Despite making at least two of the best movies ever made with Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks will probably go down as David Lynch’s magnum opus. Rightly so. Few filmmakers have been given the opportunity to express their deepest fears and desires over such a wide canvas, not least one with Lynch’s singular, surrealist genius.
We are left with three seasons and a movie, each co-written by Mark Frost and scored by the great Angelo Badalamenti, each with their own unique flavor, and each with Lynch’s signature blend of aw shucks good humour and existential despair. If Season 1 remains the director’s most accessible work, Twin Peaks: The Return—a series the world had to wait two and a half decades for—is amongst his most experimental. Following Lynch’s untimely death, it is now considered his final masterpiece.
Whether entering Twin Peaks for the first time or returning for the tenth, use our guide below to find out how to watch Twin Peaks in order.
Twin Peaks Season 1 (1990)
The place where it all began. Twin Peaks Season 1 begins with the discovery of Laura Palmer’s body and takes us all the way to classic TV cliffhanger. En route, we’re introduced to the show’s unforgettable cast of characters: Audrey Horne, Sheriff Truman, Bobby Briggs, Donna Hayward and Shelly Johnson, to name but a few. We also meet Bob for the first time in a character reveal that remains one of the most haunting in all of television. The pilot also boasts the first sojourn to The Roadhouse and a performance of ‘Falling’ by The Julee Cruise and Angelo Badalamenti, a song as great as any on the inseparable Lynch composer’s iconic score. There are eight precious episodes. Every moment is essential.
Twin Peaks Season 2 (1991)
For Twin Peaks Season 2, Lynch handed over the reigns for the majority of the seasons 22 episodes, though, thankfully, neither the season premier or the epic finale. The result often works as an example of how impossible it is to recreate his magic. Season 2 is, at times, a more goofy, uneven, and self-aware beast, but it’s still better than most things out there, not least for the giant who visits Cooper in his dreams, the long anticipated reveal of Laura’s killer, and the iconic scenes in the Red Room. You might have to grit your teeth or fast-forward through both James’ romantic misadventures and Donna’s bizarre relationship with an agoraphobic botany enthusiast. Just don’t lose faith: When Lynch returns for the finale, it’s a knockout.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Some people believe that watching this prequel movie before Season 1 is the appropriate way to enter the world of Twin Peaks. They are wrong. Fire Walk with Me begins seven days before the events of the pilot episode, giving Lynch the opportunity to flesh out the world of the show and delve deeper into the double life Laura was leading before her untimely death. Like much of TP, it’s a narrative shaped by the myth of the doppelganger—one of the director’s key obsessions. Not too plussed with all that? Come for Sheryl Lee’s performance, David Bowie’s incredible shirt, and more eerie horrors in the red room.
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
When a spectral Laura Palmer turned to Agent Cooper at the end of Twin Peaks Season 2 and said, “I’ll see you again in 25 years,” few would have thought it would actually take that long. And then it did. In the ‘90s, Lynch and Frost began developing a spin-off centred on Audrey Horne, but the resulting script instead became the building blocks for Mulholland Drive. Eventually AMC came knocking, and we can all be extremely thankful for that: The resulting 18-episode run, titled Twin Peaks: The Return, has not only become Lynch’s final artistic statement but a show so groundbreaking that, Cahiers du Cinéma, the legendary French magazine, named it the best film of the decade. Directing each episode, Lynch leaves everything on the screen, just be prepared for part 8: A metaphysical dive into the origins of evil and one of his finest standalone achievements.
Where To Watch 'Twin Peaks' In Order Online
To discover more about TV shows and movies currently streaming in the UK, check out the JustWatch streaming guide! You can filter your search by streaming service, genre, price, age rating, and score. Be sure to build your watchlist and receive helpful notifications on what to watch next based on your preferences!
