All is apparently well with the “Twin Peaks” revival, even if no one at Showtime knows exactly when it will debut, or even how many episodes it will be.
At press tour, Showtime president David Nevins said that David Lynch would begin filming the sequel series in September. Earlier this year, Lynch claimed he was walking away from the project, after co-writing all the episodes with co-creator Mark Frost, and after he had announced plans to direct all the episodes. Eventually, he and Showtime agreed to terms on his return.
“I never had any doubts we were going to get him back,” Nevins insisted, without going into detail about what exactly was discussed during the temporary separation. “This was a huge priority project to me. It became clear that it was going to take more than 9 episodes, which is what was originally planned for, originally budgeted for, length of the series. We had to work out the details, and I really wanted to get David to direct the whole thing, he wanted to direct the whole thing. We eventually got through it. We're looking to be in great shape, starting in just a few weeks.”
The plan is for Lynch to direct it “as one long movie,” which means they don't know how many episodes it will ultimately be.
“I expect to be more than 9, but it's open-ended,” Nevins said. “I know what his shooting schedule is, and I'll let him cut it into however many episodes he wants.”
Has Nevins attempted to give Lynch notes so far?
“I've read all the scripts,” he said. “We've had – I would call them conversations, not notes. But ultimately, he has creative control. He deserves it, and I'm happy to give it to him.”
Frost said a while back that he expected the episodes to premiere in 2017, rather than 2016 (which would be 25 years after the end of the series, fulfilling Laura Palmer's promise to “see you in 25 years”), and even Nevins wouldn't commit to a date.
“I want it as badly and as soon as I think the biggest fans in the world want it,” he said. “So I'm hoping we make 2016. It's not clear. It's ultimately going to be in their control. They're going to shoot the whole thing, and then they're going to start posting. The bottom line is when they're ready. I can't be any clearer on 2016 or 17, but I'm hoping for sooner than later.”