20 Best TV Shows Of 2017

2. Twin Peaks: The Return

It may be a continuation of David Lynch's original series, but there's never really been anything like Twin Peaks: The Return on TV. It feels like part Twin Peaks, part Fire Walk With Me, part its own, unique, almost indescribable thing, but whatever it is stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the original series and betters it in many ways.

Taking place 25-years after the first run, it's a series that completely subverts not only every fan expectation, but breaks almost every rule and convention of TV storytelling, creating a show that's as groundbreaking in the modern era as the first was in 1990.

Fans had been wondering what happened to Agent Dale Cooper for a quarter-of-a-century, and Lynch answered by giving us numerous iterations of the character, inverting the force of good and also introducing Dougie Jones, a character who could become grating but is instead sweet, charming, and hilarious, largely thanks to Kyle MacLachlan's remarkable performances.

It can, at times, be frustrating, but of course it was never going to be easy, and that only makes the payoffs more satisfying. The cinematography and sound are masterful, lending the series a discomBOBulating effect, and it flits between horror and joy, humour and pathos, normal and weird to dizzying results.

The first Twin Peaks was a murder mystery with some very weird garnishes, but this is even bigger: it's a return to Twin Peaks and the story of the return of Dale Cooper, but also becomes about the neverending, unwinnable battle between good and evil. It'd be great to see the pitch meeting, because how Lynch was able to make 18 hours of this for a cable outfit is almost unthinkable. That he follows through even more so, and it results in one of the most DAMN fine TV shows of the year.