Twin Peaks (season 3)


The third season of Twin Peaks, also known as Twin Peaks: The Return and Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series, consists of 18 episodes and premiered on Showtime on May 21, 2017. Developed and written by creators David Lynch and Mark Frost, the season is a continuation of the 1990–1991 ABC series. An ensemble of returning and new cast members appear, led by original star Kyle MacLachlan and directed by Lynch.
Set 25 years after the events of the original Twin Peaks, the season follows multiple storylines, many of which are linked to FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper and his original 1989 investigation into the murder of Twin Peaks homecoming queen Laura Palmer. In addition to the fictional Washington state town of Twin Peaks, the story extends to locations such as New York City, Las Vegas, South Dakota, Philadelphia, and New Mexico. Showtime president David Nevins said that "the core of is Agent Cooper's odyssey back to Twin Peaks".
The season garnered critical acclaim, with praise centering on its unconventional narrative and structure, visual invention, and performances. Many publications, including Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, and Esquire, named it the best television show of 2017. The film journals Sight & Sound and Cahiers du cinéma named The Return the second-best and best "film" of the year respectively, sparking discussion about the artistic difference, if any, between theatrical film and TV series in the era of streaming. In December 2019, Vulture critics named The Return the best television series of the 2010s, while Cahiers du cinéma named it the best film of the decade.

Production

Background and development

The first season of Twin Peaks premiered on April 8, 1990, on ABC. It was one of the top-rated series of 1990, but declining ratings led to its cancellation in 1991 after its second season. In subsequent years, Twin Peaks has often been listed among the greatest television dramas of all time. A prequel film directed by Lynch, , was released in 1992, but in 2001 Lynch stated that Twin Peaks was as "dead as a doornail."
In 2007 artist Matt Haley began work on a graphic novel continuation, which he hoped would be included in the "Complete Mystery" DVD box set. Twin Peaks producer Robert Engels agreed to help write it on the condition that Lynch and Frost approved the project; Haley said: " and I had a number of discussions about what the story would be. I was keen to use whatever notes they had for the proposed third season. I really wanted this to be a literal 'third season' of the show." Paramount Home Entertainment agreed to package it with the box set, also on the condition that Lynch and Frost approved. Though Frost approved the project, Lynch vetoed it, saying that he respected the effort but did not want to continue the story of Twin Peaks.
In 2013 rumors that Twin Peaks would return were dismissed by Lynch's daughter Jennifer Lynch as well as by Frost. Cast member Ray Wise recounted what Lynch had said to him about a possible continuation: "Well, Ray, you know, the town is still there. And I suppose it's possible that we could revisit it. Of course, already dead... but we could maybe work around that."
In January 2014 a casting call for a "Twin Peaks promo", directed by Lynch, was revealed to be the filming of a featurette for the Twin Peaks: The Complete Mystery Blu-ray set. In September 2014 Lynch answered a question about Twin Peaks at the Lucca Film Festival by saying it was a "tricky question", and that "there's always a possibility... and you just have to wait and see."

Announcement

On October 6, 2014, Showtime announced that it would air a nine-episode miniseries written by Lynch and Frost and directed by Lynch. Frost emphasized that the new episodes were not a remake or reboot but a continuation of the series. The episodes are set in the present day, and the passage of 25 years is an important element in the plot. As to whether the miniseries would become an ongoing series, Frost said: "If we have a great time doing it and everybody loves it and they decide there's room for more, I could see it going that way."
In March 2015 Lynch expressed doubts about the production due to "complications". Showtime confirmed the season was moving forward, stating: "Nothing is going on that's any more than any preproduction process with David Lynch. Everything is moving forward and everybody is crazy thrilled and excited." In April 2015 Lynch said he would not direct the nine episodes due to budget constraints. He and Showtime came to an agreement, with Lynch confirming on May 15, 2015, that he would direct, and that there would be more episodes than the originally announced nine. At a Twin Peaks panel in Seattle, cast members Sherilyn Fenn and Sheryl Lee said that the new season would consist of 18 episodes and Angelo Badalamenti would return as composer.

