The third season of ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

'', also known as ''Twin Peaks: The Return'' and ''Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series'', consists of 18 episodes and premiered on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on May 21, 2017. Developed and written by creators

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

and Mark Frost, with Lynch directing, the season is a continuation of the 1990–1991

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series and its 1992 theatrical prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me''. An ensemble of returning and new cast members appear, led by original star

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), as well as roles ...

. 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 Laura Palmer is a fictional character in the ''Twin Peaks'' franchise. She is portrayed by Sheryl Lee and was created by the series creators David Lynch and Mark Frost. She first appears in the ABC original series ''Twin Peaks''. A high schoo ...

( Sheryl Lee). In addition to the fictional

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

town of Twin Peaks, the story extends to locations such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Showtime president David Nevins said that "the core of

he story He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', named it the best television show of 2017. The film journals '' Sight & Sound'' and ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

'' 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 Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

. In December 2019,

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

critics named ''The Return'' the best television series of the 2010s, while ''Cahiers du cinéma'' named it the best film of the decade.

Synopsis

25 years after the

cliffhanger ending A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhange ...

of the original series, FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (

) remains trapped in the

Black Lodge Twin Peaks, Washington is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Washington, serving as the primary setting of the television series ''Twin Peaks'', created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, and the 2017 revival '' Twin Peaks: The Return''. It was a ...

and prepares his return to the world. Meanwhile, Cooper's

doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...

—host to the evil spirit

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

—lives in Cooper's place and works to prevent his own imminent return to the Black Lodge with the help of various associates. A message from the

Log Lady Margaret Lanterman (), better known as the Log Lady, is a character in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–2017), created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. She appears in both seasons of the show, the prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk w ...

(

Catherine Coulson Catherine Elizabeth Coulson (October 22, 1943 – September 28, 2015) was an American stage and screen actress who worked behind the scenes on various studio features, magazine shows and independent films as well as acting in theater and film s ...

) leads members of the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Department to reopen investigations into the events surrounding the 1989 murder of homecoming queen

( Sheryl Lee). The mysterious murder of a librarian in Buckhorn,

attracts the attention of FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole (

) and his colleagues.

Production

Background and development

The first season of ''

'' premiered on April 8, 1990, on

. 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."25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''. August 3, 2012, p. 40.

Aaron Spelling Productions Spelling Television Inc. was an American television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Gro ...

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 Ciby 2000 (also written as CiBy 2000 and CIBY 2000) is a French film production and distribution company founded in 1990 by Francis Bouygues. It was best known for producing art house and independent films in France and in other countries. The ...

. 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 Audrey Horne is a fictional character from the ABC television series ''Twin Peaks'', played by Sherilyn Fenn. The character was created by David Lynch. She was introduced in the pilot. The daughter of Ben and Sylvia Horne, sister of Johnny Horn ...

, but the pilot episode evolved into the unrelated theatrical film '' Mulholland Drive''. In 2001 Lynch said that ''Twin Peaks'' was as "dead as a doornail." In 2007 artist

Matt Haley Matt Haley (born June 10, 1970) is an American film director, art director and book illustrator artist. He was the art director of Morgan Spurlock's ''Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope'' feature documentary, which debuted at the 2010 Toronto Inte ...

began work on a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

continuation, which he hoped would be included in the "Complete Mystery" DVD box set. ''Twin Peaks'' producer

Robert Engels Robert Engels (born 1949) is an American born writer, producer, and director as well as being a professor of screenwriting at Cal State Fullerton. Biography He graduated from Saint John's Preparatory School in Collegeville, Minn. in 1967. He wrot ...

agreed to help write it on the condition that Lynch and Frost approved the project; Haley said: " ngelsand 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 (author of '' The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer'') as well as by Frost. Cast member

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...

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,

our character is Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of "we" * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a Politics of Jamaica#Regulator ...

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,

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 Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer, best known for his work scoring films for director David Lynch, notably '' Blue Velvet'', the ''Twin Peaks'' saga (1990–1992, 2017), ''The Straight St ...

