Posted in: ABC, Movies, Opinion, Showtime, TV, TV | Tagged: david lynch, twin peaks

Twin Peaks: David Lynch & Mark Frost Changed Television Forever

In memory of the late David Lynch, a look back at how Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks both embraced and changed the television medium.

Earlier today, the heartbreaking news hit that acclaimed, award-winning filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor David Lynch had passed away at the age of 78. Over the next several days and weeks, there will be a whole lot of folks sharing what Lynch meant to them personally and professionally. With a career spanning nearly 60 years, it's easy to see why the creative genius' unique vision inspired (and continues to inspire) generations. For me, it will always be about Lynch and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks – one of the most influential series in the history of television. It changed the perception that many had up until then that television was "sophisticated" enough to tell the kind of stories that films were telling -and did it by embracing the medium instead of trying to force a cinematic approach to a network prime time series.

Luring us in under the guise of being a procedural drama, the series sees FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) assigned to the town of Twin Peaks, joining Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) to solve the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). Halfway through writing that, I started to smile because the series would quickly prove to be so much more. Combining an alt-reality approach and soap opera & horror tropes with some deep dives into Lynchian symbolism and humor, Twin Peaks would be the creative "big bang" that the medium needed – going on to inspire shows such as The X-Files, LOST, and many others.

For me, the show was everything. Though the series would end shortly after my 21st birthday, it cemented my love for television and for shows that cut against the grain. It had me from the opening episode (as well as the alternate pilot episode) and didn't let go. I was obsessed with figuring out who did what to who… and how… and why. I spent way too much time than I should have trying to get as much as I could out of "Diane…" The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper and The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes. But it was Jennifer Lynch's The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer that became my "investigative dossier," with so many mark-ups and notes, you would've sworn that I was going to be tested on it. I even wrote down who I thought the killer was and why, sealed it in an envelope, and had my college roommate hold onto it. Was I right? Yup. Did I call him immediately after the episode aired to have him open it? Yup.

Lynch and Frost found a way to take things that we thought we knew and twist them just enough to open our minds to new possibilities, and that level of artistry just can't be denied. Though it originally ran for two seasons on ABC (1990-1991), the series would be followed by the feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me in 1992 and a third season (Twin Peaks: The Return) on Showtime in 2017. Did I always agree with some of the directions? Well, no. I'm glad that ABC pushed to have Laura Palmer's killer revealed. I wasn't too thrilled with some of the storyline decisions regarding some beloved characters on "The Return." But who cares? I mean, I care – but in terms of the bigger picture? That's what made the Twin Peaks Universe work – we're not supposed to feel comfortable all of the time, and sometimes things happen even if we think we have a very good reason why they shouldn't. Much like Life, Lynch and Frost wanted to make sure Twin Peaks viewers understood to never take anything for granted and that nothing is ever a given.

Adding even more to the heartbreak are the previous rumblings that Lynch and Frost were interested in returning to the Twin Peaks universe. Back in May 2024, producer Sabrina S. Sutherland (Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks: The Return, Inland Empire, David Lynch: The Art Life) shared that Lynch had "more ideas for another season." Five months later (in October 2024), Frost dropped a hint that Twin Peaks could end up being revisited via the literary world – as we saw with 2016's The Secret History of Twin Peaks and 2017's Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier. While I'm sad to think about what might've been and the uncertainty to come, I can't help but smile thinking of Lynch in his own "lodge," crafting new stories… new visuals… new music, and sending it out onto the universe.

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