Netflix CEO says David Lynch Was Working On A Limited Series That “Would Have Been His Last Project”

David Lynch was in the middle of creating a new limited series for Netflix when he passed away, according to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Sarandos shared a tribute to Lynch on Instagram Friday. He says that the filmmaker “came into Netflix to pitch a limited series, which we jumped at.”

“It was a David Lynch production, so filled with mystery and risks but we wanted to go on this creative ride with this genius. First Covid, then some health uncertainties lead to this project never being produced but we made it clear that as soon as he was able, we were all in,” Sarandos added.

Sarandos went on to praise Lynch’s filmography as “remarkable, visionary, bold and artful” and touted that he will “always wonder about what he had in mind for us with what would have been his last project.”

“David Lynch was an unapologetic genius. He didn’t want you to understand his work. He knew that was impossible and it was part of the ride together,” Sarandos wrote.

Sarandos claims that COVID and Lynch’s “health uncertainties” delayed the project, but “we made it clear that as soon as he was able, we were all in.”

Here’s what’s odd about Sarandos’ wording. Many were under the impression that Netflix had actually canceled Lynch’s project — is Sarandos trying to revise history here? Implying that it was actually still on? That’s news to me.

In 2019, Lynch got back to work with a mysterious new project with the working title “Wisteria". The rumor was that Lynch had partnered with Netflix on this one. Lynch veterans Naomi Watts and Laura Dern had even been spotted attending a meeting at Netflix headquarters with the filmmaker.

Netflix greenlit 13 hour-long episodes and a budget of $85 million. The mini-series may or may not have been a set of hour-long movies, it was never confirmed. A Production Weekly listing later noted that production was due to begin in May 2021. Per the listing, Lynch had planned to write and direct all episodes of the series, with his “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive” cinematographer Peter Deming.

The project then went silent.

During a recent Q&A, Lynch producer Sabrina Sutherland explained what happened, and confirmed it was set to be called “Unrecorded Night”:

Unrecorded Night was a non-Twin Peaks series that was going to shoot at Netflix but was cancelled when the pandemic hit. There’s always a chance we can pick it up again, […] we were in Pre-production and close to shooting.

We could have had another Lynch-directed project, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it never happened. In all likelihood, Sarandos shelved it — temporarily?—but he’s written his Lynch tribute as though it was still supposed to happen — what’s the truth here?

Let’s also not forget that it was Lynch himself, only a few months ago, who admitted that Netflix had rejected his pitch for another project, the animated “Snootworld.”