UPDATED: Twin Peaks fans’ quarter-century wait is over. One of the top cult series of all time is coming back with a new limited series on Showtime from its original creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost. The nine-episode series will go into production in 2015 for a premiere in 2016 to mark the 25th anniversary of when the series finished its run on ABC. In a fact that will delight Twin Peaks devotees, Lynch and Frost will write and produce all nine episodes, with Lynch set to direct every episode.
The new Twin Peaks will be set in the present day, more than two decades after the events in the first two seasons. It will continue the lore and story of the original series, with Lynch and Frost committed to providing long-awaited answers and, hopefully, a satisfying conclusion to the series. It is unclear which actors from the original series will be featured in the followup. I hear that star Kyle MacLachlan will be back, reprising his role as FBI Agent Dale Cooper who was at the center of the show. UPDATE: MacLachlan hinted at his return as Cooper on Twitter later today: “Better fire up that percolator and find my black suit :-) #Twinpeaks.“
The ABC series also featured some of Lynch’s favorite character actors, and it is likely that at least some of them will return. Leading to the 2016 debut of the Twin Peaks limited series, Showtime will re-air the first two seasons of the series, owned by parent CBS Corp.
“What more can I say – Twin Peaks with David Lynch and Mark Frost on Showtime in 2016!” said Showtime Networks president David Nevins. “To quote Agent Cooper, ‘I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.’” Added Lynch and Frost, “The mysterious and special world of Twin Peaks is pulling us back. We’re very excited. May the forest be with you.”
Lynch and Frost fueled speculation about a possible Twin Peaks revival with identical cryptic tweets posted at 11:30 AM Friday: “Dear Twitter Friends: That gum you like is going to come back in style! #damngoodcoffee“.
“Damn good coffee” was a phrase frequently used by MacLachlan‘s Agent Cooper on the show, expressed typically while eating cherry pie in the town’s cafe. The tweet’s 11:30 AM time stamp matched the time Cooper first entered the town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. Lynch and Frost picked the same 11:30 AM time today to tweet another clue, “Tween Peaks on Showtime.” The two tweeted an announcement video making it official:
The Twin Peaks limited series comes on the heels of the July Blu-ray release of the entire original series by Showtime sibling CBS Home Entertainment.
Groundbreaking, genre-bending, stylish, moody and a little weird, Twin Peaks became a phenomenon when it premiered in April 1990, with the two-hour opener drawing mind-boggling 34.6 million viewers. The series followed the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town who were stunned after Palmer is shockingly murdered. The town’s sheriff welcomed the help of FBI Agent Cooper, who came to town to investigate the case. As Cooper conducted his search for Laura’s killer, the town’s secrets were gradually exposed. Here are the series’ opening credits, set to the haunting theme by Angelo Badalamenti.
After a very strong first season, viewership for Twin Peaks tapered off in Season 2 when the Laura Palmer murder was resolved midway through the season. Despite the series’ cancellation after 30 episodes, it was never forgotten, with its cult following only growing as years went by. Lynch’s 1992 movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which he directed from a script he co-wrote with Robert Engels, served as a prequel to the series. It left most questions from the show unanswered, so fans continued to wish for another season. But for Lynch, Twin Peaks seemed a closed chapter. Asked in a 2001 Empire interview whether he would ever go back to the show, he said: “No. Uh-uh. It’s as dead as a doornail.”
Thankfully for the fans, he changed his mind.
Later on Monday, Madchen Amick — who played Shelly Johnson on Twin Peaks — tweeted:
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