Summary
SinceThe X-Filespremiered in 1993, it has been compared toTwin Peaks(1990–91), and, given the biggest similarities between the cult classic TV shows, it’s easy to see why. Although Chris Carter’s sci-fi drama is often associated with popularizing television’s monster-of-the-week format,The X-Filesstill shares DNA withTwin Peaks, especially since the shows were forged during a similar pop-cultural moment.The X-Files' original 9-season runcenters on FBI agents, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who investigate the bureau’s “X-Files,” fringe cases that seem paranormal.
Mark Frost and David Lynch’sTwin Peakstakes a slightly different approach. The mystery drama unfolds in the titular small town in Washington, where the sudden murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) prompts the FBI to send Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) to investigate. Uncanny and soapy at times,Twin Peaksmight pull from a broader range of genre influences thanThe X-Files, but the shows' core elements certainly overlap. In fact,The X-Files' more chilling moments make it one of manyhorror TV shows inspired by Twin Peaks, though that’s not the only similarity.
10Both Twin Peaks & The X-Files Center On Unconventional FBI Agents
Dale Cooper, Dana Scully & Fox Mulder Are Cut From Similar Cloth
AlthoughTwin Peaks' cast of charactersboasts an eccentric ensemble of personalities, Kyle MacLachlan’s Special Agent Dale Cooper is the show’s traditional protagonist — even if he isn’t introduced in the show’s opening scenes. Like audiences, Cooper arrives in the strange-yet-charming town of Twin Peaks to unravel its mysteries. However, Cooper is far from a traditional FBI agent. Much like the people he encounters while investigatingwho killed Laura Palmer,Dale Cooper has his quirks. Whether he’s literally casting stones or relying on what he saw in his dreams, Cooper isn’t a strictly by-the-books lawman.
Both The X-Files and Twin Peaks broke from detective fiction tropes, allowing them to create beloved, and truly singular, agents.
Similarly,The X-Filesis another unconventional look at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its agents. While Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully is a medical doctor by trade, and a determined skeptic, she certainly finds herself leaning into less-than-standard protocol over the course of the series. Meanwhile, although David Duchovny’sFox Mulder is a top-notch criminal profiler, he’s also an ardent supernaturalist and a conspiracy theorist— something that garners him a reputation at the bureau. BothThe X-FilesandTwin Peaksbroke from detective fiction tropes, allowing them to create beloved, and truly singular, agents.
The X-Files
The X-files takes the police procedural formula and applies it to sci-fi mysteries. Conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder and skeptic Dana Scully team up to solve cases surrounding alien invasions and other unexplained, paranormal phenomena.
9The TV Series Toe The Line Between The Grounded & The Paranormal
The X-Files Plays Up The Believer Vs. Skeptic Dynamic
The whole premise ofThe X-Fileshinges on the dichotomy between Scully the skeptic and Mulder the believer, which meansa majority of episodes present both science-backed, grounded explanations for the cases and paranormal reasoning. It’s quite a balancing act, but it’s part of what makesThe X-Fileswork so well. AsDana Scully says in (arguably) her best quote, “I want to believe.” That’s a sentiment plenty of viewers shared with the more logic-driven agent, especially asThe X-Filesdelved deeper into its overarching alien invasion plotline.
…the show isn’t afraid to present the otherworldly alongside very human horrors.
AlthoughTwin Peaksopens with some very odd details, it feels like standard detective fiction — until it very much doesn’t. From Cooper’s dreamy trip toTwin Peaks' Black Lodgeto the Log Lady’s (Catherine E. Coulson) prophetic insight,Twin Peaksgets stranger by the second. Thanks in part to David Lynch’s surrealist sensibilities, the show isn’t afraid to present the otherworldly alongside very human horrors. Even thoughTwin Peaksgets a bit more definitive with its lore, the series still toes the line between the real and unreal for a good while.
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8Several Key Actors Appear In Both Twin Peaks & The X-Files
David Duchovny Has Fan-Favorite Roles In Both Shows
TheX-Files: Year Zeroteases thatTwin PeaksandThe X-Filesshare a universe, with Mulder referencing one ofDale Cooper’s most iconic quotesabout coffee while hanging out in a diner with Scully.The two series easily fit into the same world, but it goes beyond fun Easter eggs.There’s something about the shared roster of actors, all of whom play memorable personalities in both shows, that augments that feeling. For starters, Frances Bay, who plays the mysterious Mrs. Tremond inTwin Peaks, also appears as a woman tormented by spirits inThe X-Filesseason 2.
One of David Duchovny’s first major roles was inTwin Peaks.
Michael Horse, who’s most well-known for playing Deputy Hawk inTwin Peaks, also plays an officer in the season-one episode ofThe X-Filescalled “Shapes.” Michael J. Anderson, who plays abizarre Black Lodge resident inTwin Peaks, also appears in anX-Filesepisode as the landlord of a trailer park that’s inhabited by circus performers.Don Davis is both Major Garland Briggs and William Scully, Dana’s late father. Perhaps most notably, David Duchovny also appeared inTwin Peaks, playing DEA Agent Denise Bryson.
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Twin Peaks and The X-Files had a lot in common, such as these nine actors who appeared in both shows.
