15 Juicy Details Revealed About The New 'Twin Peaks'
"I'll see you again in 25 years" Laura Palmer promised Agent Cooper in the now legendary "Red Room" of the original Twin Peaks, the utterly surreal series that took us under the skin of a remote American mill town. Now it's 2017, the year that we finally get to reprise the weirdest series ever made, a full 25 years after the last series ended. Logical continuity be gone! It's time once more for Twin Peaks, the show that was completely compulsive precisely because we HAD to know what happened next as it unfurled its surreal and winding plots, subplots, secrets and strange coincidences. The original series left us on tenterhooks with a whole bunch of cliffhangers and finally it is the year that David Lynch's classic series, which has enthralled generations ever since its original release, is BACK with a vengeance. The exact date when the series will once again weave its magic spell over us once more is still shrouded in mystery. But, in the way that secrets leaks through the cracks in the population of Twin Peaks, a few juicy tidbits about the new show have found their way into the public domain, much to the greedy delectation of the show's legion of devoted fans. Don't worry, none of the leaked information is going to spoil the joy of revisiting the strangest series ever to flicker across our TV screens. But it might stoke the fire for the most truly "cult" followers a series ever had. Although it may seem like any other American town, Twin Peaks takes us into the maddest, most otherworldly and compelling terrain of any show we've ever seen. Detective Dale Cooper-like, we've been searching for clues, and here are some of the secrets we've managed to unearth about the new series…
15 How will we be watching Twin Peaks in 2017?
Naturally, you'll be wondering in what format we can expect to feast on the cherry pie that is the new Twin Peaks series. Because naturally, your favorite surreal series will not be dropping in any old standard format. It's been twenty-five years since the denouement of the original series, and in the meantime (as you've probably noticed) the digital revolution has kind of happened. As with every aspect of the new series, the exact answer is shrouded in mystery. But what we do know is that it's unlikely to be a one-a-week regular TV slot. The boss of Showtime, which will be airing the series, David Nevins, has said "I want to embrace the unusualness of it, and I think it is quite possible we're not going to do a traditional release pattern," so it seems that the content of Twin Peaks' weird world is going to be matched with its form. Nevins hinted tantalizingly at some experimental release tactics: "I can definitely see longer episodes or the question of how we release it linearly and for those who want to stream it."
14 What is the premise of the new series?
Unraveling the coded messages of the original murder investigation was one of the most compulsive aspects of the show. So what new evidence has turned up that's given detective Dale Cooper something new to go on? Well, the synopsis of Lynch's co-writer Mark Frost's upcoming book, The Secret History of Twin Peaks has proffered some juicy clues. It says: "Twenty-five years [after Dale Cooper's investigation of the murder of Laura Palmer], the FBI gets hold of a box it won't divulge the provenance of. In the box, a huge dossier. A female FBI agent is tasked to analyze all the documents inside, and everything related to the strange town of Twin Peaks. She also has to determine the identity of the person who compiled the dossier. Along the way, she discovers secrets about the lives of the town's residents, but also investigative reports from Dale Cooper, who has since vanished, newspaper clippings, an autopsy report, and other classified information." We CAN'T WAIT to find out who the new female investigator is going to be.
13 Is David Lynch on board?
It could almost have been a perfectly planned piece of PR, but at one stage, David Lynch, the (excuse the pun) lynchpin of the whole world of Twin Peaks, pulled out of the making of the series and broke hearts the world over. In the uproar that followed and a typically Twin Peaks-like turn of events, the cast essentially blackmailed the studio by threatening to back out too if David wasn't reinstated with full directorial powers. They released this video, which features all your old favorite actors from the original humorously comparing "Twin Peaks without David Lynch" to a variety of things, including "a doughnut without a hole". Although the original series had a variety of writers (including one series 2 episode by Diane Keaton), David Lynch is back on board, and he and David Frost are driving the plot here. "We pledged right then and there that we were going to write it ourselves, and David said he wanted to direct all of them," Frost said. "And we'll produce them together." Pre-production started soon after Lynch and Showtime rebuilt their bridges, and filming wrapped in mid-April 2016.
12 Cherry pie teaser release
Yes, Lynch is back in the directing chair for the weirdest show we've ever been addicted to bow down Stranger Things, Black Mirror, and Arrested Development, the daddy of all wacky shows is soon to cast its compulsive spell over us once more. As you'll recall, in a typical blurring of fiction and reality, Peaks co-creator Lynch played a cameo role as Agent Cooper's boss Gordon Cole. And there's another one here featuring Peaks co-creator David Lynch as Agent Cooper's boss Gordon Cole. As if we needed any more inducement to feel as though perhaps Christmas is not quite over yet, a teaser video featuring Lynch back in character as Gordon Cole has been released. The film shows him munching on a doughnut (very much in character as a policeman then). But the world of Twin Peaks being what it is, we have to wonder, is it as simple as a man eating a doughnut, or are we about to fall down Alice in Wonderland-like through that very doughnut hole as we try once more to piece together the puzzle that is the new series. Is this our first clue?
