With the passing of David Lynch and the re-release (or re-re-re-re-release) of Twin Peaks in a new box set, now is a perfect time to revisit its ‘sister show’ of sorts. Twin Peaks aired on ABC in 1990 and 1991, while Northern Exposure aired its first two (of six) seasons on CBS during that time. The two shows weren’t treated well by executives, and they hopped around, sometimes airing Monday nights, sometimes Thursdays, and eventually they were both in primetime on Saturday night. They share thematic similarities, settings, actors, dream logic, and surrealism, and one show even directly merged with the other.
Northern Exposure uses the traditional fish-out-of-water story to paint a novelistic, existentialist portrait of community, the collective unconscious, the nature of identity, and more. It’s also often hilarious, and the characters are wonderfully specific and lovable. The show attracted more than 20 million viewers an episode starting with its third season and maintained that for three seasons. It won Emmy Awards, Golden Globes, consecutive Peabody Awards, and Television Critics Association Awards. And yet, it never came to streaming! Its home media history hasn’t been great, either. But that all changed in 2024.
It’s been one year since Northern Exposure began streaming on Prime Video, and it was surprising that there wasn’t much marketing for it. The show certainly has a devoted fanbase which would’ve eaten it up, with a thriving community on Reddit and a litany of fan sites, such as the meticulously detailed Moosechick and the brilliant Alaskan Riviera.
Music Prevented ‘Northern Exposure’ from Streaming but Connected it to ‘Twin Peaks’
Fans have also compiled a detailed list of the 371 songs in the show’s soundtrack (via tunefind). This is interesting not only because there is some incredible music on the list, but also because the music is said to be why Northern Exposure has been unavailable digitally for so long. Securing the rights for all these songs made the show a pricey package; it seems that the majority of the original songs are now intact, though several episodes still have substitute tunes. Music is a big part of Northern Exposure, with one of the show’s best characters, Chris Stevens, operating a radio station in town and playing records each episode.
One great musical moment in Northern Exposure is actually a famous song from Twin Peaks (accompanied by that show’s imagery), with the much more wholesome Northern Exposure suddenly become, well, Lynchian. You can see that scene below:
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
