What 'Wayward Pines' & 'Twin Peaks' Share

When the first trailer was released for Fox's new "event" series Wayward Pines, created by Chad Hodge and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, people immediately jumped at the apparent similarities between Wayward Pines and Twin Peaks , aka one of the most beloved weird shows in the last few decades. The comparisons were natural, as the two share a similar tone and Shyamalan even acknowledged this and told Deadline that the author of the books Wayward Pines is based on admired David Lynch's classic show. But beyond the tone, do the series actually have anything in common? For starters, as interesting and compelling as Wayward Pines can be, it's still not Twin Peaks. Thankfully, it's not really attempting to be — the new mystery series simply shares a few traits with its predecessor that only make it more entertaining.

An adaptation of Blake Crouch's book trilogy of the same name, Wayward Pines is pretty faithful to its subject matter, limiting how much it can borrow from Twin Peaks. And many of the similarities it does share with the cult series can be taken at face value. Fortunately for any Twin Peaks fans concerned that the two would have too much in common, they are each still unique, and their similarities really boil down to six things.

1. The New Guys In Town: Ethan Burke & Dale Cooper

This is probably the most obvious commonality. Both Ethan Burke and Dale Cooper are special agents with the government — of course Ethan is with the Secret Service while Dale is with the FBI — and they've both come to town on official business. But that's basically where their similarities begin and end. Ethan is a much darker, broodier character whose past mistakes still haunt him every day. Dale tends to take things a little lighter than Ethan. Plus, he's basically perfect. Have you seen Twin Peaks? Tell me he's not perfect.

2. Ethan & Dale's Arrivals Are Similar... Sort Of

Though the arrivals of Ethan and Dale occur under different circumstances, there are some shared elements. Dale arrives voluntarily to Twin Peaks, while Ethan arrives thanks to a "car crash" (though in reality he was sent there). However, both happen to be investigating cases in the area. Dale is looking into Laura Palmer's death and Ethan is searching for missing fellow special agents. The similarities continue for a little while as Ethan discovers that one of the agents for whom he has been searching is found murdered. Then the differences take over as Ethan learns the identity of the killer quite quickly, while who killed Laura Palmer becomes the pressing mystery of Twin Peaks.

3. The Towns Share Eerie Qualities & Hold Big Secrets

Aside from both towns being totally weird and a little too friendly and quaint on the surface, Wayward Pines and Twin Peaks both hold dark secrets. Twin Peaks has a million of them from the secret of Bob to Laura's double life and everything in between. In Wayward Pines, there is a more central secret: The town's true purpose and how everyone ended up there.

4. Eccentric Characters Abound

From the Log Lady in Twin Peaks to Arlene Moran, Sheriff Pope's secretary, and Nurse Pam in Wayward Pines, both towns feature truly strange characters as well as ton of residents who hold dark secrets. In fact, this might be the closest parallel between the two shows.

5. Important Characters Can't Always Be Trusted

Honestly, who was completely trustworthy on Twin Peaks? The same can be said for Wayward Pines, especially the character of Kate Hewson, Ethan's former partner in the Secret Service with whom he also had an affair. She's been stuck in Wayward Pines, but has accepted the lifestyle (basically because she has no choice). Despite being one of Ethan's closest friends and his former lover, there's something about her that seems like she has more secrets than she lets on, which makes her pretty suspect — almost as suspect as everyone on Twin Peaks.

6. At Least One Character Loves Some Type Of Food

Dale Cooper loves his coffee and pie. Sherriff Pope loves his Rum Raisin ice cream. This is easily my favorite similarity between the shows.

Oh, and one more major thing Twin Peaks and Wayward Pines have in common? If you haven't already, you should start watching them ASAP.

Images: Liane Hentscher/FOX; Giphy (10)