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 Michael Leonard Ontkean (born 24 January 1946) is a retired Canadian actor. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing ...

, 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 David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

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 George Richard Beymer Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the film version of ''West Side Story'' (1961), Peter in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and Ben Horne on the telev ...

and

David Patrick Kelly David Patrick Kelly (born January 23, 1951) is an American actor, musician and lyricist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is best known for his role as the main antagonist, Luther, in the cult film '' The Warriors'' (19 ...

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 Michael J. Anderson (born October 31, 1953) is a retired American actor known for his roles as The Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series ''Twin Peaks'', the prequel film for the series, ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and a ...

was asked to reprise his role as

The Man from Another Place The Man from Another Place (played by Michael J. Anderson), also known as The Arm, is a character from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He is an inhabitant of the Black Lodge, a realm of pure evil. He w ...

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 Catherine Elizabeth Coulson (October 22, 1943 – September 28, 2015) was an American stage and screen actress who worked behind the scenes on various studio features, magazine shows and independent films as well as acting in theater and film s ...

, who reprised her role of the

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 (Tommy "Hawk" Hill). In January 2016 it was reported that Sherilyn Fenn would reprise her role as

in a "major presence." In February 2016 it was reported that Lynch would reprise his role as Gordon Cole. Frequent Lynch collaborator

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and ac ...

was cast in a "top-secret pivotal role", which eventually proved to be Diane, the previously

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and wh ...

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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

was asked to make a cameo appearance as FBI Agent

Phillip Jeffries Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Special Agent Phillip Jeffries is a fictional character in the Twin Peaks, ''Twin Peaks'' franchise. He was created by series creator David Lynch and portrayed by David Bowie and voiced and dubbed by Nathan Friz ...

, his character from '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me''. 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 Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

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. This was Ferrer's last live action television role before his death. 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

, dark ambient music and sound design by Dean Hurley and David Lynch (including some from '' The Air Is on Fire''), 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 '' Anthology Resource Vol. 1: △△'' on August 6, 2017, by Sacred Bones Records. Several tracks from

Johnny Jewel Johnny Jewel (born John David Padgett; May 31, 1974) is an American musician, record producer, composer, and visual artist. He is a multi-instrumentalist who is known for using all-analog equipment. Jewel has been recording and releasing materia ...

's album ''Windswept'' also appear throughout. ''

Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 string instruments'') , other_name = , year = , catalogue = , period = Contemporary, postmodernism , genre = Sonorism, avant-gar ...

'' by Krzysztof Penderecki appears in key scenes. Angelo Badalamenti's score was released on September 8, 2017, by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

as '' Twin Peaks: Limited Event Series Original Soundtrack''. Additionally, multiple episodes contain musical performances at the Roadhouse. Lynch hand-picked several of the bands, including

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

, Sharon Van Etten, Chromatics, and

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

. '' 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. Other music, mostly played diegetically includes: *"American Woman" (David Lynch Remix) by Muddy Magnolias *" Take Five" by

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

*" I Love How You Love Me" by

The Paris Sisters The Paris Sisters were a 1960s American girl group from San Francisco, California, United States, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. Career The group consisted of lead singer Priscilla Paris (January 4, 1941 – March 5, 200 ...

*"I Am (Old School Hip Hop Beat)" by Blunted Beatz *"Habit" and "Tabloid" by Uniform *"

Sleep Walk Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...

" by Santo & Johnny *" Green Onions" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s *" My Prayer" by The Platters *"Charmaine" by Mantovani *"

Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry bet ...

" by Shawn Colvin *"

I've Been Loving You Too Long "I've Been Loving You Too Long" (originally "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)") is a soul music ballad written by Otis Redding and Jerry Butler. Considered by music critics and writers to be one of Redding's finest performances and a ...

