The 'Twin Peaks' Coffee Commercials That Only Aired in Japan

Though Twin Peaks was canceled a mere year after premiering on ABC in the States, it was undergoing something of a popularity boom in Japan in 1992. So rabid was its fanbase that, one year later, Georgia (Jōjia) Coffee, a Japanese canned coffee brand owned by Coca-Cola, hired David Lynch to direct a series of four Twin Peaks-themed commercials for their product.

They essentially act as the show’s season 2.5, a story in four 30-second chapters (embedded below). I recently became aware of the existence of these commercials, and I’m totally flummoxed as to why everyone isn’t talking about them.

The commercials concern a Japanese man named Ken, who enlists Dale Cooper’s help to find his missing wife, Asami, while the roving supporting cast of Twin Peaks appears. Georgia Coffee weasels its way into each narrative rather inelegantly, which is pretty elemental to the appeal—the commercials are giddily self-aware and sarcastic.

Though Lynch had initially been asked to direct a second round of these commercials, that didn't quite pan out. Georgia Coffee was reportedly displeased with the outcome of the first round of commercials. I can’t imagine why.

Reminder: We're hosting a Facebook Live with Kyle MacLachlan on June 1st at 1PM. He'll be making a cherry pie. In the meantime, read our interview with him on what the food in Twin Peaks means to him.