Showtime Secures Kyle MacLachlan for Twin Peaks Reboot, Renews Shameless for Season 6

The Television Critics Association welcomed a very special guest to the winter previews on Monday when Twin Peaks' very own Agent Cooper, aka Kyle MacLachlan, took the stage to announce his role on the network's upcoming reboot.

Dressed as his iconic character, MacLachlan came out carrying "a damn good cup of coffee" intended for Showtime President David Nevins. "I'm very excited to return to the strange and wonderful world of Twin Peaks," MacLachlan told reporters. "May the forest be with you."

Following MacLachlan's exit, Nevins explained how the highly anticipated reboot of the cult series came about. "I was kind of begging them and hoping to pass muster with [co-creator] David Lynch. And It felt like the only way you could do it was to have David commit to directing all of them," he said. "I think it's something they've been toying with for a long time."

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A big part of convincing Lynch and co-creator Mark Frost was the show's upcoming 25th anniversary. "There's a reference in the original [series] that, 'I'll see you in 25 years,'" Nevins said. "[Lynch] pays attention to that kind of numerology in a big way."

As a fan of the original series, Nevins said he intended to give Lynch and Frost lots of creative freedom. "It's David's show. It's Mark's show. I will be the grateful recipient of it. I will say that they have been very specific in promising closure, and I think that's exciting," he said. "From what I've seen, I think this is going to live up to expectations and then some."

Check out other highlights from the Showtime executive session:

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MoreShamelessA day after the Season 5 premiere, the acclaimed dramedy was renewed for Season 6. Twelve new episodes of the series, starring William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum, will premiere in 2016. "The viewer loyalty and critical acclaim over the last five seasons has made Shameless one of our signature series" Nevins said in a statement. "This incredible collection of writers and actors have created a show truly unique in the television landscape."

Happyish coming soon Nevins also announced that Showtime has ordered the new comedy Happyish to series. Starring Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn and Bradley Whitford, the series will premiere on Sunday, April 26 at 9:30/8:30c immediately following the final season of Nurse Jackie, which kicks off on April 12, at 9/8c. The second season of Penny Dreadful will close out the night at 10/9c beginning April 26.

The rise of The Affair Nevins acknowledged the relationship drama "premiered at a relatively low level" in October. However, he said there was already a "big surge" Sunday night shortly after The Affair's two Golden Globe wins for Best Drama Series and Best Actress in a Drama Series (Ruth Wilson). To pick up more viewers, the network will begin rerunning episodes Fridays at 10/9c this winter. Speaking about the show's future after the events of Season 1, Nevins said "there's a very clean four-season arc and a trajectory beyond that."

Ray Donovan's showrunner change Series creator Ann Biderman stepped down as showrunner at the end of Season 2. Nevins said she did "a brilliant job," but "it felt like this is a change that is going to be healthy in the long run," he said. In Season 3, the show will expand its scope beyond the Donovan family. "There's a season-long arc involving a complicated family that's not his family," Nevins teased, also saying that the plot involves real estate.

Homeland's critics The Emmy-winning drama went through a major creative resurgence in Season 4, but the finale particularly still had detractors. "I was a big advocate of going back to DC for the 12th episode," Nevins said. "I thought it was really important that Carrie deal with her issues with her motherhood. If we had not touched that in the last episode, the season wouldn't have felt complete. I happen to love the last episode." In regards to the criticism the show received from the Pakistani government, "I really respect how they handled it," he said. In preparation for Season 5, the producers are headed back to Washington to begin plotting what's next. "Where they're going to go next year is a little bit up in the air," Nevins teased. "We're exploring very different possibilities that may change it up a little bit.

(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS, Showtime's parent company.)

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