pilot as a made-for-TV film over the 4th of July weekend. The film received mostly negative reviews and low Nielson ratings.