Twin Peaks is (almost) back

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By: Trisha Gregorio/ANDY Writer

On April 8, 1990, Twin Peaks aired its pilot. In 1997 the episode made it to TV Guide’s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time, and by the early 2000s, the series has been consistently named one of the best television shows of all time. It wrapped up on June 10, 1991 with two seasons and a total of thirty episodes, followed by a movie called Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in 1992.

Twin Peaks revolved around the murder of high school student Laura Palmer, whose death starts a chain sequence of events that becomes the catalyst for the show’s main storyline. As with many of director David Lynch’s works, the show does not adhere to norms of any particular genre. The show, all at once, contains supernatural factors and surrealist elements, underlined with both melodrama and humour. It achieved cult movie status over the years that followed its second season, and has become widely considered a television classic.

25 years later, co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost are bringing the series back for a new season. The sequel has been in the works for a year now, but budget issues have stalled production. Originally slated for a 2016 release, Dazed recently revealed that the third season has been pushed back to a 2017 broadcast on Showtime.

Eighteen episodes have been confirmed, all shot digitally, and will continue to be directed by Lynch and co-written with Frost. The creators have stressed that the new season is not a remake — rather, it will directly follow and allude to the events of the first two seasons, chronologically set 25 years after where the last episode left off.

“The story continues,” clarifies Frost. “The seeds of where we go were planted where we’ve been.”

Long-time fans are apprehensive about the changes the time skip would add to the classic small town setting the series is known for. Even more so, there’s much debate about who from the original cast is coming back after 25 years, and who’s done with the show for good.

So who’s in and who’s out? Nothing’s set in stone quite yet, but last week, along with the announcement of the pushed back release, Dazed also published a basic run-down of who’s in talks to return.

Unfortunately, many supporting actors have passed away since the end of the show’s last run. Catherine E. Coulson passed away earlier this year, and will not be reprising her role as the fan favourite Log Lady. Similarly, Jack Nance, who played her lumberjack husband Pete Martell, passed away in 1996.

Michael Ontkean, who played Sheriff Harry S. Truman and has discreetly avoided the limelight since, also declined the offer to return.

The good news, however, is that many crucial main actors are back to reprise their roles. Kyle MachLachan and Sheryl Lee are back as central characters Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer, respectively. Ray Wise and Grace Zabriskie are also set for return as Leland and Sarah Palmer, and Peggy Lipton returns to the Diner as series staple Norma Jennings. Other returning actors are Lara Flynn Boyle as Laura’s best friend, Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Beymer as the Hornes, Kimmy Robertson as secretary Lucy Moran, and Michael Horse as deputy Tommy “Hawk” Hill.

Additionally, aside from the series’ creators taking complete control of the follow-up season, composer Angelo Badalamenti is also set for return. A long time collaborator of Lynch, Badalementi is responsible for the signature Twin Peaks theme song, and will no doubt spin something new into the unsettling synth score the series is known for.

With roughly two years between today and the tentative release date, all that’s left to do is to wait. To fill the gap, creator Mark Frost revealed that a book called The Secret Lives of Twin Peaks will be published before the new season’s release, meant to cover the entirety of the time skip.

It might be set 25 years later and the storyline might be facing some contemporary changes, but the majority of the main cast and crew is looking to be the same quirky bunch that made Twink Peaks the television classic that it is.

Photo Credit: David Lynch

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