Season 4? Or is it over after this? Wisteria/Unrecorded Night? Something else? (Speculation thread.)

[Histeria]

True, but it's still part of the series that is only a draw because of a film they won't actually have.

Plus they ordered more seasons of Full(er) House, Degressi, Clone Wars, and Trailer Park Boys without having the entire back-catalogues for any of them. I'm sure there's more examples of shows revived by them but not getting prior seasons until after theirs had been released. But they're off the top of my head.

[underthefan]

But are any of them as heavily dependent on what came before as TP? Fuller House and Degrassi certainly aren't, don't know about the other two. I mean, there's a reason Showtime constantly aired marathons of S1, S2 and FWWM across its channels and also made them available on Showtime Anytime platform prior to The Return's release.

[Soolsma]

I have a friend who sincerely enjoyed TR without watching anything that came before. He was beyond clueless though, to say the least.

But yeah, whoever will be distributing new peaks will also definitely want the rest in store.

[Jonah]

It's almost certainly a new show or Twin Peaks spin-off or a combo of the two. I don't think it's Season 4, but I'm still hoping it might be.

[Jonah]

Also recall that Deputy Hawk was originally scripted as a black guy named Bernie! Lynch’s vision isn’t always set in stone.

Anyway, my main takeaway from the “nudity” casting notice is that it’s pretty solid evidence that something is up. Not that that role itself will be at all significant.

I thought the whole thing with that casting call is that it specifically was listed as a "lead" actress though?

You’re right, I’d forgotten that. It also says it “might” be a lead in a limited series for a “very popular streaming service” (after initially reporting that it was for a film)!

Why wouldn't Johanna Ray, Lynch himself, or another casting agent handle this if it was for a lead - or any sort of leading role? Why was it a public casting call?

[underthefan]

That's my question too, Jonah. Unless Lynch wasn't happy with any of the options offered by Johanna Ray and wanted to cast a complete unknown?

[Histeria]

But are any of them as heavily dependent on what came before as TP? Fuller House and Degrassi certainly aren't, don't know about the other two. I mean, there's a reason Showtime constantly aired marathons of S1, S2 and FWWM across its channels and also made them available on Showtime Anytime platform prior to The Return's release.

I think we're going to get into the realm of over-elaborate qualification here. If the question is would Netflix continue a series it doesn't have complete access to, then the answer is yes.

Going on to then analyse just how much prior knowledge is required for each series isn't a productive endeavour I feel. Simply because we do not know what form a potential new entry in the TP saga would take.

Let's say it picks up right after P18 and Laura's scream actually destroyed the world as we knew it. Then it would be S4 and it would be completely new, too. What if it's based on the Elk's Club Fire of 1968; would a prequel about Twin Peaks characters growing up through puberty count as a show needing to be viewed along with S1/2? If the series is an alternate history of Twin Peaks had it not been cancelled after Season 2, or an alternate history based on Laura disappearing instead of being found on the beach, then does that count? What if it's set 100% in Deer Meadow and never references the town of Twin Peaks at all? Imagine it was a biopic on the Fuscoe Brothers.

This is why I don't want to draw any lines between "will it be Seasoj Four?" and "will it be connected to Twin Peaks at all?" My head would explode trying to figure out all those permutations

I know this thread title is asking if there will be a "Season 4" but I'm chosing to define that term very very loosely. And I think that's why I don't necessarily disagree with your theory it could be a spin-off but you disagree with mine: my definition is wide enough to include your prediction as well as a full-on sequel to The Return.


The main difference between Twin Peaks and something like Gilmore Girls and Fuller House isn't necessarily how far removed they'd be from prior overarching plots but just how cultish the Twin Peaks fanbase is and just how much replayability the series has.

Every person I've introduced Twin Peaks to during this lockdown said it's the first show they ever wanted to watch again from the start. I'd love to see data on how many people who watched Fuller House never watched Full House (or the same for the 100s of shows that have switched networks over the years), but my guess is "not many." Netflix found value in picking up cancelled series because the medium was the message in those cases.

I mean Netflix literally picked up Clone Wars in the middle of a mid-season overarching story (if I recall correctly). Imagine that... Netflix picking up where we left Ben Horne gasping at something off-screen in 1992 at the Great Northern Hotel

On the question of casting: The Twin Peaks Unwrapped podcast told Joanna that according to their sources actors thought they were auditioning for a porno film. They expected Ray to refute it but she just said "No your info is probably correct. That's how secretive I had to be."

Everything about the casting audition process was obfuscated. From the nature of the role, the status of the billing, the storyline and name of the show and even the network. There are some very very interesting listing on the paywalled casting sites for roles shooting in the next few months that go by fake names, fake casting directors and fake agencies.