" (

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

) by Otis Redding *" Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top *"Windswept", “Slow Dreams”, “The Flame” by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's '' Moonlight Sonata'' and "

Last Call In a Bar (establishment), bar, a last call (last orders) is an Wiktionary:announcement, announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to ...

" by

are played slowed down significantly.

Cast

as: **Special Agent Dale Cooper **Cooper's

**Douglas "Dougie" Jones **Richard **Cooper's Tulpa Twin Peaks *Jay Aaseng as Drunk * Mädchen Amick as Shelly Briggs * Dana Ashbrook as Deputy Sheriff

Bobby Briggs The following is a list of characters from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', the film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and the 2017 revival. Overview Concepts Bob Frank Silva was a set decorator who worked on the pilot episode. ...

Phoebe Augustine Phoebe Ellen Ceresia (born April 1, 1967) (known professionally as Phoebe Augustine) is an American actress best known for playing Ronette Pulaski in ''Twin Peaks''. Career She portrayed Laura Palmer's friend Ronette Pulaski in several episo ...

as Ronette Pulaski *

as Benjamin Horne * Gia Carides as Hannah *

Vincent Castellanos Vincent Castellanos (born February 7, 1961) is an American actor. Castellanos is best known for his roles as Mateo in the adventure- horror film ''Anaconda'' and Spider Monkey in '' The Crow: City of Angels''. Filmography *'' The Crow: City of ...

as Federico * Michael Cera as Wally "Brando" Brennan * Joan Chen as Josie Packard *

Candy Clark Candace June Clark is an American actress and model. She is well known for her roles as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film ''American Graffiti'', for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Mary Lou i ...

as Doris Truman * Scott Coffey as Trick *

as Margaret Lanterman / "The Log Lady" *

Grace Victoria Cox Grace Victoria Cox (born March 10, 1995) is an American actress. She is known for playing Melanie Cross in the CBS series '' Under the Dome'' (2014–2015), Veronica Sawyer in the Paramount Network series ''Heathers'' (2018), and Lexie in the Ne ...

as Charlotte * Jan D'Arcy as Sylvia Horne *

Eric Da Re Eric Da Re (born March 3, 1965) is an American actor who played the notorious criminal Leo Johnson on the TV show ''Twin Peaks'' and its prequel film, '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me''. He has worked behind the scenes in several other films by ...

as Leo Johnson * Ana de la Reguera as Natalie * Hugh Dillon as Tom Paige *

Eamon Farren Eamon Farren (born 19 May 1985) is an Australian actor. Following starring roles in the films '' X: Night of Vengeance'' (2011) and '' Chained'' (2012), he came to prominence for portraying Richard Horne in the 2017 revival of ''Twin Peaks''. H ...

as Richard Horne * Sherilyn Fenn as

* Sky Ferreira as Ella * Robert Forster as Sheriff Frank Truman * Mark Frost as Cyril Pons * Warren Frost as Dr. Will Hayward * Balthazar Getty as Red *

Harry Goaz Harry Goaz (born December 27, 1960 as Harry Preston King) is an American actor best known for his roles as Deputy Andy Brennan in the TV drama series, ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), and as Sgt. Knight in the NBC TV series, '' Eerie Indiana ...

as Deputy Sheriff

Andy Brennan Andrew Brennan (born 1 April 1993) is an Australian professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger or striker (association football), striker for South Melbourne FC, South Melbourne. In May 2 ...

Grant Goodeve Grant Goodeve (born July 6, 1952) is an American actor and television host. He is best known for his role as David Bradford, the eldest son on ABC television's ''Eight Is Enough'' from 1977 to 1981; he sang the theme song for the show, as well. M ...

as Walter Lawford *

Andrea Hays Andrea Hays is an American actress, producer, screenwriter, costume designer, and nurse, best known for her role as Heidi in ''Twin Peaks'' which she played in both the 1990 original series and the 2017 revival, '' Twin Peaks: The Return,'' t ...

as Heidi *

Gary Hershberger Gary Hershberger (born April 5, 1964) is an American actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his television roles as Mike Nelson in ''Twin Peaks'' (1989–1991; 2017) and Matthew Gilardi on '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2002). Early life an ...

as Mike Nelson * Michael Horse as Deputy Chief Tommy "Hawk" Hill * Caleb Landry Jones as Steven Burnett * Ashley Judd as Beverly Paige *

Jerry Horne The following is a list of characters from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', the film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and the 2017 revival. Overview Concepts Bob Frank Silva was a set decorator who worked on the pilot episode. ...

