Season 4? Or is it over after this? Wisteria/Unrecorded Night? Something else? (Speculation thread.)

[Jonah]

Also, Sherilyn Fenn did say Lynch was doing a new show in her Russian interview (translation issues could be a factor). So maybe it's not TP.

Still, curious about the Mark Frost thing - how he turned the management of the company over to Lynch. I'm not sure what this means and would seem to indicate Lynch is doing something with the IP that Frost does not (for whatever reason) want to be involved in/is happy to let Lynch proceed in his own way.

Quite likely then that the new show is a new show, but has TP elements (some characters, maybe not settings).

From how The Return ended, it would be quite easy to imagine Richard and Carrie (and maybe Audrey - I know Fenn said she's not there, but just using examples) exploring a new world - or worlds. Or other characters in a new world encountering them.

[underthefan]

Yeah, Jonah, that's what I'm thinking as well. Not exactly S4 per se but maybe TP-adjacent in some way. Same actors, same characters, same universe but a completely different story? It's Lynch so anything is possible!

Also, I will add that even though I have no idea whatsoever what Mordeen's clues mean, he is a trustworthy fella (as proven time and time again during The Return era) and believe that if nothing else those clues confirm something is in the works.

[Jonah]

Unless part of his deal with Netflix is this new show and a TP movie - or he's doing the movie with someone else. I'd be very interested in a second FWWM, this time exploring Carrie Page, as a sort of reverse version of/spiritual sequel to FWWM that is an epilogue to the show, whereas the first movie was a prequel. That would be excellent imo.

[underthefan]

Absolutely, Jonah! I would watch Sheryl Lee read the phonebook so anything that puts her in the starring role would be a dream come true for me.

Also, pure speculation here but maybe there's a possibility of a co-production between Netflix and CBS/Showtime? That could certainly settle any licensing or legal issues between the two of them.

[Histeria]

Also, Sherilyn Fenn did say Lynch was doing a new show in her Russian interview (translation issues could be a factor). So maybe it's not TP.

Still, curious about the Mark Frost thing - how he turned the company over to Lynch. I'm not sure what this means and would seem to indicate Lynch is doing something with the IP that Frost does not (for whatever reason) want to be involved in/is happy to let Lynch proceed in his own way.

Quite likely then that the new show is a new show, but has TP elements (some characters, maybe not settings).

From how The Return ended, it would be quite easy to imagine Richard and Carrie (and maybe Audrey - I know Fenn said she's not there, but just using examples) exploring a new world - or worlds. Or other characters in a new world encountering them.

Frost only ceded directorship, not ownership. He has twice since the filing stated: "Lynch and I own Twin Peaks" and has also said "it's too early to say anything" when asked if there's news on S4.

Those quotes where months after Feb 23 2020's company filings

[Jonah]

I remembered that - I was going to re-edit the post to say "how he turned the management of the company over to Lynch."

[Histeria]

I remembered that - I was going to re-edit the post to say "how he turned the management of the company over to Lynch."

I think your theory on why that would happen is very plausible. What's the point of changing the management structure if nothing was happening, unless the thing happening isn't something Frost was fully on board with.

[Jonah]

Yeah, I can't see it being done unless there was a reason behind it - such as to clear way for a new project. Also, can something like this be temporary? Could Frost come back on board at a later date if he wanted to (after/during the project, likely after)?

[Histeria]

Yeah. It's probably fair to assume Frost would survive Lynch, too. So it could just be a temporary thing where Frost gets custody down the line. And either way Lynch couldn't do more Twin Peaks without Frost signing off on it so whatever the cause it can't be that bad between them. Certainly not the the extent of the FWWM era. Then again, Frost seems more mature in that duo, can't see him vetoing it even if he did vehemently oppose Lynch's plan.

Or it could even be a chunk of the TP universe that Frost just doesn't care about and is waiting for a more agreeable entry before jumping back in. From his comments post Final Dossier, he seemed ready to let go of it anyway.

My pipe-dream theory is they did that to throw everyone off the scent, along with the Twitter rebuttal and copyright filings. But that's just fantasy.

[Jonah]

Or it could even be a chunk of the TP universe that Frost just doesn't care about and is waiting for a more agreeable entry before jumping back in. From his comments post Final Dossier, he seemed ready to let go of it anyway.

My pipe-dream theory is they did that to throw everyone off the scent, along with the Twitter rebuttal and copyright filings. But that's just fantasy.

There's still nothing to say Frost didn't co-write whatever this new project is, or contribute ideas/a treatment, and is retaining an executive producer credit or something. He could have participated only to that extent - or could be completely hands-off and just taking a credit - and still honestly say he's not involved. Not sure if he's ever been less than truthful before on Twitter. I know others had no problem outright denying The Return was happening right before it was announced, but not sure if Frost has ever done that.

I do feel he might feel done with it (at least for now) having gotten to write his two TP books, but what comments are you referring to specifically?

[Jonah]

Also, I will add that even though I have no idea whatsoever what Mordeen's clues mean, he is a trustworthy fella (as proven time and time again during The Return era) and believe that if nothing else those clues confirm something is in the works.

Plus Brad said he'd heard someone was contacted for a role in the new project. So, those things along with everything else, means there's definitely something brewing in Lynchland.

[eyeboogers]

What may make the situation even more legally complicated is that Showtime sold worldwide distribution rights to The Return to various media entities (for example, in Eastern Europe HBO owns The Return distribution rights) so I'm not sure if that might mean that Netflix would have to negotiate those rights with each one of them individually. It's potentially a very complex issue.

As mentioned, most if not all, of those international distribution contracts have now lapsed, and it seems CBS have not been willing to renew any such deals.

[Histeria]

The lapsed licencing lends itself to either direction if we assume UN is TP-related for the purpose of this discussion:

- it's going to Netflix and CBS is keeping its licence as leverage or to stay a de facto stakeholder in Netflix's new show

- It's going to Netflix and CBS are selling them the licence for streaming while keeping physical distribution/merch

- It's going back to CBS/Viacom and they want to consolidate Twin Peaks under Paramount Plus.

@Jonah will try to find the quotes after work. It was a podcast interview if I recall correctly.

[Jonah]

Thanks (but don't go out of your way to look them up as I also felt he was sort of done with it - at least for now - after he titled the book "The Final Dossier"). And if it's not TP, then Lynch can go with anyone he wants, such as Netflix. And what if it's TP-related? How much of a difference would that make if Lynch just wants to use 2 or 3 characters and no settings and maybe renames the characters even though it's clear it's still them? How big an issue would licensing etc. be in a hypothetical case like that, I wonder.

[Histeria]

There's absolutely no issue with Lynch using the same characters and stories. The only thing he might face issues with is if CBS refuse to let him use footage from The Return. But then he could probably reshoot those scenes like a couple of other films with tangled rights issues.

Otherwise, the unique thing about Twin Peaks is Lynch and Frost insisted that ABC don't get any ownership over the IP. And now they're in a very rare position of being both artistic and financial gatekeepers for their story.

Lynch could set each episode of Unrecorded Night in the same time frame as a corresponding episode of The Return and there's nothing Showtime could do about it (unless they really did use Showtime's contract to film Unrecorded Night scenes. Then that could get messy).

However, I really doubt CBS would play hard ball and refuse to licence archival footage. For starters any new Twin Peaks content would also benefit them in terms of sales for prior entries. And who's to say Lynch would even want to use flashbacks.