11 How many episodes are we talking?
How many episodes can we expect? When the news that Twin Peaks Season 3 was a go was first confirmed, we were told that there would be nine episodes. And after the playoff between Lynch and Showtime, we will now be indulging in a thicker wedge of Peaks pie. Showtime CEO David Nevins elucidated the situation for us: "David will direct the whole thing which will total more than the originally announced nine hours… This damn fine cup of coffee from Mark and David tastes more delicious than ever. Totally worth the extra brewing time and the cup is even bigger than we expected." The exact number of episodes is yet to receive official confirmation, but cast members Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer) and Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne) spilled to fans that we can look forward to an 18 episode season. Nevins has since refused to corroborate this number, though, instead of floating the possibility of "longer episodes", which could mean that number changes.
10 We're *pretty* sure that the ring is going to feature in the new show
Nope, we're not talking "Lord of the", but about the ring with the jade stone carved with the mysterious Owl Cave symbol, that featured in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the film Lynch directed after the show was cancelled in 1992, a cryptic weave of all the series' trailing plot threads. Rumor has it that the ring could be back in the story of Series 3. In a deleted scene in "Fire Walk With Me", a nurse steals the ring from Annie Blackburn as she cares for her in the hospital, putting it on her left ring finger. So, not only is this mysterious trinket still in Twin Peaks, it's probably cropping up in the new season. One theory about the ring is that the Owl motif by some magic preserves the wearer from being possessed by the evil being known only as Bob, and will be pretty important if his dark presence still haunts the town. However, Laura Palmer was wearing the ring when she was murdered, launching the investigation and the original series, so who knows what the exact provenance and meaning of the mysterious ring might be - you'll have to tune in to find out.
9 There will probably be giants
Giants loom large in the occult world of Twin Peaks. And we're pretty sure that they are on the return because the actor who played the original giant in Series 2, Carel Struycken, is known to be reprising his role in Series 3. One plot thread can be traced to a minor character, Dougie Milford, who as a boy saw a strange, imperious figure watching him in the midst of a fierce storm whilst in the seemingly charged woods near Twin Peaks. In the book that followed the series, there are tales of nine-foot skeletons exhumed by archaeologists in the same region. But the most important giant so far is, without a doubt, the one encountered by Detective Cooper, who appears to be one of the more benevolent presences that inhabit the electric Black Lodge. We don't know exactly who or what these giants wish or portend, but some have speculated that they could, in fact, be the 'White Indians' we have yet to meet in the series. It could be that they offered the ring as a form of protection. Another clue we have yet to decipher is a number of giant-like figures depicted on the cave wall where the Owl mural is located. Seems like we'll have to wait until the release of the next installment to unearth the truth.
8 What happened to Audrey Horne?
The Horne family are BACK. Yes, everyone's favorite dysfunctional family is definitely making an appearance in Series 3. It's taken 25 years, but one of the most unbearable cliffhangers in TV history is finally going to be resolved. You may recall at the end of Season 2 that Audrey Horne (the one who can tie a cherry stalk in a knot with her tongue) handcuffed herself to the Twin Peaks bank vault, just as a bomb was triggered through the designs of the machiavellian Thomas Eckhart. The book that followed the series fills in some of the details in the interim: Audrey survives, but is badly injured, and, played by original actress Sherilyn Fenn, is back in Season 3, although the extent of her injuries is unknown. The book features a cameo of her father Ben Horne sobbing by her bedside, implying that they must have been serious. What state this leaves her in we will have to wait and see, but what is clear is that Audrey and the Hornes are returning as one of Twin Peaks' most beloved families.
7 Something's still up with Devil's Gate
Twin Peaks scriptwriter Mark Frost has woven the story of the town's hidden portal to the underworld together with obscure, real-world history in his book about the afterlife of the town and its inhabitants. That's why we're pretty sure that we haven't seen the last of the spirits that travel through Devil's Gate. In the book, Frost makes reference to Jack Parsons, a rocket scientist who was part of an occult religion. A rock formation in Pasadena believed by some to be a portal to Hell was allegedly the location of a ritual that the misguided occultist performed to summon a demon. We learned in the last series that while investigating Parsons, Twin Peaks inhabitant Dougie Milford visited the rock and was overcome with an “animalistic fear” of the same kind he felt when visiting Glastonbury Grove, the unnatural formation of sycamore trees around a pool of black oil in the woods around Twin Peaks. This could mean that Glastonbury Grove is not the only entrance to the Black Lodge. In the book, Milford is fearful that whatever the Black Lodge is, it is growing in power: “we are utterly incapable of knowing their intent” he says. Just maybe, we'll find out in Series 3.
6 We're probably going to be tuning in to Listening Post Alpha again
Major Garland Briggs, Bobby Briggs' father, is evasive in the show about why exactly he's based in the small town of Twin Peaks: “That's classified” he says, even to his own family. But we discover that he is in fact part of a government investigation into the Black Lodge, based up on Pine Mountain, one of the Twin Peaks. The listening post picks up signals that emanate from the woods which encircle the town. After the community complain about the listening post, they are sold a story about it being part of Ronald Reagan's notorious "Star Wars" project, but in fact, the investigation into Black Lodge continues. Briggs reveals some information to Cooper because it seems as though it was intended for him: "The owls are not what they seem". Although sadly, Don S. Davis, who played Major Briggs, died in 2008, the base is still an important connection to the Black Lodge, making it intrinsic (surely?) to the plot of the new Series. All we know is, something's afoot on Pine Mountain.
