New Twin Peaks series joins growing list of reboots and revivals
Many former TV shows, including Roseanne, Will & Grace and Dynasty, are returning to the air after decades
Gilmore Girls did it. Dynasty, Will & Grace and Roseanne aren't far behind.
Now Twin Peaks is joining the growing list of hit TV shows that went off the air — in some cases, decades ago — and are returning to a very different television landscape with new storylines.
"I think people love great stories," Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan told CBC News at the red carpet premiere in Los Angeles Friday. "And they want to be told them by great storytellers."
Twin Peaks: The Return comprises 18 parts, all directed by original co-creator David Lynch. It takes place 25 years after the original show, which first aired in 1990, about the ongoing investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer.
The original series was cancelled after two seasons but developed a cult following and has been widely recognized for influencing other popular series, including The X-Files, Fargo and Lost.
"I think it was just one of those things where something, artistically, happen to coincide with something that the culture was longing for," said Sheryl Lee, who played Palmer and is also part of the new limited series.
What's old is new
Other shows that found similar success are also being resurrected after years of being off air.
The mother-daughter comedy-drama Gilmore Girls returned for a new season on Netflix after nearly 10 years.
- More Gilmore Girls could be in store, says Netflix content chief
- 'A great deal of emotion, a real sense of gratitude': Lauren Graham on her Gilmore Girls return
Will & Grace, an Emmy-winning comedy that broke ground with its relationship between a gay lawyer (played by Canadian Eric McCormack), a straight interior designer (Debra Messing) and their outspoken friends (Karen Walker, Jack McFarland), will return for 10 episodes this fall. It ended in 2006 after eight seasons.
Roseanne, which took a light-hearted approach to the struggles of a blue-collar family, is returning in 2018 with its original cast after nine seasons wrapped in 1997.
The soap opera Dynasty will also get a reboot this year featuring a new cast playing the wealthy Carrington family.
Many other hit shows have also been revisited in the recent past, including Full House, Beverly Hills 90210, The X-Files, 24, Prison Break, Magnum P.I. and Dallas.
"People always like nostalgia," said actor Michael Horse, a returning Twin Peaks cast member who played a police officer in the original series. "They always like to look at things from a different point of view."
Hush-hush
Plot details for the latest episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return have been kept under wraps. Cast members signed non-disclosure agreements, received only limited information about their specific scenes and weren't allowed to take pictures on set.
"They don't let me tell anything about my role in this," said actor Robert Forster when asked about the character he plays. "Don't you know how many lawyers got through with their paperwork?"
"I just got my scenes and that's all I knew," said Ana de la Reguera.
The cast includes Laura Dern, Amanda Seyfried, Jim Belushi and Richard Chamberlain, among other well-known actors. But their roles have not been shared.
Despite the familiar setting and returning characters, MacLachlan, reprising his role as FBI agent Dale Cooper, says the revival isn't trying to re-create the past.
"It's not a nostalgic trip back down memory lane by any means, " he said. "These are new stories and new directions, so that's part of the attraction."