* Piper Laurie as Catherine Martell *

Jane Levy Jane Colburn Levy ( ; born ) is an American actress. After attending the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, she debuted as the original Mandy Milkovich on the Showtime comedy-drama '' Shameless'' (2011). Levy left ''Shameless'' following its first ...

as Elizabeth * Peggy Lipton as Norma Jennings *Sarah Jean Long as Miriam Sullivan *Riley Lynch as Bing * James Marshall as James Hurley * Everett McGill as Ed Hurley *

Clark Middleton Clark Tinsley Middleton (April 13, 1957 – October 4, 2020) was an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' Kill Bill: Vol. 2'', ''Sin City'', ''Fringe'', ''Snowpiercer'', and ''The Blacklist''. Career Middleton's first ...

as Charlie * Jack Nance as Pete Martell *

Walter Olkewicz Walter Olkewicz (May 14, 1948 – April 6, 2021) was an American character actor. He played Marko in the short-lived TV series ''Wizards and Warriors'' and Coach Wordman in the feature film '' Making the Grade''. Biography Olkewicz was born in B ...

as Jacques Renault and Jean-Michel Renault *John Pirruccello as Deputy Sheriff Chad Broxford *Mary Reber as Alice Tremond *

Kimmy Robertson Kimmy Robertson is an American actress best known for her role as Lucy Moran in the TV series ''Twin Peaks'' and for the film ''The Last American Virgin''. Career Robertson's high-pitched voice has led to roles in animated series such as '' Batm ...

Lucy Brennan Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...

Wendy Robie Wendy Robie is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Nadine Hurley in David Lynch's television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991) and the prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992). She also starred in two of Wes Cra ...

as Nadine Hurley *Eric Rondell as Johnny Horne *Marvin "Marv" Rosand as Toad *

Rod Rowland Rodney G. Rowland (born February 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is credited as Rod Rowland in more recent productions, given his predilection to being called Rod. Rowland's most noted appearances to date were as 1st Lieutenant Cooper Hawkes ...

as Chuck * Amanda Seyfried as Rebecca 'Becky' Burnett * Harry Dean Stanton as Carl Rodd *JR Starr as MC * Charlotte Stewart as Betty Briggs * Jessica Szohr as Renee * Russ Tamblyn as

Dr. Lawrence Jacoby The following is a list of characters from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', the film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and the 2017 revival. Overview Concepts Bob Frank Silva was a set decorator who worked on the pilot episode ...

* Jodi Thelen as Maggie * Lauren Tewes as Gersten's neighbor *Jake Wardle as Freddie Sykes * Alicia Witt as

Gersten Hayward The following is a list of characters from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', the film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and the 2017 revival. Overview Concepts Bob Frank Silva was a set decorator who worked on the pilot episode. ...

Karolina Wydra Karolina Wydra ( ; born March 5, 1981) is a Polish-American actress and model. She played Dominika Petrova on the Fox medical drama series '' House'', and vampire Violet Mazurski on the HBO dark fantasy series ''True Blood''. Wydra has starred ...

as Chloe *

Charlyne Yi Charlyne Amanda Yi (born January 4, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. Their performances include music, magic, games, and often audience participation. Their screenwriting debut, the feature film '' Paper Heart'', wo ...

as Ruby *

Grace Zabriskie Grace Zabriskie (' Caplinger; born May 17, 1941) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sarah Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Lois Henrickson in '' ...

as Sarah Palmer Government *Chrysta Bell as Special Agent Tammy Preston *

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

as Bill Kennedy *

as Diane Evans *

as FBI Chief of Staff Denise Bryson * Jay R. Ferguson as Special Agent Randall Headley * Miguel Ferrer as Special Agent

Albert Rosenfield The following is a list of characters from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', the film ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and the Twin Peaks (season 3), 2017 revival. Overview Concepts Bob Frank Silva was a set decorator who worked ...