Casting

On January 12, 2015, Kyle MacLachlan was confirmed to return to the series. In October 2015 it was confirmed that Michael Ontkean, who portrayed Sheriff Harry S. Truman and had since retired from acting, would not return for the revival, and that the role of town sheriff would be filled by Robert Forster, later confirmed as playing Frank Truman, brother of Harry. Forster had been cast as Harry in the 1990 pilot but was replaced by Ontkean due to scheduling issues. Also in October David Duchovny teased his return as Agent Denise Bryson. In November 2015 it was reported that Miguel Ferrer would reprise his role as Albert Rosenfield and that Richard Beymer and David Patrick Kelly would return as Benjamin Horne and Jerry Horne respectively. In December 2015 Alicia Witt confirmed she would reprise her role as Gersten Hayward. Michael J. Anderson was asked to reprise his role as The Man from Another Place but declined.
Russ Tamblyn underwent open-heart surgery in late 2014 and was still recovering in 2015. Lynch and Frost still hoped Tamblyn would join the cast for the new season, which was later confirmed. On September 28, 2015, Catherine E. Coulson, who reprised her role of the Log Lady in the new season, died of cancer. She filmed her final scene four days before her death.
The season's first teaser trailer, released in December 2015, confirmed the involvement of Michael Horse. In January 2016 it was reported that Sherilyn Fenn would reprise her role as Audrey Horne in a "major presence." In February 2016 it was reported that Lynch would reprise his role as Gordon Cole. Frequent Lynch collaborator Laura Dern was cast in a "top-secret pivotal role", which eventually proved to be Diane, the previously unseen character to whom Cooper frequently dictated taped messages during the show's original run. In April 2016 a complete cast list was released, featuring 217 actors, with actors returning from the earlier series marked with asterisks. Mary Reber, who plays Alice Tremond in the finale, is the actual owner of the house used for the Palmer residence.
David Bowie was asked to make a cameo appearance as FBI Agent Phillip Jeffries, his character from . As Bowie's health was declining, his lawyer told Lynch that he was unavailable. Before his death in January 2016, Bowie gave the production permission to reuse old footage featuring him, but he was unhappy with the accent he had used in the film, and requested that he be dubbed over by an authentic Louisiana actor, leading to the casting of Nathan Frizzell as Jeffries's voice. In January and February 2017, respectively, cast members Miguel Ferrer and Warren Frost died, but both appear in the new season. Harry Dean Stanton, who reprised his role as Carl Rodd, died in September 2017, less than two weeks after the last episode of the season aired.

Filming

In July 2015 Frost suggested that the season would premiere in 2017 rather than 2016, as originally planned. The series began filming in September 2015 and Showtime president David Nevins said:
In January 2016 Nevins confirmed that the season would premiere in the first half of 2017. The season was shot continuously from a single, long shooting script before being edited into episodes. Filming was completed by April 2016.

Music

The season's score contains new and reused compositions by Angelo Badalamenti, dark ambient music and sound design by Dean Hurley and David Lynch, and unreleased music from Lynch and Badalamenti's 1990s project Thought Gang, two of which previously appeared in Fire Walk with Me. Hurley's contributions were released on the album ' on August 6, 2017, by Sacred Bones Records. Several tracks from Johnny Jewel's album Windswept also appear throughout. Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima by Krzysztof Penderecki appears in key scenes.
Angelo Badalamenti's score was released on September 8, 2017, by Rhino Records as '.
Additionally, multiple episodes contain musical performances at the Roadhouse. Lynch hand-picked several of the bands, including Nine Inch Nails, Sharon Van Etten, Chromatics, and Eddie Vedder. , an album containing many of these performances along with other songs heard on the season, was released by Rhino Records on September 8, 2017.
EpisodeArtistSong
Part 2
Part 12		Chromatics "Shadow"
"Saturday"
Part 3The Cactus Blossoms "Mississippi"
Part 4
Part 9		Au Revoir Simone "Lark"
"A Violent Yet Flammable World"
Part 5Trouble "Snake Eyes"
Part 6Sharon Van Etten, with Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs, John Phillip Irons III and Zeke Hutchins"Tarifa"
Part 8Nine Inch Nails "She's Gone Away"
Part 9Hudson Mohawke"Human"
Part 10Rebekah Del Rio"No Stars"
Part 13James Marshall ""
Part 14Lissie, with Eric Sullivan, Lewis Keller and Jesse Siebenberg"Wild West"
Part 15The Veils "Axolotl"
Part 16Eddie Vedder "Out of Sand"
Part 17Julee Cruise, with Chromatics"The World Spins"

