There’s something instantly captivating about finding a dead body – it draws both the person who discovers it and the audience into unraveling the story behind the death. From classic mysteries in books and films like those by Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock, to cultural moments like the worldwide obsession with “Who shot J.R.?” on Dallas, murder mysteries consistently grab our attention, inviting us to solve the puzzle alongside the characters. Recent successes like Rian Johnson’s Knives Out films, the Poker Face series, and Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot movies prove that audiences still love this genre, but David Lynch and Mark Frost brought a uniquely compelling approach to it.
As a huge fan of David Lynch’s earlier, unique films like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, and Blue Velvet, I was incredibly excited when I heard he was teaming up with Mark Frost for a TV show. Frost had already built a solid reputation working on television in the ’80s, so it felt like a perfect match. That show, Twin Peaks, first aired on April 8, 1990, and it immediately grabbed me. The very first scene – local fisherman Pete Martell discovering a young girl’s body wrapped in plastic on the beach – was haunting. That girl turned out to be Laura Palmer, a popular teenager in the quiet, logging town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The mystery surrounding her death drew in FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, who famously arrived in town on February 24th to investigate.
Now available on Paramount+, Twin Peaks is a unique show that blends murder mystery, film noir, surrealism, and comedy. Many consider it to be one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking stories ever told on television.
A Series That Honored Expectations and Pushed Boundaries
Even if you’re already a huge fan of Twin Peaks, or completely new to the show, the show’s intro is captivating and will likely make you want to watch the entire series and the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The beautiful but unsettling music by Angelo Badalamenti, combined with images of the town, immediately draws you in, while also hinting that something mysterious is happening beneath the surface.
The storyline of Twin Peaks might seem like a typical murder mystery at first glance, continuing David Lynch’s interest in the hidden darkness beneath the surface of small-town American life – a theme he explored in Blue Velvet. However, just like that film, the series quickly becomes increasingly strange and captivating. Lynch and Frost created a cast of memorable characters, each with unique quirks that made them interesting individually and also strengthened the show as a whole.
As Cooper investigated Laura’s case with the local police, they made progress, but also found themselves facing increasingly bizarre and complex mysteries. Twin Peaks wasn’t just a town with secrets—it felt like a gateway to another world. Lynch and Frost’s creativity seemed endless, and the show skillfully balanced unsettling, disturbing scenes with moments of humor and genuine warmth each week.
Similar to the way detective Dale Cooper uncovered mysteries, each episode of the show revealed a little more about the larger story, leaving audiences eager for the next installment. However, not everyone loved this slow burn. Despite the creators’ plans to prolong the central mystery of Laura Palmer’s death, studio pressure led to a controversial reveal that sharply divided viewers.
Blame Bob Iger for Season 2 and ‘Twin Peaks’ Cancellation
ABC
While Bob Iger is now known for leading Disney to success with franchises like Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars, earlier in his career he played a role in the cancellation of Twin Peaks. As an executive at ABC, Iger worried that the show’s unusual, dreamlike style and unresolved mysteries were confusing and frustrating viewers. Despite creators David Lynch and Mark Frost intentionally delaying answers, they were ultimately pressured to reveal who killed Laura Palmer midway through the second season.
Once the biggest mystery of the show was solved, creators Lynch and Frost struggled to find a new direction, and viewers immediately noticed a decline in quality. Although Season 2 introduced a new villain, Windom Earle, and ended with a suspenseful cliffhanger, the show had already lost its momentum and was ultimately canceled.
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Fortunately, many of the original creators and actors, including Lynch and Frost, reunited in 1992 for the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The film format gave them more artistic freedom to resolve some mysteries and introduce new ideas. However, as a prequel, it could only answer so many questions. The Twin Peaks team came back together again in 2017 for a third season. This revival offered answers to lingering plot points, and because it aired on Showtime, the creators were able to be even more daring and experimental, resulting in 18 episodes of television that were provocative, strange, disturbing, and captivating.
You likely won’t finish everything in one day, but starting to watch all three seasons and the prequel movie on February 24th is definitely a good use of your time.
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2026-02-25 00:33