Kyle MacLachlan returning as Agent Cooper in 'Twin Peaks'

Kyle MacLachlan as FBI agent Dale Cooper in the 90's drama 'Twin Peaks'

PASADENA, Calif. -- When "Twin Peaks" returns to TV, FBI agent Dale Cooper will be along for the ride.

Kyle MacLachlan is reprising the role in Showtime's sequel to the 1990-91 ABC drama, the cable channel said Monday.

Showtime President David Nevins employed a cameo appearance by MacLachlan to make the announcement to a Television Critics Association meeting.

As Nevins spoke to reporters in a hotel ballroom, the actor walked up to him with a cup in hand.

"I think you need a damn good cup of coffee," a smiling MacLachlan said, reviving a catchphrase of his character.

"Twin Peaks," which eerily posed the question, "Who killed Laura Palmer?" was set in an offbeat Northwestern town. It had a small but devoted following, and some critics have called it ahead of its time and the subsequent era of daring shows.

"I'm very excited to return to the strange and wonderful world of `Twin Peaks,'" MacLachlan said, adding impishly: "May the forest be with you."

Showtime has said the limited-run series, set in the present day, is going into production this year and will air in 2016.

Original series creators and executive producers David Lynch and Mark Frost had been toying with revisiting "Twin Peaks" 25 years later, Nevins said.

Nevins said he was "kinda begging them and hoping to pass muster" with Lynch, whose agreement to direct every episode of the limited-run series was seen as crucial by Showtime.

Additional casting has yet to be announced. Nevins also kept plot details to himself while trying to stoke early interest in the series.

Lynch and Frost "have been very specific in promising closure, and that's exciting," Nevins said. "From what I've seen - I won't even say what I've seen - this is going to live up to expectations and then some."

The original series' cast included Michael Ontkean, Lara Flynn Boyle and Sherilyn Fenn.