After a tumultuous development process that included thrills, chills, and a walkout from director David Lynch (who then returned), Twin Peaks finally has an airdate, Deadline reports. The show, which had a two-season run on ABC from 1990 to 1991, will return to Showtime on May 21 with a two-hour premiere. David Nevins, Showtime’s president, announced the news Monday at the network’s session at the Television Critics Association winter press tour, telling attendees, “It’s really happening.”
The new season is 18 episodes long and was envisioned as a “close-ended one-time event,” though Nevins didn’t rule out another season. New episodes will be released weekly, rather than all at once, although Showtime subscribers will be able to stream Episodes 3 and 4 immediately after the premiere airs.
At a later Twin Peaks panel attended by Slate’s own June Thomas, David Lynch made a surprise appearance, offering terse answers to the assembled critics. Asked how he and show co-creator Mark Frost worked so well together, he replied, simply, “Mark is very smart.” Meanwhile, the show’s cast members gave less information using more words: Asked if she was playing Diane, the never-seen assistant to Kyle MacLachlan’s Agent Cooper, Laura Dern answered, “I am not at liberty to discuss anything except how incredibly excited I am to join these guys.”
In lieu of further Twin Peaks details between now and May 21, here’s one of the Los Angeles weather reports David Lynch used to put on his website, from Halloween 2008. Happy Halloween (2008)!
