New Twin Peaks Coming From Showtime in 2016

Following teasers last week from creators David Lynch and Mark Frost, Showtime announced today that Twin Peaks will return in 2016, twenty-five years after Laura Palmer promises Agent Cooper that she would see him in 25 years.

With the Blu-ray box set in the rear-view mirror and months of rumors about a revival coming to nothing, it seemed likely fans wouldn't be hearing much more about Twin Peaks from co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost anytime soon. During production of the Blu-ray there had been talk of new material, but Lynch dismissed it as simply filming a promotional spot and some bonus features.

Recently, series star Kyle Maclachlan, currently appearing as Skye's father on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., tweeted out a photograph of himself with Lynch, which sparked its own round of conversation.

Deadline reports that the nine-episode series will go into production in 2015 for a premiere in 2016. Alll nine episodes will be written and produced by Lynch and Frost, with Lynch directing all nine.

While Lynch has never shut the door completely on making new Twin Peaks, he's certainly been much more reserved about it, and reluctant to speculate on the idea, than has Frost, who often says there are still ideas to be mined in the cult classic TV series.

The show ran for two seasons and spawned a prequel movie, and is widely regarded as one of the best series in television history. At the end of the second season, there was a tease (pictured above) that suggested there was more story to be told.

Earlier this year, actor Ray Wise (who played Laura's father on the series) suggested there was more to it than that when asked about the possibility of a remake.

"They wouldn't remake it. If anything was done, it would be 25 years later," Wise said. "It would never be a remake of anything we already did. Maybe you just didn't mean to use that word, I don't know. A remake, no, but it would be something new and fresh. David always said the town of Twin Peaks is still there; it's still going on whether we watch it or not. So, who knows what'll happen in the future? It would be 25 years later, not anything remade. Does that answer your question?"

This isn't the first time an attempt has been made to mount new content since the end of the series. Sherilyn Fenn almost starred in an Audrey Horne-centric spinoff that eventually evolved into Lynch's failed TV pilot and successful film Mulholland Drive. A Twin Peaks Season Three graphic novel was almost included with an exhaustive DVD box set released years ago, but writer/artist Matt Haley has said that after he got character sketches and an outline done, Lynch rejected the concept of anyone at all doing a follow-up of any kind at that time.

Twin Peaks returns in 2016. Wow, that's weird to say.