10 TV Shows That Actually Benefited From Bad Acting

David Lynch's Twin Peaks certainly boasted its fair share of excellent acting - most notably from Kyle MacLachlan, Ray Wise, Sheryl Lee, and Grace Zabriskie - but also some performances that, to be blunt, were ultimately quite laughable.

By far the two biggest culprits are James Marshall and Lara Flynn Boyle, who play young lovers James Hurley and Donna Hayward.

In Marshall's case it doesn't help that James is held by many fans to be the show's worst character - a corny, boring mope whose irritation is only elevated by pairing him with the obnoxious Donna, a hellish match if there ever was one.

This all culminates in James' infamously, hilariously wretched rendition of the soft ballad "Just You" for Donna and Maddy Ferguson (Lee), which over 30 years later remains perhaps the show's single-most ridiculed moment.

Yet David Lynch is as exacting as filmmakers come and knew precisely what he was doing here.

Lynch has never been particularly interested in "realism," and with Twin Peaks existing as both an homage to and example of soap opera, he clearly leaned into the off-key, overwrought performances of his cast at every moment.

Marshall and Boyle certainly aren't the only wonky actors among the huge ensemble, but their hyper-dramatic work feels most perfectly attuned to the campy vibe Lynch was shooting for.

It only enhances the feeling that this sleepy town and the people within it are very, very off.