7Twin Peaks & The X-Files Both Blend Various Genres
Horror, Drama & Thriller Elements Appear In Both Series
Unlike other shows that came beforeTwin PeaksandThe X-Files,the two series are not afraid to blend multiple genres in order to create their distinct worlds and tones.The X-Files, which took inspiration fromThe Twilight Zone,Night Gallery,Tales from the Darkside, andKolchak: The Night Stalker, among other works, blends sci-fi, horror, and supernatural fiction with mystery and thriller elements.Twin Peaks, meanwhile, plays with detective fiction, American soap opera, and horror tropes to create a unique feeling. WhileTwin Peaksis thrilling and suspenseful, it’s also campy and melodramatic.
6The Cult Classics Feel Both Timeless & Of The ’90s
Twin Peaks & The X-Files Are Products Of Their Time That Also Endure
There’s a reason that bothTwin PeaksandThe X-Fileshave remained fan-favorite cult classic TV shows even three decades after they originally aired: the TV shows aretimeless. That’s quite a feat, especially considering just how rooted in the ’90s both shows feel. The pre-internet age defines the series' plots. Characters chain-smoke in diners — especiallyThe X-Files' Cigarette Smoking Man(William B. Davis). Perhaps because both shows delve into the human psyche — the enduring horrors of what could exist —they feel simultaneously grounded in a time period and timeless.
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Twin Peaks character Laura Palmer was based on true crimes that inspired the creator, a detail that adds another layer of understanding to the show.
5Twin Peaks & The X-Files Turn The Mundane Into Something Terrifying
Everyday Settings, People & Objects Are Part Of The Horror
Whether it’s the terrifying painting of a doorway that Laura Palmer hangs in her room inTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with MeorThe X-Files' liver-eating Eugene Tooms (Doug Hutchison), who squeezes himself into impossibly small crevices, including heating vents,both franchises take seemingly mundane objects, people, or locations and transform them into something worth fearing. In particular, David Lynch has a knack for making everything from ceiling fans to electrical outlets just a little bit unsettling, butThe X-Filesalso boasted the horror sensibilities of writer-director James Wong (Final Destination) on multiple occasions.
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Even for a show that gets as strange as The X-Files does, some of the cases Mulder and Scully tackle are so out-of-left-field they’re hard to believe.
4Both The X-Files & Twin Peaks Were Shot In Similar Locations
The Pacific Northwest & Vancouver, British Columbia Share Comparable Visuals
In the ’90s,Twin Peaks' filming locationsin Washington state felt incredibly fresh. Viewers weren’t accustomed to seeing the Pacific Northwest’s lush forests, fog-laden roads, and towering mountains on their TV screens, and the inventive location certainly added something novel to Frost and Lynch’s show. Of course,Twin Peaksowes a lot to its setting, whereasThe X-Files, with its monster-of-the-week premise, jumps around a lot. Nonetheless,the first five seasons ofThe X-Fileswere shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, which certainly creates a visual similarity between the two shows.
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3The X-Files & Twin Peaks Share An Eerie Atmosphere
Both Shows Are Filled With A Unique Sense Of Menace
Instead of being outright horror projects, bothTwin PeaksandThe X-Filesincorporate horror elements. Led by compelling characters,the TV shows get viewers hooked on their unique worlds and, gradually, create atmospheres of menace. AlthoughTwin Peaksmay seem like a sleepy lumber town, it’s actually the place where a great evil — BOB (Frank Silva) — has taken root. The woods, and the owls, aren’t what they seem. In certain episodes,The X-Filesplays with this sense of atmospheric horror and looming menace, resulting in some of the show’s most chilling moments.
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2Twin Peaks & The X-Files Transformed How Viewers Saw Small-Town America
Dark & Strange Things Lurked Beneath The Shows' Americana
There’s no denying thatTwin Peakschanged TV shows forever— and in numerous ways. However,one of its most significant contributions is the way it upended images of Americana, making them into something uncanny or unsettling. Lynch’sBlue Velvetdid something similar, but he takes things to a new level with just how haunting a living room, diner, or hotel room can be in the world ofTwin Peaks.The X-Filestook a page out of this book, with Mulder and Scully often uncovering some of their most unsettling and otherworldly cases in Middle America.
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Samantha Mulder & Laura Palmer Loom Large Over Their Respective Stories
WhileTwin Peakshinges on the question of “Who killed Laura Palmer?",The X-Fileshas a less-obvious “dead” girl in the form of Samantha Mulder (Vanessa Morley; Megan Leitch), Fox’s missing sister. Fox Mulder believes that his sister was abducted by aliens when they were children, prompting his life-long pursuit of proving the existence of the paranormal and supernatural. Eventually,The X-Filesreveals what happened to Samantha Mulder, but there’s no doubt thatboth Samantha and Laura loom large over their respective shows, playing right into the “dead girl” trope (viaFilm School Rejects).
Twin Peaksis streaming on Paramount+ andThe X-Filesis streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
Twin Peaks
Conceived by Mark Frost and David Lynch in 1990, Twin Peaks is a supernatural mystery-drama series that brings FBI Agent Dale Cooper to the quiet town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of a young woman named Laura Palmer. As Dale continues his investigation of her death, he learns that Laura’s life wasn’t as she advertised it, and the town itself is hiding far more secrets than they let on. The show received a revival for a third and final season two decades later to resolve the cliffhanger left at the end of the second season.
