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Published Jan 26, 2026, 10:30 AM EST
Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.
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Twin Peaks and Seinfeld were two of the greatest TV shows of the 1990s. They both revolutionized television in completely different ways. They both marked a radical departure from the established approach to their well-worn genres. Twin Peaks brought a bizarre Lynchian underbelly to a typical small-town soap opera, and Seinfeld brought a pitch-black sense of humor and a “no hugging, no learning” policy to the multi-camera sitcom.
Both of these shows were so groundbreaking that they made their own formats obsolete. Two old chestnuts that the television industry had been milking for decades went out of fashion after Twin Peaks and Seinfeld came along. Twin Peaks inspired a wave of cinematic prestige dramas, and Seinfeld’s clever subversions highlighted the fundamental flaws within the multi-cam sitcom formula.
Twin Peaks and Seinfeld are similar in a grander sense, through their legendary reputation and widespread influence, but they couldn’t be more different from each other. Twin Peaks is a horror show, and Seinfeld is one of the wackiest comedies ever made. But despite their differences, Twin Peaks and Seinfeld are inextricably connected to each other.
Twin Peaks & Seinfeld Cast A Lot Of The Same Supporting Actors
There’s a lot of crossover in the supporting actors featured in Twin Peaks and Seinfeld. Warren Frost played Doc Hayward in Twin Peaks and Susan’s father in Seinfeld. Grace Zabriskie played Sarah Palmer in Twin Peaks and Susan’s mother in Seinfeld. Frances Bay played Mrs. Tremond in Twin Peaks and Mrs. Choate, the elderly woman from whom Jerry stole a marble rye, in Seinfeld.
Walter Olkewicz played bartender Jacques Renault in Twin Peaks and Kramer’s arch-nemesis from the cable company in Seinfeld. Ian Abercrombie played insurance agent Tom Brockman in Twin Peaks and Elaine’s long-time employer Mr. Pitt in Seinfeld. Brenda Strong played Thomas Eckhardt’s assistant in Twin Peaks and “bra-less wonder” Sue Ellen Mischke in Seinfeld.
On the surface, Twin Peaks and Seinfeld might seem like two very different shows. Twin Peaks is a supernatural thriller about a murder investigation, while Seinfeld is a sitcom following the misadventures of a group of misanthropic friends in New York, complete with a laugh track and a goofy theme tune. But deep down, they share the same surreal tone, heightening everyday mundanity to absurd (and sometimes disturbing) levels.
Twin Peaks & Seinfeld's Casting Teams Were Looking For The Same Thing
It’s not a coincidence that these two shows cast a lot of the same people. Twin Peaks and Seinfeld belong to very different genres, but they’re both dark and surreal and weird, so their casting teams were both on the lookout for quirky character actors with memorable faces.
English (US) ·