Twin Peaks is returning to television for another season, 16 years after its second-season finale ended things on one hell of a dark note. Showtime’s limited series event, which begins May 21, will pick up where things left off, and the premium channel has a handy primer for anyone who doesn’t have time to binge the full, original series first.
Be forewarned that this recap video has major spoilers because, well, that’s the point. Although it’s interspersed with some buzzy advertising copy, Showtime’s video has some of the most important scenes of the show. There’s good old Dale Cooper, the show’s lead, showing up in the mysterious town of Twin Peaks for the first time; Laura Palmer, the girl whose murder launches his investigation, makes ample appearances; and the entire recurring cast gets introduced quickly.
Sure, it doesn’t fill in all the gaps, but Showtime does capture Twin Peaks’ main plot arc, which should bring non-fans up to speed for the third season. If you really want to watch for the nuances and weirdness that characterize Twin Peaks’ storyline, Showtime has the full original series streaming on its website; it also has the prequel film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, available.
We’d recommend finding time to watch Twin Peaks if possible, since it’s one of the greatest cult hits of our generation. But we do appreciate that this little recap excises all of the annoying filler that brought down its second season, if anything else.