--- title: Twin Peaks Showtime Reboot Announced: Read TIME's Original Review description: The 1990 version had something the Showtime version won't: network primetime canonical: https://time.com/3476139/twin-peaks/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-06T21:00:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:37:15.406Z article:section: History og:title: One Big Difference Between the Original Twin Peaks and the Reboot og:description: The 1990 version had something the Showtime version won't: network primetime og:url: https://time.com/3476139/twin-peaks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ad9604ac7421a69/6986a7403617603d5c90e42f/twin-peaks.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: KYLE MACLAUGHLIN, MICHAEL ONTKEAN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: One Big Difference Between the Original Twin Peaks and the Reboot twitter:description: The 1990 version had something the Showtime version won't: network primetime twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ad9604ac7421a69/6986a7403617603d5c90e42f/twin-peaks.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There's One Big Difference Between the Original _Twin Peaks_ and the Reboot  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 6, 2014 9:00 PM UTC  Kyle MacLaughlin, left, and Michael Ontkean on Twin Peaks Kyle MacLaughlin, left, and Michael Ontkean on Twin PeaksABC / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 6, 2014 9:00 PM UTC When _Twin Peaks_ debuted in 1990 on ABC, it was truly one-of-a-kind. Now, however, it’s going to be two-of-a-kind: Showtime has [announced](http://time.com/3475258/twin-peaks-showtime-david-lynch/) that they’ll be bringing back _Twin Peaks_ for nine new episodes in 2016, with original creative team David Lynch and Mark Frost. Still, in at least one way, the original run of the groundbreaking show will remain unique. As TIME’s James Poniewozik [pointed out](http://time.com/3475392/twin-peaks-showtime-new-season/) Monday in explaining why the reboot news should be exciting rather than anxiety-provoking, “TV doesn’t need _Twin Peaks_ anymore.” These days, cable TV — especially premium networks like Showtime — is full of weird, ambitious, artistic fare. It’s cool, but not all that crazy, to imagine that Showtime might bring back _Twin Peaks._ On the other hand, the show’s original debut was not just cool but also a major break with the rest of what was going on with television. Remember, _Twin Peaks_ was on network primetime. Its direct time-slot competition was _Cheers_. A _Twin Peaks_ on Showtime won’t necessarily be better or worse than one on ABC — we’ll have to wait till 2016 to find out — but it can’t be as daring an idea. As TIME’s Richard Zoglin put it in his Apr. 9, 1990, take on the show: --- > “” --- **_Read Richard Zoglin’s original 1990 story about_** **Twin Peaks** **_, free of charge, here in TIME’s archives:_** [Like Nothing on Earth](http://wp.me/p5HMd-eAin) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3476139/twin-peaks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3476139/twin-peaks/"},"headline":"There's One Big Difference Between the Original Twin Peaks and the Reboot","datePublished":"2014-10-06T21:00:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:37:15.406Z","description":"The 1990 version had something the Showtime version won't: network primetime viewership","url":"https://time.com/3476139/twin-peaks/","keywords":["Television","Twin Peaks","David Lynch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ad9604ac7421a69/6986a7403617603d5c90e42f/twin-peaks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ad9604ac7421a69/6986a7403617603d5c90e42f/twin-peaks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"KYLE MACLAUGHLIN, MICHAEL ONTKEAN","caption":"KYLE MACLAUGHLIN, MICHAEL ONTKEAN","creditText":"ABC / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3476139/twin-peaks/","name":"There's One Big Difference Between the Original Twin Peaks and the Reboot"}}]}] ```