February 24 marks a very special day as it was this day in 1989 when Special Agent Dale Cooper entered the strange town of Twin Peaks to solve the murder of local homecoming queen Laura Palmer in the television series Twin Peaks. Officially declared Twin Peaks Day, director and co-creator of the series David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet) and star of the show Kyle MacLachlan (Dune) celebrated the monumental day for the cult classic, via A.V Club.
When Twin Peaks first aired on abc from 1990-1991, it turned the cop procedural on its head by taking two seasons to solve the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer. With magical elements and copious amounts of coffee and cherry pie, Lynch’s twisted dream struck a nerve within American culture. Today, many series are still influenced by the groundbreaking series which infused horror, the supernatural, and American nostalgia, including The CW’s Riverdale, AMC’s The Killing, and even Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynch has consistently posted weather reports from his studio in L.A to YouTube, and today he posted a special one in honor of Twin Peaks day. In his signature shades and scruffy beard, Lynch said, “Good morning, it’s February 24, 2021….This morning I was thinking about the fact that this is a day to celebrate the great fans of Twin Peaks.” See his full weather report below:
MacLachlan also celebrated the day by re-tweeting a video from his TikTok account, which included him staring at copious amounts of cherry pie with the famous Twin Peaks musical score in the background. In the caption, MacLachlan wrote: “Arguably the best way to celebrate #TwinPeaksDay! Join me on my TikTok today as I celebrate the fans and Duet your videos…”
View MacLachlan’s full post along with his TikTok video below:
Filmed in various towns including North Bend, WA, the city’s Mayor Rob Macfarland officially proclaimed February 24, 2021 Twin Peaks Day, writing: “Whereas February 24 is celebrated by Twin Peaks fans world-wide as the day when the character of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper arrived in the town of Twin Peaks; Now, Therefore, I, Rob McFarland, Mayor, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, February 24, 2021 as Twin Peaks day in the City of North Bend and call upon all citizens to join the celebration throughout Snoqualmie Valley with donuts, cherry pie, and a damn fine cup of coffee.”
See Mayor Macfarland’s full proclamation below:
Though Twin Peaks only lasted two seasons, it went on to garner a major cult following and is often considered one of the greatest television series of all time. The 90 minute long pilot episode, directed by Lynch and written by him and co-creator Mark Frost (Hill Street Blues), received particular praise with it being cited as one of the best and most influential pilot episodes in television history. In 2017, Lynch returned to the world of Twin Peaks with the third season special event, Twin Peaks: The Return which aired on Showtime. An eighteen part season directed in its entirety by Lynch, it garnered critical acclaim and continued to break down barriers in the world of television.
The first two seasons of Twin Peaks can be streamed on both Netflix and Hulu. Twin Peaks: The Return is available to stream on Showtime.