Peaks and troughs


By Andy Fry
May 18, 2015

Greenlight
Kyle MacLachlan as Twin Peaks' Dale Cooper
Kyle MacLachlan as Twin Peaks’ Dale Cooper

After months of Fox Network’s new drama Wayward Pines being described as ‘the new Twin Peaks,’ there was surely a degree of devilry in Showtime’s decision to confirm Twin Peaks’ return on the day that Wayward Pines launched. Now, presumably, we can look forward to a couple of years of Pines vs Peaks comparisons from fanboy websites.

Twin Peaks, for those of you too young to remember it first time around, was a surreal crime drama from warped genius David Lynch and his collaborator Mark Frost. Starring Kyle MacLachlan as FBI agent Dale Cooper, it focused on the death of homecoming queen Laura Palmer and the subsequent investigation. The revived show “will continue the lore of the original series, providing long-awaited answers for the series’ passionate fan base,” said Showtime. Lynch and Frost will write the new series (which will comprise at least nine episodes), with Lynch directing.

The greenlight comes more than seven months after the original announcement of Twin Peaks’ return, following the resolution of a budget dispute that had previously seen Lynch walk away from the project.

There’s no question that the announcement will generate a lot of excitement among Lynch fans. But it will be intriguing to see whether Lynch and Frost are able to instil the reboot with the same level of ingenuity and originality that brought huge swathes of viewers to the show in the first place. There’s no question that series one (1990) was unmissable TV. But series two didn’t hold audience attention in the same way, leading to an inevitable fall-off in ratings.

The BBC is adapting A Place of Greater Safety following the success of Wolf Hall, which was also based on a Hilary Mantel novel
The BBC is adapting A Place of Greater Safety following the success of Wolf Hall, which was also based on a Hilary Mantel novel

The first season, which consisted of eight episodes, launched to 34 million viewers on ABC in the US and regularly attracted 16-19 million. Season two (1991), which had a rather ambitious run of 22 episodes, started at around 19 million but was sub-10 million by episode 13 – dropping as low as 7.4 million on episode 20. Expect the first episode of Showtime’s run to premiere strongly, then watch to see whether it can sustain that audience across the entire run.

The return of Twin Peaks has overshadowed a number of other interesting announcements this week. Chief among these is the news that Turner-owned networks TNT and TBS plan to double the volume of original series they offer during the next three years and head in a more “daring” and “in your face” direction.

This is no surprise given the fact that other US channels like AMC, FX and A&E have stolen a march on the scripted front. Projects being lined up for TBS include a 10-part comedy called Wrecked, about a group of strangers forced to adapt when they’re stranded on a remote island (cast includes Zach Cregger, Ally Maki and Asif Ali), and a pilot called The Group, about alien abductions. TNT, meanwhile, has ordered two pilots. These are Animal Kingdom, a crime drama set in a surf community; and Will, a light-hearted look at William Shakespeare’s wild early years.

Over in the UK, the success of Wolf Hall has encouraged the BBC to develop another Hilary Mantel novel – A Place of Greater Safety. Set during the French Revolution, the drama is being written by Ripper Street’s Richard Warlow and produced by DNA TV. The 1992 book focuses on the lives of famed revolutionaries Danton, Desmoulins and Robespierre. Already in the works at the BBC is an adaptation of Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies, which picks up where Wolf Hall left off.

Stanley Tucci will play Captain Hook in ITV's Peter Pan adaptation
Stanley Tucci will play Captain Hook in ITV’s Peter Pan adaptation

Stanley Tucci, best known for a series of superb comic roles in Hollywood movies, is now living in the UK – which is great news for the European TV business. After a recent outing in Fortitude, he has now been cast as Captain Hook in an ITV adaptation of Peter Pan. Produced by Headline Pictures, the new version of JM Barrie’s classic tale is called Peter & Wendy, and is being billed as “a contemporary two-hour special.” Adrian Hodges (The Musketeers) is writing the script and singer Paloma Faith will play Tinker Bell.

Also new from ITV is Jericho. Created by Sherlock and Doctor Who writer Steve Thompson, it focuses on an 1870s Yorkshire shanty town called Jericho, which is populated by “pioneers, settlers and outcasts.” On paper, it sounds like a cross between The Village and Peaky Blinders.

Jericho will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. The series will be shot in North Yorkshire, which presumably means it will have access to financial support from Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content Fund.

As we’ve noted in previous weeks, the US scripted market has received a lot of scrutiny in recent weeks because of the upfronts season. Interestingly, social media platform Twitter decided to monitor chatter about the new shows coming through and draw up a list of the ones that have been generating the most buzz. The ones that came out on top from the big five US networks were Scream Queens (Fox), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (CW), Supergirl (CBS), The Muppets (ABC) and Heroes Reborn (NBC). There’s no guarantee these shows will go on to be big hits, but strong Twitter traffic suggests they can look forward to a healthy launch.

Fourth and fifth seasons of Ripper Street have been greenlit
Fourth and fifth seasons of Ripper Street have been greenlit

Finally, there is good news for Lookout Point and Tiger Aspect Productions, the companies behind period crime drama Ripper Street. Having been axed by the BBC in 2013 after two series, the show was rescued by SVoD platform Amazon Prime, which is supporting the production of its third series. Now, after generating strong results, Amazon has greenlit a further two series of Ripper Street.

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