Twin Peaks

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About

Twin Peaks is an American TV drama series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch that follows an investigation of the murder of the high school homecoming queen Laura Palmer in the fictional town with the same name in the state of Washington. Often cited as one of the top-rated shows of the 1990s and a milestone in David Lynch's screenwriting career, Twin Peaks has continued to remain highly relevant in pop culture through the emergence of a cult fan base online and occasional tributes in other TV shows, films, video games and song lyrics.

Premise

Set in the strange, fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington, the series follows the murder investigation of Laura Palmer (played bySheryl Lee), the town's homecoming queen, headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (played by Kyle MacLachlan), who manages to uncover a series of paranormal secrets about the victim's friends and family members, and eventually, all the citizens of Twin Peaks at large.

History

The pilot episode of Twin Peaks premiered on April 8th, 1990. During its original run on ABC for two 15-episode seasons between 1990 and 1991, the series enjoyed critical acclaims both nationally and internationally; however, due to the declining viewership, the series was ultimately cancelled following the airing of the second season finale on June 10th, 1991.

Premiering in May 1992, Twin Peaks: Fire Walks With Me, the David Lynch-directed prequel to the TV series, follows the final days of Laura Palmer's life. It opened to boos and hisses at its Cannes Film Festival premiere and negative reviews from fans and critics.^[12] It currently holds a 61% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has built a cult fanbase.^[13]

Revival

On October 6th, 2014, creators Mark Frost and David Lynch announced^[3] they would be collaborating on a third season of Twin Peaks for the premium cable network Showtime. However, on April 5th, 2015, David Lynch said that he would not be returning for the revival.^[14] He said:

"Showtime did not pull the plug on Twin Peaks.

After one year and four months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done.

This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing.

Twin Peaks may still be very much alive at Showtime.

I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently."

Showtime responded to the statement by saying:

"We were saddened to read David Lynch’s statement today since we believed we were working towards solutions with David and his reps on the few remaining deal points. Showtime also loves the world of Twin Peaks and we continue to hold out hope that we can bring it back in all its glory with both of its extraordinary creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost, at its helm."

One month later, Lynch and Showtime re-negotiated, and the director confirmed that he would return for the entirety of season three, promising 18 episodes.^[15] In April 2016, filming wrapped on season three.

On May 21st, 2017, Showtime premiered the first episode of Twin Peaks season three.

Reception

The show earned a rating of 9 on IMBD^[1] and a score of 96 on Metacritic.^[2] The show won three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series (Drama) and Best TV Show (Drama). It was also nominated for 18 Primetime Emmys.

The first two episodes of Twin Peaks season three received near-universal praise from critics, scoring 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.^[16] Online, people praised the show as well, commenting on how the show maintained its confusing, dream-like nature. Twitter published Moments page to document the reaction.^[17]

Fandom

On April 15th, 2010, the subreddit r/twinpeaks^[8] was created by redditor demote, as of October 2014, the subreddit has gained over 7,000 readers. As of October 2014, DeviantArt^[4] has over 5,000 pieces of fan art tagged Twin Peaks. Fan run Tumblr blogs dedicated to the show include twinpeaksgifs^[6] and twinpeaks.^[7] As of October 2014, the show's Facebook page^[5] has gained over 750,000 likes.

Twin Peaks Harlem Shake

On February 13th, 2013, Official Comedy's YouTube channel^[10] uploaded a video titled "Harlem Shake: Twin Peaks Edition feat. Kyle MacLachlan" which featured many Twin Peaks references in a video performing the Harlem Shake. As of September 2014, the video has gained over 190,000 views. The video was covered by several websites such as The Mary Sue^[9] and io9.^[11]