Other music, mostly played diegetically includes:
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and "Last Call" by David Lynch are played slowed down significantly.

Cast

Twin Peaks
Government
Las Vegas
South Dakota
Supernatural
Michael J. Anderson did not reprise his role as The Man from Another Place, who instead appears as a treelike computer-generated effect and is voiced by an uncredited actor. When asked who provided the voice for the CGI character, executive producer Sabrina Sutherland replied, "Unfortunately, I think this question should remain a mystery and not be answered."
Other
New York
New Mexico, 1956
Montana
Odessa
Notes

Episodes

Response

Release

The season premiered on Showtime on May 21, 2017, with a two-hour episode. After the airing, the premiere and an additional two episodes became available online, and the season aired in weekly increments from that point onwards. Overall, the series consists of 18 episodes. It concluded on September 3, 2017, with a two-part finale.
In the United Kingdom, Sky Atlantic simulcast the first two episodes beginning at 2:00 am British Summer Time on May 22, 2017, and the next two episodes were released on Sky UK's on-demand service after the premiere. In the Nordic countries, the season is broadcast on HBO Nordic, with the two-hour premiere airing on May 22, and subsequent episodes being made available the day after its U.S. airing. In Canada, the season is available on CraveTV and The Movie Network, and debuted simultaneously with the U.S. broadcast. In Australia, episodes of the season are available to stream on Stan the same day as the original U.S. broadcast. In Japan, the season aired on the satellite television network Wowow, which also aired the original series.
Two episodes were screened at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. The Return was screened in its entirety from January 5–7, 2018, at the Museum of Modern Art, as part of the museum's annual series on "the year's finest films".

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the season has a 94% rating with an average score of 7.83 out of 10 based on 95 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Surreal, suspenseful, and visually stunning, this new Twin Peaks is an auteurist triumph for David Lynch." On Metacritic, Twin Peaks has a score of 74 out of 100 based on 26 reviews.
Sean T. Collins of Rolling Stone called the season "one of the most groundbreaking TV series ever", praising its original, complex storylines and the performances of its cast, particularly Kyle MacLachlan. Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture wrote that the show was "the most original and disturbing to hit TV drama since The Sopranos". In his season review for IGN, Matt Fowler noted that Twin Peaks "came back as a true artistic force that challenged just about every storytelling convention we know" and scored it an 8.8 out of 10.
Of the season's two-part premiere, Sonia Saraiya of Variety wrote "Twin Peaks: The Return is weird and creepy and slow. But it is interesting. The show is very stubbornly itself—not quite film and not quite TV, rejecting both standard storytelling and standard forms. It's not especially fun to watch and it can be quite disturbing. But there is never a sense that you are watching something devoid of vision or intention. Lynch's vision is so total and absolute that he can get away with what wouldn't be otherwise acceptable."
The Hollywood Reporters Daniel Fienberg wrote of the season's format, "It's obvious this Twin Peaks is going to be an 18-hour unit. There was no discernible separation between hours and if credits hadn't rolled, the second hour could probably just as easily have flowed into the third. This isn't episodic TV. It's another thing."
In her "A" grade review of the premiere, Emily L. Stephens of The A.V. Club wrote of its possible reception by critics and viewers, "If you were looking forward to a return of the sometimes campy, sometimes cozy humor of the original two seasons of Twin Peaks, this premiere could come as a shock. If you were anticipating that once jolting, now familiar blend of genres, this is... not that." She called the two-part premiere "pure Lynchian horror".
Lynch screened the two-hour premiere of the season at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and received a five-minute standing ovation from the crowd.
Sight & Sound and Cahiers du cinéma magazines named Twin Peaks: The Return respectively as the second-best and the best "film" of the year, with Sight & Sound placing it behind only the psychological horror film Get Out. Metacritic ranked Twin Peaks the second-best TV series of 2017; 20 major publications ranked it the best show of the year. In 2019, Twin Peaks: The Return was ranked 22nd on The Guardians list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.
Writer-director Jim Jarmusch called the season "a masterpiece" and the single best piece of American cinema from the last 10 years.

