Scarpetta’s Opening Scene Borrows From An Iconic 10/10 Psychological Thriller

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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Scarpetta season 1

Okay, so I started watching Prime Video’s Scarpetta, and right away, I got a serious Twin Peaks vibe. It’s like the show is giving a little wink to David Lynch and Mark Frost’s masterpiece. And honestly, Twin Peaks still holds up – it’s one of those shows that really changed TV and continues to influence things even now, decades later.

This show was a game-changer for television, influencing many popular series that followed. Its intriguing mystery, set in a small town, can be seen in shows like HBO’s Sharp Objects and Stranger Things. And its unique mix of over-the-top drama and thoughtful social issues paved the way for series such as Desperate Housewives and Netflix’s Wayward.

Scarpetta Discovering The Body On The Train Tracks Is Borrowed From Twin Peaks

Perhaps the biggest impact of Twin Peaks was on police dramas. The show paved the way for series like The X-Files, and later Evil, Grimm, Supernatural, and Lucifer, to blend mystery investigations with fantasy, science fiction, and horror. It’s therefore fitting that the Prime Video series Scarpetta begins with a nod to Twin Peaks.

The first scene of the Scarpetta TV series immediately throws viewers into a dark mystery: Nicole Kidman’s character, a forensic pathologist, is investigating the severely injured body of a woman found on train tracks. This disturbing discovery is reminiscent of a similar scene in the first season of Twin Peaks, where a character connected to Laura Palmer is found badly beaten and unresponsive on the train tracks outside of town.

Scarpetta Season 1’s Ending Pays Off This Opening Scene

Even though Laura’s body isn’t found on the train tracks, the show later reveals this is where she was murdered. Likewise, the new Scarpetta series connects to the original show in its first season finale, explaining the meaning behind the bent penny Scarpetta discovered at the crime scene.

The new Prime Video series is the first on-screen adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s popular psychological thriller novels. It combines the storylines of her 1990 book, Postmortem, and her more recent 2021 novel, Autopsy, using a dual timeline structure. Director David Gordon Green, known for being influenced by David Lynch, opens the series with a clear reference to Twin Peaks.

The first season of Scarpetta heavily draws inspiration from Twin Peaks, with mixed results. The strange connection between Lucy and her AI wife feels reminiscent of the famously odd show, and the complicated relationships between Scarpetta, her husband Benton, her sister Dorothy, and Dorothy’s husband Pete are as dramatic—or even more so—than those found in Twin Peaks.

The similarities between Scarpetta and Twin Peaks might be unexpected, especially since the new Scarpetta series on Prime Video seems to be intentionally copying Twin Peaks‘ atmosphere. However, the lukewarm reception to the first season of Scarpetta demonstrates that capturing the unique and often unpredictable tone of Twin Peaks is a difficult task.

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2026-03-11 22:18