David Lynch’s Only Collaboration With HBO Is Now Almost Impossible to Watch

Though a cinema icon thanks to movies like Eraserhead and The Elephant Man, David Lynch also wasn’t afraid to explore the possibilities of television as well. The most obvious example of this was Twin Peaks and it’s two decades-later follow-up, but Lynch’s small-screen exploits also included the short-lived ABC program On the Air and initially conceiving Muholland Drive as a TV pilot for a series. Not to mention his acting, including a recurring guest role across 20 episodes of The Cleveland Show as Gus the Bartender. This filmmaking legend left an equally sizable impact on what television programming could even look like.

In his career, Lynch also worked just once with a network that upended the norms of TV the same way Lynch consistently subverted cinema conventions. HBO, the future home of The Sopranos and The White Lotus, aired a 1993 anthology series from Lynch and Monty Montgomery entitled Hotel Room. Unlike almost every other HBO series however, Hotel Room is now become difficult to find in the modern world.

The Inner Workings of the Hotel Room

Much like how Twin Peaks began with a feature-length pilot that worked as a standalone movie, Hotel Room’s three episodes were compiled into a single 99-minute entity that aired on January 8, 1993 on HBO. Per the norms of anthology programs, each Hotel Room episode focused on different characters occupying Room 603 of the Railroad Hotel. Across the initial installments, viewers are transported to three different points of time in the 20th century. If the program had been picked up for more episodes, who knows what further Rialroad Hotel time periods and adventures Lynch and company would have explored.

Lynch directed the first and third Hotel Room episodes, with James Signorelli helming the second installment. Lynch’s fingerprints were evident on key creative personnel on the show, like the use of composer Angelo Badalamenti or the initial episode being headlined by Lynch movie veterans Freddie Jones and Harry Dean Stanton. In the 21st century, there’s no question Hotel Room would’ve become appointment viewing for millions of viewers. However, back in 1993, HBO was still getting its feet wet in the world of original programming.

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The network had aired programs like Tales from the Crypt and documentary programs like Real Sex. However, Oz, the show that would really put HBO on the map for original scripted programming, was still four years away from airing. Not even Lynch’s buzzy name in the wake of Twin Peaks could get enough eyeballs onto Hotel Room. The show was never picked up for more episodes and quickly dovetailed into obscurity. Hotel Room could perhaps more easily garner a cult following today if it weren’t so impossible to watch.

What’s Behind Hotel Room’s Lack of Availability?

From a distance, one might assume an HBO show like Hotel Room not being accessible is a byproduct of HBO owner David Zaslav’s mandate to remove programming from Max. However, Hotel Room’s availability woes date back long before the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery. Hotel Room did receive a VHS release in the mid-90s, but it’s never appeared on any other home video format (save for a Japanese Laserdisc release).

While even a largely despised HBO show like John From Cincinnati received a proper DVD release, Lynch’s sole HBO production never got the same treatment. Without even a Warner Archive DVD/Blu-Ray release, it’s no surprise Hotel Room is also not available on streaming. There have never been public comments either from the team involved about greater external problems like rights issues preventing Hotel Room from getting an official 21st-century release. It simply seems like the network and its parent company aren’t interested in making something that went over so poorly in the early ’90s available to the general public.

That’s a crying shame, though, because even if Hotel Room isn’t The Straight Story 2.0, all art should be accessible to the general public. That’s doubly true when it involves a master like Lynch. With this legend gone, it’s more important than ever to appreciate every nook and cranny of his filmography, including more obscure creative exploits like Hotel Room. Plus, it’s important to remember these kinds of productions when considering HBO’s history. This network wasn’t always the home of Game of Thrones and The Last of Us. It was once a more ramshackle institution that could house oddball one-offs like Hotel Room. Both in terms of historical context and just getting as much Lynch media out to the public as possible, it’s a crying shame folks can’t officially check into Hotel Room.

David Lynch’s Hotel Rooms isn’t available for streaming on MAX, but those eager to give it a glance may be surprised by what they find from just searching on the internet.