* Ernie Hudson as Colonel Davis *

as FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole *Adele René as Lieutenant Cynthia Knox *Owain Rhys-Davies as Agent Wilson Las Vegas *

Alon Aboutboul Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India. Early life Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...

as Head Mover * Joe Adler as Roger *Tammie Baird as Lorraine *

Jim Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...

as Bradley Mitchum * John Billingsley as Doctor Ben *

Ronnie Gene Blevins Ronnie Gene Blevins (born June 20, 1977) is an American character actor. He is best known for his role as small-time criminal Willie Russell in the 2013 film ''Joe'', directed by David Gordon Green. Career His TV credits include '' NCIS'', ''Tr ...

as Tommy * Wes Brown as Darren *Juan Carlos Cantu as Officer Reynaldo *Larry Clarke as Detective T. Fusco *

Jonny Coyne Jonathan "Jonny" Coyne (born 1 January 1953) is an English actor known for playing Warden Edwin James on Fox's short-lived series, ''Alcatraz'' (2012). He also appeared as Dr. Lydgate in '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' and '' Once Upon a T ...

as Polish Accountant *Giselle Damier as Sandie * David Dastmalchian as Pit Boss Warrick * Jeremy Davies as Jimmy *

Eric Edelstein Eric Edelstein is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Bobby Mallison in '' Shameless'', Chad in ''Clarence'', B.O.B. in the '' Monsters vs. Aliens'' television adaptation, and Grizzly "Grizz" in ''We Bare Bears ...

as Detective "Smiley" Fusco * John Ennis as Slot Machine Man *

Josh Fadem Josh Fadem (; born July 19, 1980) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. Early life Fadem was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended Booker T. Washington High School. He has lived and worked in Los Angeles since 2000. Career ...

as Phil Bisby *

Rebecca Field Rebecca Field is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lacey Jean-Locklin in the Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime drama series ''The Client List (TV series), The Client List''. She is also known for the role of Gail in the 2018 fi ...

as Another Mom *

Patrick Fischler Patrick S. Fischler (born December 29, 1969) is an American character actor known for his roles as Jimmy Barrett on the drama series ''Mad Men'', Dharma Initiative worker Phil on the drama series '' Lost'' and Detective Kenny No-Gun on the poli ...

as Duncan Todd * Meg Foster as Cashier *

Pierce Gagnon Pierce Gagnon (born July 25, 2005) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the film ''Looper'' and in the CBS series ''Extant'', as well as voicing Tim Templeton in the Netflix series '' The Boss Baby: Back in Business''. Personal life ...

as Sonny Jim Jones *

Hailey Gates Hailey Gates is an American model, actress, director, and journalist. She hosted the Viceland series ''States of Undress''. Early life Gates grew up in the Los Angeles area, where her family has resided for seven generations. Career ''The Paris Re ...

as Drugged-out Mother *

Brett Gelman Brett Clifford Gelman (born October 6, 1976) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Murray Bauman in Netflix's horror-supernatural series '' Stranger Things'' and as Martin on the BBC comedy ''Fleabag''. Gelman bega ...

as Supervisor Burns *

Ivy George Ivy George is an American child actress. Her first acting role was opposite Robin Williams on his last television series before his death. She has two younger siblings, Finnegan and Elsa, who are also actors. She enjoys karate, swimming, creating ...

as 5-Year-Old Girl *

Robert Knepper Robert Lyle Knepper (born July 8, 1959) is an American actor best known for his role as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox drama series '' Prison Break'' (2005–2009, 2017), Samuel Sullivan in the final season of the NBC series ''Heroes'' (2 ...

