It looks like the fan celebrations and the hopes that all of our questions might be answered were a little premature. Just as it materialised out of the mists of a Pacific north-west forest, the Twin Peaks revival on Showtime has disappeared just as quickly. On Sunday, David Lynch announced on Twitter that he was pulling out of the project because Showtime couldn’t pony up the kind of money he was hoping for in order to make the project the way he envisioned. That doesn’t mean the show is entirely dead, but with co-creator and director Lynch stepping down, this isn’t the kind of revival any fan wanted.

In a series of tweets, Lynch said: “After 1 year and 4 months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done ... I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently.”

Dear Twitter Friends, Showtime did not pull the plug on Twin Peaks. — David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

After 1 year and 4 months of negotiations, I left because not enough money was offered to do the script the way I felt it needed to be done. — David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

This weekend I started to call actors to let them know I would not be directing. Twin Peaks may still be very much alive at Showtime. — David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

I love the world of Twin Peaks and wish things could have worked out differently. — David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) April 5, 2015

When Showtime announced their plans back in October, the lure for fans was that Lynch and co-creator and writer Mark Frost would both be back on board for a nine-episode stint revisiting the town and the murder mystery that made it famous (also some of that damn fine cherry pie). Though it achieved early popularity and critical acclaim, Lynch and Frost both left the show quickly, which lead to a rapid decline in both the quality and viewing figures. It was cancelled in 1991 after its second season, though Lynch went on to make Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a prequel movie that was a critical and box office disappointment.



A reunion promised a way to close out this cult favourite in the way that it was originally intended. Many of the original cast members were enlisted for the new season, including Kyle MacLachlan who starred as FBI special agent Dale Cooper. Part of that initial promise was that Laura Palmer, the murder victim who launched the program’s famous mystery, said in the original series that she would “see you again in 25 years”, a promise that Lynch and Frost seemed as though they were going to keep.

The prospect that these two visionaries would be able to deliver a proper conclusion to their masterwork made the resurrection of Twin Peaks so exciting. Also moving from ABC to Showtime would give Lynch and Frost the freedom to make the drama as sexy and graphic as they always intended. The driving force seemed to be more about artistic integrity and less about a grab for ratings or continued acclaim.

Everything about Twin Peaks seemed like the opposite of the many lacklustre resurrections like we’ve seen lately. Netflix ordered a new season of Arrested Development, which had fans grumbling that the original was better. Fox brought back 24, which maintained the ratings of the original, though the plot was even more ludicrous than when the show was in its prime. Fox is also about to raise X-Files from the dead, though with its complicated mythology it might be hard to rechristen old acolytes and turn neophytes into fans. Then there are the real head scratchers like CBS’s horrendous update of The Odd Couple and NBC’s revival of Coach, a show that everyone had completely forgotten about until NBC announced that it was bringing it back.

Maybe because it’s always been one of my favourite shows or because it was a harbinger of creepy prestige shows to come like The Killing, Top of the Lake, The Leftovers and The Returned, but Twin Peaks’s return seemed different: two creators who wanted to work out their regrets about fumbling the show the first time and correct its legacy. Now, it appeared that future binge-watching of Twin Peaks wouldn’t end with Agent Cooper being infested with the spirit of a mad man, but with something that had been deeply considered for two decades before making its way to screen.

Without Lynch, none of that seems possible. He said on Twitter that he would be contacting the original stars of the show to let them know he was bowing out, which might compromise Showtime’s ability to sign them even if they decide to go ahead with the project. Steaming ahead seems unlikely, because fans probably wouldn’t turn up in droves in the way they would if the original creative team had reunited. Lynch said that Showtime didn’t pull the plug, but that he walked away. These days there are plenty of people who might give him the cash Showtime wouldn’t. With HBO, Netflix, Amazon and Yahoo, even Community can get a fourth, fifth or sixth chance at success. Here’s hoping that the stars can align and Twin Peaks will be allowed to have the shot at redemption it deserves.