Showtime’s ‘Twin Peaks’ Finally Has An Official Premiere Date

In what was then the final episode of Twin Peaks, Laura Palmer promises Agent Cooper that she’ll see him again “in 25 years.” She was off by one year.

Showtime announced today that Twin Peaks — David Lynch and Mark Frost’s often brilliant, always baffling series about a small town in Washington that aired on ABC from 1990-1991 — will return for season three, or whatever you want to call it, on May 21. “I can finally confirm, it’s really happening,” Showtime president David Nevins said during the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Monday. “Twin Peaks will premiere Sunday, May 21, at 9 p.m. with a two-hour premiere.” There will be 18 episodes total and “it’s designed to be a close-ended one-time event,” so don’t expect season four (at least for another 25 years, when Lynch is at his old man crankiest).

“The thing about Twin Peaks, and this new version of Twin Peaks, is it rewards close watching,” Nevins said. “It was original social media discussion show before the tools of fan engagement really existed. That’s one reason why David is so particular about secrecy. It will really reward close watching and putting things together over time.” Just don’t expect Lynch to live-tweet.

Nevins also regaled reporters with a delightful story about Lynch showing him all 18 hours of the new season with coffee and doughnuts before each screening. “David Lynch is one of the great filmmakers of my lifetime,” he said, “and the version of Twin Peaks is the pure heroin version of David Lynch, and I’m very excited to be putting that out.” That quote implies Lynch and Frost were left to their own devices, which means if this is Diluted Twin Peaks

…things are going to get weird in Heroin Twin Peaks.

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