During Showtime’s presentation at the TCA Winter Press Tour, President David Nevins was excited to share that David Lynch is more than halfway through shooting the new episodes of Twin Peaks.
The limited series should be ready to premiere during the first half of 2017. That’s not what impatient Twin Peaks fans want to hear, but at least we’re getting closer to something so mind-boggling most of us never expected to happen in the first place.
Lynch even shared 25 minutes of cut scenes with Nevins, which he described as “stupendous.”
“I was shown selections and bits. I have not seen an entire assembled episode. There are no assembled episodes yet. This was just to get a feel for various characters. I don’t want to sit here and over-hype, but it was incredibly exciting. It definitely felt like you were in the hands of a master.”
When asked if he passed along any notes to David Lynch after witnessing the new footage, Nevins laughed and responded “No… No notes.”
Sources tell us According to Jim star James Belushi has been added to the show’s cast, which reportedly also includes returning Peaks stars Sherilyn Fenn, Miguel Ferrer, Sheryl Lee, and Lynch regular Laura Dern, in addition to announced series star Kyle MacLachlan. Normally we’d be leading off with the new casting, but Showtime (via Lynch) has a policy of not confirming any Twin Peaks casting. “I would not hold my breath for an announcement of all the casting of Twin Peaks,” Nevins told reporters dryly. If true that Belushi’s on board it’s an interesting addition: the actor was in ABC’s miniseries Wild Palms, which was perceived by some as inspired by the success of Twin Peaks.
Right now he’s doing the new “Twin Peaks,” which my art director Ruth De Jong is designing with him. He actually called me up, all excited, when I was doing "The Revenant," like, "C’mon Jack, we'll build all the sets ourselves, we'll paint them too." I had to say, "David, I'm working. In Canada." But I knew that he couldn't work with a normal art director, because normal art directors aren't so hands on. So Ruth, who was a painter before she started working with me, is doing that and I think they're getting along great. Every director's a little different when you start working with them you figure out what they need, what you can contribute, and then you start touching on ideas of design.
Twenty-five years later, Annie Blackburn could be alive and well, or the exact opposite of that. Or maybe she mysteriously disappeared? Witness Protection Program? Back in the convent?
Chances are we’ll find out in either Mark Frost’s upcoming book, or in the new episodes of Twin Peaks. But it looks like we won’t see Heather Graham reprising the role of Dale Cooper’s girlfriend.
Heather appeared as one of two guests on the January 14th episode of Watch What Happens Live. During its After Show segment, a viewer called in to ask her if she’ll return to Twin Peaks in 2017. “That’s so funny. A lot of people have been asking me about that,” the actress responded. “I’m really excited to watch the new Twin Peaks. I’m not in it, no. No. I wish!”
It needs noting that she could be misleading the viewers in case she —like many other people involved (or not)— has signed an NDA. Or maybe she hasn’t received “the call” yet. Nothing is ever what it seems, but if you take her spontaneous response at face value, she’s not involved.