[underthefan]

Well, put it this way: if this turns out to be TP (which personally I'm still not convinced it is and no amount of wisteria posts will convince me otherwise), will it be a S4 that is dependent on the knowledge of what came before or is it an entirely new story not dependent on it. At the end of the day, all of this is pure speculation based on scant evidence since none of us has any particularly reliable inside info (other than Mordeen who isn't spilling).

I can only speak to what makes logical sense from a business standpoint to me. And it just doesn't make sense to me to put $85M (or whatever that number is) into a project that will have a fairly limited audience of longtime TP fans who will be the only ones to understand what's going on (as much as that's possible with Lynch projects anyway). Despite their attempted positive spin (record number of new subscribers!), S3 viewing numbers on Showtime were a considerable disappointment in light of its production and marketing costs (I wouldn't be surprised if that total went above $100M).

As much as we love TP, it isn't mainstream TV for a wide audience (S1 was but not anything afterwards). I mean, it isn't Stranger Things, Bridgerton, Queen's Gambit, The Crown, or even Fuller House, Degrassi, Clone Wars, etc. Again, I'm just thinking from the perspective of Netflix executives who have to evaluate whether a project will pay off for them. And if I were a Netflix executive, I'd much prefer a project that will have the widest possible audience.

Ultimately, I don't necessarily disagree that it's possible that this turns out to be a full-on sequel to The Return. I mean, anything is possible at this point, even that there is no project forthcoming or that plans fell through due to the pandemic. It just doesn't seem likely to me from Netflix's business perspective.

[Jonah]

I don't think The Return made Showime a lot of money. It's ratings weren't great (live ones anyway) but it was (mostly) critically acclaimed and got them some subscriptions and lot of artistic cred. Netflix might be hoping for something similar, either with a new season of TP (which has the most leverage imo) or an original David Lynch series (which still has a lot of cred, but a bit less name recognition to average viewers who've probably at least heard of Twin Peaks). Netflix might be looking more to get some critical attention with this and figure it will recoup enough of the costs with that combined with some new subscriptions, especially if they're planning on a weekly release model.

[ringbearer]

I can only speak to what makes logical sense from a business standpoint to me. And it just doesn't make sense to me to put $85M (or whatever that number is) into a project that will have a fairly limited audience of longtime TP fans who will be the only ones to understand what's going on (as much as that's possible with Lynch projects anyway).

You don't think Netflix would fund the greatest American auteur filmmaker and artist to make whatever he wants; given that it may well be his final significant work? I'm not discounting your reasoning at all, I just think they'd do it in a heartbeat for the prestige at least...even if it was a 13 hour sequel to The Grandmother

[Histeria]

Also, $85m isn't that much for Netflix series orders. They spent hundreds of millions on The Irishman despite getting far more financial benefit from a mid-ranking series than a hugely successful one-off film.

I'd actually be more surprised if the budget didn't exceed the rumoured $85m.

[Jonah]

I don't like how Netflix charges extra for everything. It's quite expensive as it is in my country, its basic plan is just a smidge cheaper than DIsney Plus, but then you have to pay extra if you want HD or 4K quality or the ability to watch on more than one screen. The other streamers (at the least the ones I use) don't seem to charge for extras like that. So I say they're raking it in. That might change as the other streaming services become more prevalent, but they're doing more than okay, and if they're releasing weekly that's a 4-5 month subscription for the new series, whatever it is.

[Hester Prynne]

I don’t know that Netflix or any other streaming service/network would look at a Lynch work as a potential money maker. Just about everyone has a Netflix subscription now so it’s unlikely they would make a lot off of new subscriptions. I really think it comes down to the prestige of having what could be Lynch’s last major work given his age if something is indeed being planned. I don’t think they need it, but I think they want it. Confused about Netflix dropping the original series, though. Maybe it has something to do with different streaming services merging.

[underthefan]

Well, I'd rather not continue the back and forth when we have so little concrete information so I will just say I stated my case as best as I can and I will let other board members make up their own minds. Personally I'd just like to avoid another "profoundly disappointed" group if this turns out to have nothing to do with TP. For the record, I would prefer a new, original series but I won't be disappointed no matter what it turns out to be, as long as it's actually something.

[Histeria]

Well, I'd rather not continue the back and forth when we have so little concrete information so I will just say I stated my case as best as I can and I will let other board members make up their own minds. Personally I'd just like to avoid another "profoundly disappointed" group if this turns out to have nothing to do with TP. For the record, I would prefer a new, original series but I won't be disappointed no matter what it turns out to be, as long as it's actually something.

Enjoyed the back and forth on my end and you've opened eyes to aspects I hadn't otherwise considered. Hope it's the same with you.