When it debuted in the spring of 1990, nobody expected Twin Peaks—a murder mystery set in a spooky Pacific Northwest town—to rewrite the rules of television. But by transcending genre, blending comedy and melodrama, and making use of a surrealist style, Twin Peaks predicted the current prestige TV era: Its vision was singular and it was unique for its time.
Now, 25 years after going off the air, Twin Peaks is back in the form of an 18-part limited series from original creators David Lynch and Mark Frost, set to air on Showtime beginning May 21. To mark the show’s return, TIME commissioned photographer and artist Todd Hido to revisit the forests of Washington state for a photo essay inspired by the locations used in the original pilot.
Twin Peaks was about the murder of a high school girl who uses cocaine, works as a prostitute and is unfaithful to her partner (like easily half the characters on the show). Murder, drugs, prostitution, infidelity—and the ultimate crimes, incest and child abuse.
The town of Twin Peaks doesn’t exist. But it contains many of the problems that exist in all towns, big and small—problems which can be too easily ignored. I’m from a small town in Ohio, and the themes and dysfunction represented on the show rang true to my own experiences in rural America.
