36 Years Later, Essential 48-Episode Cult Thriller Resurfaces To Become the No. 1 Series on Streaming

Even though more than 36 years have passed since this series made its mind-blowing network television debut, a cult classic has become the biggest show on streaming. Created by one of Hollywood’s most original filmmakers, the 48-episode thriller took viewers into a small town where secrets were the norm and nothing was as it seemed. However, as cozy as the small-town murder mystery setting might sound, there is nothing conventional about the series that changed the industry forever by rewriting every rule in the book of TV thrillers.

The Very Definition of an Unconventional TV Series

The show is Mark Frost and David Lynch’s groundbreaking series Twin Peaks, a surreal whodunit that made ’90s audiences scratch their heads with each episode and left them with even more questions. Featuring a cast led by Kyle MacLachlan, Jack Nance, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise, and Lara Flynn Boyle, the series presented a surreal twist on the murder mystery formula and showcased what made Lynch such a singular filmmaker, albeit within television’s tighter storytelling constraints.

The series follows the story of Laura Palmer’s murder after her body is found on the shore of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper arrives to investigate Laura’s murder and encounters a shaken community where everybody knows each other, but secrets are still very common. As Cooper digs deeper, he finds himself connected to the mystery, which ultimately leads him to the bizarre realm known as the Black Lodge.

Decades Later, ‘Twin Peaks’ Is the No. 1 Show on Streaming

Twin Peaks premiered on ABC in April 1990 with a two-hour episode that drew in more than 34 million viewers. Although Season 1 was very popular with audiences, the ratings declined in Season 2 — a drop that has been attributed partly to the revelation of Laura Palmer’s killer and also to scheduling shifts and the show’s increasing surrealism. Years later, when the show received its first DVD release, David Lynch admitted that solving the mystery (which ABC reportedly pressured him to do) may have contributed to the show’s decline and ultimately to its cancellation.

In 2017, the series officially returned with an 18-episode third season titled Twin Peaks: The Return. Lynch and Frost returned to write each episode, and Lynch directed them all. Although the revival was far from conventional television, the third season holds the highest critics’ score of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes. The rankings for each part of Twin Peaks – including the prequel film – are as follows:

Years after its premiere, Twin Peaks still has the power to draw in viewers, and it has now become the biggest show on streaming. According to the latest update to the charts, the series is No. 1 on the Apple TV VOD store, ranking above classics such as The Stand and The Twilight Zone, as well as recent releases like From and Taylor Sheridan’s Marshals.