as Rodney Mitchum * David Koechner as Detective D. Fusco * Jay Larson as Limo Driver *Andrea Leal as Mandie *

Bellina Logan Bellina Logan is an American television and film actress. She is known for her roles in such films and television shows as ''Interview with the Vampire'', ''Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series c ...

as Female Doctor * Josh McDermitt as Wise Guy *

Don Murray Don Murray may refer to: * Don Murray (actor) (1929–2024), American actor * Don Murray (clarinetist) (1904–1929), American jazz musician * Don Murray (drummer) (1945–1996), American drummer and aminator * Don Murray (footballer) Donald Ja ...

as Bushnell Mullins *

Sara Paxton Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...

as Candy Shaker * Linda Porter as Lady Slot-Addict * Elena Satine as Rhonda * John Savage as Detective Clark *

Amy Shiels thumb Amy Shiels (born 21 February 1991) is an Irish film and television actress who has appeared in the films '' Veronica Guerin'', '' Slaughter'', ''Twin Peaks'', and as Lunafreya Nox Fleuret in ''Final Fantasy XV''. Early life and family S ...

as Candie *

Tom Sizemore Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. (; born November 29, 1961) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' (1991), ''Passenger 5 ...

as Anthony Sinclair * Bob Stephenson as Frank * Ethan Suplee as Bill Shaker *

Sabrina S. Sutherland Sabrina S. Sutherland is an American film producer, best known for her work with David Lynch. Career Sutherland is known for being the long-time producing partner of David Lynch and for her work on ''Twin Peaks'' (1990), ''Inland Empire (film), ...

as Floor Attendant Jackie * Naomi Watts as Janey-E Jones * Nafessa Williams as Jade *Christophe Zajac-Denek as Ike "The Spike" Stadtler South Dakota * Jane Adams as Constance Talbot * Brent Briscoe as Detective Dave Macklay * Bailey Chase as Detective Don Harrison * Neil Dickson as George Bautzer *George Griffith as Ray Monroe *

Cornelia Guest Cornelia Cochrane Churchill Guest (born November 28, 1963) is a New York socialite, author, actress, and the Debutante of the Decade for the 1980s of the International Debutante Ball in New York City. She is a vegan, known for her advocacy of ani ...

as Phyllis Hastings * Nicole LaLiberte as Darya * Jennifer Jason Leigh as Chantal Hutchens * Matthew Lillard as William Hastings *Karl Makinen as Inspector Randy Hollister * Bérénice Marlohe as French Woman * James Morrison as Warden Dwight Murphy * Christopher Murray as Officer Olson * Max Perlich as Hank * Tim Roth as Gary "Hutch" Hutchens *Mary Stofle as Ruth Davenport Supernatural *

as American Girl *

Monica Bellucci Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (; born 30 September 1964) is an Italian actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model, modelling for Dolce & Gabbana and Dior, before making a transition to Italian films and later American and French ...

as herself *

as Phillip Jeffries **Nathan Frizzell as the voice of Phillip Jeffries *Robert Broski as Woodsman *

Don S. Davis Donald Sinclair "Don" Davis (August 4, 1942 – June 29, 2008) was an American character actor best known for playing General Hammond in the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on t ...

as Major

Garland Briggs The following is a list of characters from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', the film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'', and the 2017 revival. Overview Concepts Bob Frank Silva was a set decorator who worked on the pilot episode. ...

*Erica Eynon as Experiment * Sheryl Lee as

Joy Nash Joy Nash (born August 5, 1980) is an American actress best known for her role as Alicia "Plum" Kettle on the AMC television series ''Dietland''. Before this breakout role, she appeared in '' Twin Peaks: The Return'' and ''The Mindy Project ''T ...

as Señorita Dido *Carlton Lee Russell as the Jumping Man *

Frank Silva Frank A. Silva (October 31, 1950 – September 13, 1995) was an American set dresser and actor best known for his performance as the evil spirit Killer BOB in the TV series ''Twin Peaks''. Silva had a degree in lighting design from San Francis ...

