David Lynch agrees to direct new series of Twin Peaks after all

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/16/david-lynch-new-series-twin-peaks-showtime

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“You know, this is, excuse me, a damn fine cup of coffee,” Special Agent Dale Cooper famously says to a waitress in cult TV series Twin Peaks. “I’ve had I can’t tell you how many cups of coffee in my life and this, this is one of the best.”

It’s a line that has been entrenched into every hardcore Twin Peaks fan’s memory. Fast forward 25 years, and it’s once again making the rounds, after it was confirmed that the Golden Globe-winning show about a murder in the titular small town is set to return for a new series.

David Lynch took to Twitter on Saturday morning to announce he will direct a revival of Twin Peaks despite leaving the project in April over a funding dispute with US network Showtime. “The rumours are not what they seem … It is !!! Happening again. #TwinPeaks returns on @SHO_Network,” he said.

Dear Twitter Friends, the rumors are not what they seem ..... It is !!! Happening again. #TwinPeaks returns on @SHO_Network

Showtime president, David Nevins, confirmed the news in a statement a few minutes later, adding that the show would be even longer than the originally announced nine episodes. “This damn fine cup of coffee from Mark [Frost, co-creator] and David tastes more delicious than ever,” he said. “Totally worth the extra brewing time and the cup is even bigger than we expected. David will direct the whole thing, which will total more than the originally announced nine hours. Pre-production starts now.”

Showtime announced it would revive Twin Peaks in October and scheduled to air the programme in 2016, with Lynch and Frost sharing the roles of writer and director. But in April, Lynch announced he was leaving the project after 16 months of negotiations because Showtime had not offered enough money to film the script the way he “felt it needed to be done”.

His departure sparked a Save Twin Peaks petition, as well as a social media campaign urging him to return. Members of the original cast released a video campaigning for Lynch to change his mind, and Showtime said it “continues to hold out hope” that the show could be brought back with the director at the helm.

According to insiders, the network has been negotiating terms of a new deal with Lynch and Frost since the former’s departure.

Twin Peaks ran for two seasons from 1990-1991. The show centred on an FBI agent, Cooper, investigating a murder in a quirky, small town. The surreal murder mystery was one of the most influential shows of its time, and is often referred to as the father of “golden age” television, which has produced similar serialised hits such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. It was followed by the 1992 feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.

The new season is expected to offer “long-awaited answers for the series’ passionate fan base,” Showtime said. News of Lynch’s return has been received enthusiastically, with actor Kyle MacLachlan, who played Dale Cooper in the original series and is reprising his role, taking to Twitter to welcome the director back to the project.

Welcome back again!! #TwinPeaks Special Agent Dale Cooper! on #Showtime #damnfinecoffee

Alongside MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, who played the murder victim Laura Palmer in the original series, and Dana Ashbrook, who played fellow high-school student Bobby, are also set to return.

Jane Tranter, the head of BBC Worldwide Productions based in Los Angeles, previously told the Guardian: “I suspect there are very few people of a certain age working in TV today who weren’t enormously influenced by Twin Peaks. Every decade something comes along that changes the way you think about TV quite radically, and in the 1990s that was Twin Peaks.

“As one writer said to me, Twin Peaks really, really fucked with your head.”