Twin Peaks season 3

The third and final season of *Twin Peaks*, presented as *Twin Peaks: The Return* or *Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series*, aired from May 21 to September 3, 2017, on Showtime in the United States. Its 18 episodes brought the franchise back to television after more than 25 years, picking up threads from the original two seasons (1990–1991) and the prequel-sequel film *Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me* (1992). Co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost wrote the season, and Lynch directed every episode. Set a quarter-century after the original series, the season follows several connected storylines, most revolving around FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and his 1989 investigation into the murder of high school student Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). The action moves beyond the fictional Washington town of Twin Peaks to New York City, Las Vegas, South Dakota, New Mexico, and Texas. Showtime president David Nevins described the central focus as "Cooper's odyssey back to Twin Peaks." Critics praised the season for its unconventional narrative, visual inventiveness, and performances, hailing it as the best television program of 2017 and the 2010s, and one of the best series of the 21st century. Some critics considered *The Return* a film; the journal *Cahiers du Cinéma* named it the best film of the decade, and the 2022 *Sight & Sound* critics' poll ranked it the 152nd-greatest film in history. Season 3 begins where Season 2’s cliffhanger left off: FBI agent Dale Cooper is trapped in the Black Lodge, while his doppelgänger—possessed by the evil spirit Bob—has taken his place in the real world. Twenty-five years later, Cooper struggles to reclaim his past and becomes entangled with the Las Vegas criminal underworld. Meanwhile, his doppelgänger works with criminal associates to avoid being pulled back into the Lodge. In South Dakota, a librarian studying paranormal phenomena dies mysteriously, sparking an FBI investigation led by Cooper’s old colleagues. In Twin Peaks, a new clue prompts the sheriff’s office to reopen the 1989 Laura Palmer murder case, as residents continue to grapple with the aftermath of her death. The first season of *Twin Peaks* premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, becoming one of the top-rated series of that year, though ratings dropped during the second season.