5 Will Angelo Badalamenti return to do the new Twin Peaks soundtrack?
Without a doubt, the haunting and bizarre soundtrack to the original Series was an essential part of its magic. Almost as essential as the involvement of David Lynch himself, if the third series is going to be the fitting reprisal we have dreamed of. But there has been no official confirmation that Lynch's long-time musical collaborator is working on the film. Initially, co-writer Frost said that it's "too early to say, I'd have to talk to David and see if he feels confident about that." But the girls (who we've relied upon for a number of pre-series release scoops) Sheryl Lee and Sherilyn Fenn did confirm that Angelo Badalamenti was on board. He has since featured in a teaser video, behind the keyboard playing 'Laura Palmer's Theme'. Naturally, the new Twin Peaks will sound and look on point. Lynch has promised "I've made television before. You build it for that. At the time, it was network television: the sound wasn't good. Now it's not so bad anymore… We're gonna do the same things, but in better quality. And film remains the best quality." Of course, in the 25-year interim, Lynch has launched his own career as a composer and musician, revealing that his unique vision stretches into the sonic. Who knows whether it will feature in the latest Twin Peaks.
4 Which characters can we expect to return in the new series?
And more importantly, will we ever find out who the mysterious Diane is that Dale Cooper addresses all his voice tapes to? If you're fretting about whether your favorite character is going to make it back onto the screen or not, fret not. The vast majority of the original cast will be returning for the sequel. Mark Frost, weaver of the epic Twin Peaks yarn, has promised fans that "Those who want to see old faces, and those would like to see new faces, none of them will be disappointed". What a relief for all of the die-hard aficionados of the magical original cast, a number of whom have confirmed that they are returning in the new series. As we know, Sherilyn Fenn, AKA the sassy Audrey Horne is one of their number and has expressed her delight that the Twin Peaks 'band' is back together. Frost has said "Hopefully everybody's story will get some attention." We're TOO excited to pick up our favorite subplots and re-immerse ourselves in the deliciously dreamlike world once again.
3 Do you need to have watched all of the original Twin Peaks?
If you weren't a fan of the original series, you soon will be. But given the intricate (and enjoyable) nature of the original, you're going to want to watch the first couple of series to really enjoy the latest one in its full glory. Otherwise, we might have to keep stopping to explain things to you and we need to devote our full attention to unraveling the hidden clues in the new series, and discussing our geekiest plot conspiracy theories at the end of every episode. So if you want to enjoy Series 3 to the fullest, we recommend that you get keen and put your 2017 to-do list on hold for a gosh-darned-minute while you get yourself briefed on the wackiest series ever. Series Co-writer Mark Frost has acknowledged the "passionate and dedicated and committed" Peaks fanbase and expressed his gratitude for them "keeping the flames alive". It was the result of pressure from these ardent fans that the new series is going to grace our screens. But Frost was keen to include newbies too: "At the same time we hope a whole bunch of people want to come to the party as well," he said. To help get us up to speed again, Showtime is going to repeat Seasons 1 and 2 in the drum-roll run up to Series 3.
2 Will Twin Peaks season three have an ending?
Don't get us wrong, we loved the ambivalent ending of the original Twin Peaks, which is why we're wondering what possible conclusion the latest series can draw. For all its flaws, and the criticism it attracted, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was also a seriously satisfying wrap up to the series. But once again, Mark Frost has stepped in to allay our obsessive fangirl fears. Frost has suggested that the new series is going to offer us an even more complete view of the mysterious and mad-seeming world of Twin Peaks than ever before. He has said of the new series: "It's our hope that these episodes will give the fans everything they felt they hadn't gotten the last time we left off." Tantalizing, like a delicious cherrrrrry pie. There certainly are enough mysteries that the original series left us hanging with, and we've wondered (almost) every day during the course of these past 25 years whether we'd ever know the truth. Luckily, Frost is promising fans that they will be satisfied by Series 3: "I think there will be a lot of things that people have wanted to know over the years that if they pay close attention, they are going to be satisfied."
1 Is the Twin Peaks revival a proper sequel?
Yes. Mark Frost, Lynch's Co-writer for the series has sworn that Series 3 "is not a remake. The story continues. The seeds of where we go were planted where we've been." He has even written a book called The Secret Lives of Twin Peaks, that bridges the gap of time that has passed between Laura's prophecy and the present, about-to-be-released Series. Frost said, "This has long been a dream project of mine that will bring a whole other aspect of the world of Twin Peaks to life, for old fans and new". The new book will nestle nicely between our copies of spin-off literature including The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, by Jennifer Lynch (David's daughter), and The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes by Scott Frost, Mark Frost's brother. It would seem that Twin Peaks' thickly wooded world of intrigue, plot, and character is mirrored by its creators, whose family trees are also implicated in weaving the story.