Is David Lynch’s New Project a TWIN PEAKS Spinoff?

Rumors have been swirling lately that David Lynch is at work on a new television series for Netflix. This is huge news if true. It would mark the first original series for the filmmaker since Twin Peaks debuted in 1990. (Mulholland Drive was originally conceived as a series, but was never picked up.) But is Wisteria actually an original program? Or is it really another Twin Peaks series?

Lynch’s projects are always super secretive. So there’s a good chance we won’t know what Wisteria is until it appears on our TV screens, if it does at all. But there are a few clues that point to this possibly being a continuation of Twin Peaks. And it might just center on a character we met in the show’s final episode. A character named Carrie Page, who is actually an alternate-reality Laura Palmer.

Here’s some speculation about Wisteria, the mysterious new David Lynch project, and why it could be another Twin Peaks story.

Showtime

Who is Carrie Page?

In Twin Peaks: The Return‘s final episode, Part 18, Dale Cooper attempts to prevent Laura Palmer’s murder. In doing so, he winds up traveling through a portal and into another reality. There, he meets a diner waitress named Carrie Page, who lives in Odessa, Texas and looks identical to an adult Laura Palmer. He attempts to convince her that she’s actually Laura, and—desperate to leave Odessa—Carrie agrees to travel with Cooper back to Twin Peaks. They drive to the town and arrive at Laura Palmer’s house, which is now owned by a strange woman who doesn’t recall the Palmers. As they’re about to leave, Carrie hears Laura’s mother Sarah call out her name from the house. Suddenly aware that she is, indeed, Laura Palmer, Carrie screams into the night and everything plunges into darkness.

The episode brings up a lot of questions. Who created this doppelgänger version of Laura Palmer? Has she just been living out her life in an alternate-reality Odessa all this time? What about all of the horror she experienced growing up, as depicted in the Twin Peaks film Fire Walk With Me? Fans of the series who’ve studied the text and supplemental materials may already have some theories. But it’s also the perfect set-up for a whole new series.

CBS Television Distribution 

Lynch said he wants to do more with Carrie Page.

During a Q&A at the Theatre at ACE Hotel in Los Angeles, David Lynch said he was interested in continuing Carrie Page’s story. “It’s calling, but there are a lot of disturbances,” were his exact words. This Q&A happened back in 2018, so the disturbances he mentions weren’t pandemic-related. It’s possible Showtime, the network that aired The Return, was nervous about pouring money into another long, esoteric season of TV. Or maybe he was talking about creative disturbances. Either way, Carrie’s story is still largely untold.

Now, it’s very possible that Wisteria is its own thing. But as clever Reddit user raspfan pointed out in the Twin Peaks subreddit, there is a street in Odessa, Texas called Wisteria. It even has a diner on it. Could be coincidence (“Wisteria” isn’t necessarily an uncommon street name; just ask Desperate Housewives), but could be something!

There are other clues that Wisteria could be Twin Peaks related.

In addition to the street name, Lynch also hinted in a recent video interview that he would be working on a “continuing story” if it weren’t for the pandemic. What other story could that be? Again, this doesn’t mean Wisteria is a Twin Peaks spinoff. But it doesn’t not mean that.

Also, some Twin Peaks actors have made posts that insinuate something Peaks-y is going on. Michael Horse, who plays Deputy Hawk on the series, posted an image on Instagram of his character being shushed. Kyle MacLachlan, who plays Agent Dale Cooper, has also made social media posts that could be construed as hints.

In April 2021, MacLachlan again took to social media to tease something seemingly related to this new Lynch project. He posted the photo of a wisteria tree with the hashtag #Wisteria. This lines up with reports that Wisteria (which has the alternate working title Unrecorded Night) begins filming in May.

Again, none of this really means anything. It could all be coincidence. It’s just as likely that Wisteria is a brand new David Lynch creation. Maybe Kyle MacLachlan is playing a brand new character in the project. Or maybe he’s simply promoting his long-time collaborator’s series in a fun way. Frankly, we’d love an original project just as much—if not more. But it’s fun to speculate all the same. And if you’re looking for more reasons why the show could be a spinoff, head on over to the Twin Peaks subreddit where user metalanejack has compiled some more notes about this upcoming project.

New David Lynch is good news no matter what, but damn would it be exciting to see more of Sheryl Lee as Carrie Page.

This piece was originally published on November 30, 2020.