‘Twin Peaks’ producer says David Lynch has “more ideas” for fourth season
David Lynch blurred lines and delved deeper into his surrealistic world when he returned with Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017. Since then, question marks have lingered about whether the series would return once more, and now, a glimmer of hope has been provided.
The last visit to the fictional town in Washington masterful way to answer many questions lingering in fans’ minds for the best part of 30 years, it was praised for its storytelling, visuals, and cinematic essence.
Sabrina S. Sutherland, who worked with the auteur as production coordinator on the second season of Twin Peaks, as well as an associate producer on his 2006 film Inland Empire, and then as executive producer on The Return, has suggested that Lynch could possibly return to Twin Peaks.
In a recent Q&A on the Tulpa Forum, she shed light on a project her long-time collaborator had been working on, the series was developed under the working titles of Wisteria and Unrecorded Night and unrelated to Twin Peaks.
The now-scrapped show first made the rounds in late 2020, and excitement was piqued by Lynch regulars such as Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan and the show’s co-creator and executive producer, Mark Frost, posting mysterious images of wisteria flowers on social media.
While wishful thinkers thought the project would be set in the Twin Peaks universe, it wasn’t the case. “Unrecorded Night was a non-‘Twin Peaks’ series that was going to shoot at Netflix but was cancelled when the pandemic hit,” Sutherland explained during the Q&A. “There’s always a chance we can pick it up again, but David has been enjoying his artwork and music endeavors, so we haven’t gone back to it.”
During the chat, Sutherland was asked if she thinks Lynch will ever direct another movie or TV series, to which she candidly responded: “I hope so.” Elsewhere, when asked to share more information about Unrecorded Night, she said: “We were in Pre-production and close to shooting. It has absolutely nothing to do with Twin Peaks.”
Perhaps more importantly, Sutherland was questioned whether she thought the end of Twin Peaks: The Return was intended as a finale or to tease a new story. In her reply, she said: “I personally hope there will be more. As for the intention, I don’t know. I know that David has more ideas for another season, but I don’t know about Mark.”
Following Twin Peaks: The Return arriving in 2017, it was reported that Lynch and Frost hadn’t yet decided on whether to return for a fourth season. However, speaking to IndieWire at the time, Frost said: “I think it’s still an open question and it’s one that we’re looking at and one that I think Showtime is musing as well.”
That followed Lynch telling an audience at the Belgrade Culture Centre during a photo exhibition that September that nothing had been decided and that returning for a fourth instalment might depend on how long it takes to develop, heavily indicating just how much of a commitment it is. After all, the return took four-and-a-half years to make.
Despite Frost previously saying that The Return‘s network, Showtime, was “musing” over the possibility of bringing back Twin Peaks, that has reportedly changed. According to World of Reel, it’s unlikely the broadcaster would team up with Lynch again. Significantly, David Nevins, the executive who supported the last season has now left the company.