Agent Cooper is going to get out of the Black Lodge, as Kyle MacLachlan is now officially part of Showtime's “Twin Peaks” revival.
At the end of Showtime president David Nevins' opening remarks to the Television Critics Association, Kyle MacLachlan emerged from backstage, clad in a sharp dark suit and holding a mug.
“I think you need a damn good cup of coffee,” he told Nevins. “And hot.”
Though MacLachlan was always assumed to be part of the nine-part miniseries – written by “Twin Peaks” creators Mark Frost (with whom I discussed the revival back in the fall) and David Lynch, with Lynch directing all the episodes – today was the first time his involvement became official.
“I'm very excited to return to the strange and wonderful world of 'Twin Peaks,'” MacLachlan told the assembled critics. “We look forward to seeing all of you there. May the forest be with you.”
The miniseries will begin filming this year, and be released in 2016 – 25 years after the series last aired on ABC.
Nevins noted that Laura Palmer famously told Agent Cooper “I'll see you again in 25 years,” and said that “the numerology was important to David… “I think in David's mind, 25 years was the magic number.”
Nevins said that he had to pitch Lynch and Frost on bringing the revival to Showtime, and pushed to get Lynch to direct all the episodes (even though he hasn't directed very much in this century). He said it helped that he had some “violent artwork” on the wall of his office, which caught Lynch's fancy, particularly a painting that's either of a bookcase falling onto a girl or rising off of her, and that broke the ice.
Given how specific Lynch and Frost's vision for the show is, is Nevins' planning to give them notes, or simply writing checks and leaving them alone?
“More or less writing checks and leaving them alone,” he admitted. “It's David's show. It's Mark's show. I will be the grateful recipient of it.
“They have been very specific about promising closure,” he added. “I think it's going to live up to expectations and then some.”