Killer BOB Bob (sometimes known as BOB or Killer BOB) is a fictional character in the ABC television series ''Twin Peaks,'' played by Frank Silva. He is an interdimensional entity who feeds on pain and sorrow. An inhabiting spirit, he possesses human b ...

*Malachy Sreenan as Bosomy Lady *

Al Strobel Albert Michael Strobel (January 28, 1940– December 2, 2022) was an American actor best known for his recurring role on David Lynch and Mark Frost's ''Twin Peaks'' as Phillip Michael Gerard, also known as Mike. Early life Strobel was born i ...

as Phillip Michael Gerard / MIKE *

Carel Struycken Carel Struycken (; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1 ...

as The Fireman *

Leland Palmer Leland Palmer is a fictional character from the television series ''Twin Peaks'', created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He also appears in the prequel, '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me''. He is portrayed in all his appearances by Ray Wise. Le ...

*Nae Yuuki as Naido

did not reprise his role as

, 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 *

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...

as Guard * Benjamin Rosenfield as Sam Colby * Madeline Zima as Tracey Barberato New Mexico, 1956 *Leslie Berger as New Mexico Wife * Cullen Douglas as Disc Jockey *Tikaeni Faircrest as Girl *Tad Griffith as New Mexico Husband * Xolo Maridueña as Boy *Tracy Philips as Receptionist Montana *

Frank Collison Frank Collison (born February 14, 1950) is an American actor known to television audiences as the hapless telegrapher Horace Bing in the series ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman''. Early life Collison was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Peg, ...

as Muddy *

Derek Mears Derek Mears (born April 29, 1972) is an American actor and stuntman. Often appearing in horror and science-fiction titles, he came to prominence for portraying Jason Voorhees in the 2009 reboot of '' Friday the 13th''. His film roles also includ ...

as Renzo Odessa *Matt Battaglia as Cowboy 3 * Francesca Eastwood as Texas Waitress Kristi *Heath Hensley as Cowboy 1 *Rob Mars as Cowboy 2 * Sheryl Lee as Carrie Page Notes

Episodes

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 (at Lynch's insistence). 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 Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

the first two episodes beginning at 2:00 am

British Summer Time During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC±00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and ev ...

on May 22, 2017, and the next two episodes were released on

Sky UK Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

's on-demand service after the premiere. In the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

, 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 Crave (initially named CraveTV) is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily American-based se ...

and The Movie Network, and debuted simultaneously with the U.S. broadcast. In Australia, episodes of the season are available to stream on

Stan Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author ...

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 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish film director and screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar was the President of the Jury for the festival and Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and ...

. ''The Return'' was screened in its entirety from January 5–7, 2018, at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, as part of the museum's annual series on "the year's finest films".

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

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." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, ''Twin Peaks'' has a score of 74 out of 100 based on 26 reviews. Sean T. Collins of ''

'' 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 Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...

of ''

'' wrote that the show was "the most original and disturbing to hit TV drama since ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''". In his season review for ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'', 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 Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''s Daniel Fienberg wrote of the season's format: In her "A" grade review of the premiere, Emily L. Stephens of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote of its possible reception by critics and viewers: Lynch screened the two-hour premiere of the season at the 2017

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

and received a five-minute standing ovation from the crowd. '' Sight & Sound'' and ''

'' 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 ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landr ...

''.

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 Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century. Writer-director

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...

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 ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' 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 In broadcasting, time shifting is the recording of programming to a storage medium to be viewed or listened to after the live broadcasting. Typically, this refers to TV programming but it can also refer to radio shows via podcasts. In recent year ...

, encores and streaming. Showtime president David Nevins said that ''Twin Peaks'' "has exceeded expectations" from a financial perspective.

Awards and nominations

Home media

The season was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

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.''

References

External links

* * Season 3 {{Cahiers du Cinéma Award for Best Film 2017 American television seasons American sequel television series