Twin Peaks - Season 3
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 (MacLachlan) and his 1989 investigation into the murder of Twin Peaks homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). 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, New Mexico, and Texas. Showtime president David Nevins said that "the core of [the story] is Agent Cooper's odyssey back to Twin Peaks".[6]
Twin Peaks - Season 3
The season garnered critical acclaim, with praise centering on its unconventional narrative and structure, visual invention, and performances.[7] Many publications, including Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, and Esquire, named it the best television show of 2017.[8] 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.[9][10][11] In December 2019, Vulture critics named The Return the best television series of the 2010s,[12] while Cahiers du cinéma named it the best film of the decade.[13]
The first season of Twin Peaks premiered on April 8, 1990, on ABC. It was one of the top-rated series of 1990, although its ratings declined in the second season. In subsequent years, Twin Peaks has often been listed among the greatest television dramas of all time.[15][16][17][18][19] Aaron Spelling Productions wanted to continue the series for a third season but ABC canceled it because of declining ratings and high production costs. The studio instead decided to continue the series through a trilogy of feature-length films financed by the French company Ciby 2000.[20] A prequel film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, was released in 1992, but received negative reviews and a poor commercial performance, leading to the cancellation of the other two films in the series. Lynch and Frost tried to develop a spin-off series centered around Audrey Horne, but the pilot episode evolved into the unrelated theatrical film Mulholland Drive.[21] In 2001 Lynch said that Twin Peaks was as "dead as a doornail."[22][23]
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: "[Engels] 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.[24]
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."[34] In April 2015 Lynch said he would not direct the nine episodes due to budget constraints.[35] 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.[3] 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.[36]
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.[42] On September 28, 2015, Catherine E. Coulson, who reprised her role of the Log Lady in the new season,[43] died of cancer.[44] She filmed her final scene four days before her death.[4][45]
The season's first teaser trailer, released in December 2015, confirmed the involvement of Michael Horse (Tommy "Hawk" Hill).[46] In January 2016 it was reported that Sherilyn Fenn would reprise her role as Audrey Horne in a "major presence."[47] In February 2016 it was reported that Lynch would reprise his role as Gordon Cole.[48] Frequent Lynch collaborator Laura Dern was cast in a "top-secret pivotal role",[49] 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.[50] Mary Reber, who plays Alice Tremond in the finale, is the actual owner of the house used for the Palmer residence.[51]
David Bowie was asked to make a cameo appearance as FBI Agent Phillip Jeffries, his character from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.[52] 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.[53] In January and February 2017, respectively, cast members Miguel Ferrer and Warren Frost died, but both appear in the new season. This was Ferrer's last live action television role before his death.[54][55] 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.[56]
In July 2015 Frost suggested that the season would premiere in 2017 rather than 2016, as originally planned.[57] The series began filming in September 2015 and Showtime president David Nevins said: .mw-parser-output .templatequoteoverflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequoteciteline-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0
In January 2016 Nevins confirmed that the season would premiere in the first half of 2017.[60] The season was shot continuously from a single, long shooting script before being edited into episodes. Filming was completed by April 2016.[4]
Additionally, multiple episodes contain musical performances at the Roadhouse.[63] Lynch hand-picked several of the bands, including Nine Inch Nails, Sharon Van Etten, Chromatics, and Eddie Vedder.[64] Twin Peaks: Music from the Limited Event Series, an album containing many of these performances along with other songs heard on the season, was released by Rhino Records on September 8, 2017.[62]
The season premiered on Showtime on May 21, 2017, with a two-hour episode.[1] After the airing, the premiere and an additional two episodes became available online, and the season aired in weekly increments from that point onwards (at Lynch's insistence). Overall, the series consists of 18 episodes.[1] It concluded on September 3, 2017, with a two-part finale.[104]
In the United Kingdom, Sky Atlantic simulcast the first two episodes beginning at 2:00 am British Summer Time on May 22, 2017,[105] and the next two episodes were released on Sky UK's on-demand service after the premiere.[106] 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.[107] In Canada, the season is available on CraveTV and The Movie Network, and debuted simultaneously with the U.S. broadcast.[108][109] In Australia, episodes of the season are available to stream on Stan the same day as the original U.S. broadcast.[110] In Japan, the season aired on the satellite television network Wowow, which also aired the original series.[111]
On Rotten Tomatoes the season has a 94% rating with an average score of 7.8 out of 10 based on 459 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Surreal, suspenseful, and visually stunning, this new Twin Peaks is an auteurist triumph for David Lynch."[7] On Metacritic, Twin Peaks has a score of 74 out of 100 based on 26 reviews.[114]
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.[115] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture wrote that the show was "the most original and disturbing to hit TV drama since The Sopranos".[116] 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.[117]
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... but pure Lynchian horror.[120]
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.[125] Showtime announced that the weekend of the Twin Peaks premiere had the most signups to their streaming service ever.[126] 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.[127]
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.[140][141] In June 2018, Lynch said the story was "calling", but that "there are a lot of disturbances";[142] in August, he said he was working through ideas with producer Sabrina Sutherland.[143] In April 2020, he said "nothing was happening" regarding further Twin Peaks.[144] 041b061a72