Twin Peaks is a landmark surrealist mystery-horror drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, premiering in 1990. It blends a small-town soap opera with supernatural horror, focusing on the investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer. The story unfolds across two television seasons (1990–1991), a prequel film (Fire Walk with Me), and a revival season (The Return), with significant, often contradictory lore found in tie-in books like The Secret History of Twin Peaks. 

Full Overview

• The Premise: FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper travels to the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington, to investigate the murder of popular high school student Laura Palmer.
• The Conflict: The investigation uncovers deep, dark secrets hidden behind the town’s idyllic facade, including the involvement of an ancient, malevolent supernatural entity named “BOB,” who possesses people to commit atrocities.
• The Supernatural World: The story centers on two metaphysical realms: the White Lodge (associated with good) and the Black Lodge (associated with evil), often referred to together as “The Lodges”.
• The Structure: Fire Walk with Me provides the final week of Laura’s life, while Season 3 (The Return) takes place 25 years later, dealing with the consequences of the original series and alternate realities. 

Detailed Historic Timeline by Era and Year

Ancient Era – 19th Century: Founding and Entities

• ~1,000,000,000 B.C.: The future site of Twin Peaks is on the western coast of Pangea.
• 1805: Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) visits the area, specifically the Owl Cave lodges, and is believed to have encountered the supernatural forces.
• 1872: The town of Twin Peaks is established.
• 1879: Miners accidentally discover Owl Cave.
• 1896: “The Terrible Fire” in Twin Peaks. 

20th Century – Pre-Series (1900–1988) 

• 1928: The Great Northern Hotel opens.
• July 16, 1945: The Trinity Test atomic explosion in New Mexico creates a breach between worlds, releasing BOB and other entities, and triggering the “birth” of a counter-force (implied to be Laura Palmer).
• 1956: A “frog-moth” creature enters a young girl in New Mexico; a mysterious Woodsman kills a radio DJ, spreading a paralyzing chant.
• 1967 (Dec 25): Dale Cooper begins keeping his audiotape journal for Diane.
• 1971 (July 22): Laura Palmer is born.
• 1982-1985: Dale Cooper and Windom Earle play chess; Earle goes insane, kills his wife (Caroline), and wounds Cooper.
• 1983: Andrew Packard brings Josie home; Andrew is later killed in a plot with Thomas Eckhardt.
• 1987: Agent Phillip Jeffries disappears in Buenos Aires, appearing briefly at the FBI Philadelphia office to warn them about Cooper and BOB. 

The Critical Year (1988–1989) 

• July 1983 – February 1989: Laura Palmer writes in her secret diary.
• February 9, 1988: Fire Walk with Me events begin. Teresa Banks is murdered in Deer Meadow (the original “wrapped in plastic” case).
• February 23, 1989: Leland Palmer (possessed by BOB) rapes Laura.
• February 23-24, 1989: Laura Palmer is murdered.
• February 24, 1989: Pete Martell finds Laura “wrapped in plastic”. Agent Cooper arrives.
• March 1989: Seasons 1 & 2 occur, covering about 4 weeks. Laura’s murderer (Leland/BOB) is revealed and dies.
• March 1989: Cooper enters the Black Lodge to save Annie Blackburn; Cooper’s doppelganger (possessed by BOB) escapes into the world. 

The Gap and The Return (1990–2017)

• 1990-2015: Cooper’s doppelganger lives a life of crime, avoiding returning to the Black Lodge.
• 1997: Douglas Jones (a, presumably artificial, entity) has a car accident.
• 2016 (September-October): The events of Twin Peaks: The Return (Season 3) occur. The doppelganger attempts to avoid being pulled back into the Lodge, while the “good” Cooper tries to return to the real world.
• 2016/2017: A new, altered timeline is created when Cooper prevents Laura’s murder in 1989, potentially erasing the events of the first two seasons, leading to the existence of “Carrie Page” in Odessa, Texas.
• September 2017: The Final Dossier is published, wrapping up the fates of the townspeople in the altered timeline. 

Twin Peaks Story Overview and Timeline by Era