Critics' top ten lists

Ratings

The two-hour premiere on May 21, 2017, received 506,000 viewers on Showtime, which Deadline Hollywood called "soft for such a strongly promoted prestige project". Ratings increased to 626,000 after the encore broadcasts that night and the premiere also had over 450,000 viewers via streaming and on-demand.
Viewership for the premiere increased to 804,000 in Live+3 ratings, and it had a viewership of 1.7 million across streaming and on-demand platforms. Showtime announced that the weekend of the Twin Peaks premiere had the most signups to their streaming service ever. Prior to the finale, the season was averaging 2 million weekly viewers, when including time-shifting, encores and streaming. Showtime president David Nevins said that Twin Peaks "has exceeded expectations" from a financial perspective.

Awards and nominations

YearCeremonyCategoryRecipientResult
2018Art Directors Guild AwardsOne-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Television SeriesRuth De Jong
2018Cinema Audio Society AwardsOutstanding Achievement In Sound Mixing – Television Movie or Mini-SeriesDouglas Axtell, Ron Eng, Dean Hurley
2018Dorian AwardsTV Drama of the YearTwin Peaks: The Return
2018Dorian AwardsTV Performance of the Year – ActorKyle MacLachlan
2018Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmKyle MacLachlan
2018Golden Reel AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Episodic Short FormDavid Lynch, Dean Hurley
2018Saturn AwardsBest Television PresentationTwin Peaks: The Return
2018Saturn AwardsBest Actor on TelevisionKyle MacLachlan
2018Saturn AwardsBest Supporting Actor on TelevisionMiguel Ferrer
2018Saturn AwardsBest Guest Performance in a Television SeriesDavid Lynch
2018Saturn AwardsBest DVD or Blu-ray Television ReleaseTwin Peaks: A Limited Event Series
2018TCA AwardOutstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and SpecialsTwin Peaks: The Return
201870th Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama SpecialDavid Lynch and Mark Frost
201870th Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama SpecialDavid Lynch
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program Ruth De Jong, Cara Brower, Florencia Martin
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or MoviePeter Deming for "Part 8"
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or MovieDuwayne Dunham for "Part 8"
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or MovieClare M. Corsick, Bryn Leetch
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Makeup for a Limited Series or Movie Debbie Zoller, Richard Redlefsen
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie or SpecialRon Eng, Dean Hurley, David Lynch, David A. Cohen, Kerry Dean Williams, Luke Gibleon, Willard Overstreet for "Part 8"
201870th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy AwardsOutstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or MovieRon Eng, Dean Hurley, Douglas Axtell for "Part 8"

Home media

The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 5, 2017, under the title Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series. The set includes more than six hours of behind-the-scenes content.
In the 2017 Home Media Awards, which honor the year's best home video releases, Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series won four awards: Title of the Year, TV on Disc of the Year, Best TV Movie or Miniseries, and Best Extras/Bonus Material.

Future

Lynch and Frost have expressed interest in making another season of Twin Peaks, but Lynch has noted that such a project would not immediately follow The Return, given that it took them four and a half years to write and film the third season. In June 2018, Lynch said the story was "calling", but that "there are a lot of disturbances"; in August, he said he was working through ideas with producer Sabrina Sutherland. In April 2020, he said "nothing was happening" regarding further Twin Peaks.