14 DAY TRIAL // Showtime’s planned “Twin Peaks” revival, which was supposed to air in 2016 with the third, long-awaited season, is turning into a genuine saga. After director / series creator David Lynch’s abrupt exit and later return, Showtime has agreed to extend the number of episodes to be included in the season.
Details of this were made public by actresses Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer) and Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne) during a panel at Seattle’s Crypticon - and they’re the kind of stuff to make a true fan giddy with excitement.
More episodes, iconic locations and Badalamenti score
Earlier this year, Lynch announced that he had been negotiating with Showtime for over a year, trying to work out a series of creative and budget issues, and that they had not reached a conclusion that would suit both parties. So, with a sad heart, he was leaving the show.
After the shocking announcement, the entire “Twin Peaks” cast rallied behind him, launching a campaign on social media meant to show Showtime that, without Lynch, they wouldn’t be getting their revival because no one would agree to do it.
In the video below, of the panel, Lee and Fenn confirm that they would have refused to return, in case Lynch had not come back. And you can’t have a “Twin Peaks” without Laura and Audrey, can you?
They also reveal that Showtime has agreed to make double the number of episodes, so the third season now counts on 18 of them.
“I think when [Lynch] did the nine, he realized he needed nine more to really complete it,” Fenn says. That means that he must have asked for double the budget to complete the other nine episodes as well, which is when Showtime pushed back, hoping to get him to reconsider.
Lynch won the argument in the end.
Production is supposed to start this summer, and the Double R Diner (Twede’s Café in North Bend, WA) is being restored to serve as location again.
More importantly, Angelo Badalamenti is in talks to return to score the new season. Nothing is set in stone yet, but since Badalamenti’s music was such an integral part of the original show, it’s hard to believe a third one would be made without it.
Where does Laura Palmer fit in?
Sheryl Lee is confirmed to return, but exactly how that will be possible is being kept under wraps. Speaking at the panel, the actress teased fans saying, “I know that I’m coming back now, but I don’t know how, and I may not know until I show up for the first day.”
We know already that this new season picks up the story in modern times, which means Laura will have been dead for almost 3 decades when it airs. She’s probably still in the Black Lodge, and could still influence the story in a significant way even if no one is looking for her murderer now.
“Twin Peaks” season 3 returns to Showtime in 2016, and it will hopefully provide fans with the answers and the closure they have been waiting for for a very long time.
