WAYWARD Pines. In which creator Chad Hodge and filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan attempt to make their own version of Twin Peaks.

The new drama on Fox, about two missing federal agents, has all the classic tell-tale signs to warrant a comparison with David Lynch's hit show – a small town with creepy characters and where nothing is as it seems.

But if the first episode is anything to go by, Wayward Pines has enough to stand out on its own merits.

The mind-bending plot sees Secret Service agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) wake up from a car accident in a green and pleasant little town called Wayward Pines in Idaho.

But he has no idea how he got there, the car and his partner Agent Stallings are nowhere to be seen, his wallet and phone are missing and his attempts to contact home are in vain.

Burke also appears to be physically trapped in Wayward Pines and is almost convinced he is seeing things and losing his mind.

Full of mystery and suspense and with an eerie conspiracy feel throughout, it was a promising opening to the show.

And with Burke being assisted by Beverly (Juliette Lewis), a bartender who may or may not exist and with suggestions of a time paradox when he sees a familiar face, it looks like the series will only get stranger.

Wayward Pines was created by Chad Hodge but is produced by M. Night Shyamalan who also directed the first episode.

Some viewers may have mixed feelings about his involvement because while Shyamalan's early films like The Sixth Sense and Signs were acclaimed, his more recent work like After Earth and The Happening have been slammed by critics.

But TV may be the perfect format for Shyamalan's work.

Where he excels is in creating a grand premise for his stories. Wayward Pines certainly has that and has plenty of room to explore it beyond the two hour window you usually get in a film.

And although the twists in Shyamalan's films have become something of a running joke now they may work well in a series like this which relies on plenty of them.

One of the highlights of the opening episode was Melissa Leo as Nurse Pam who is as creepily cheerful as she is sinister.

- Wayward Pines is on Fox on Thursdays at 9pm