Twin Peaks

Invitation to Love is a fictional soap opera in Twin Peaks. It is seen briefly on TV screens in all but the first of seven episodes of the first season, and was shot in the Ennis House.

The show acts as a commentary on events unfolding in Twin Peaks itself, often highlighting some of the more outlandish or melodramatic elements of the show. The most obvious example of this "show-within-a-show" commentary can be found when Maddy Ferguson, the near-identical cousin of Laura Palmer, first arrives in Twin Peaks. Just before Maddy first appears on the show, an episode of Invitation to Love is shown in which it is revealed that there are identical twin characters in Invitation to Love who are played by the same actress, much as Maddy and Laura Palmer are almost identical, and are both played by Sheryl Lee. It is also implied in the brief snippet of the show that is shown that Jade and Emerald, the two characters in Invitation to Love, are characters with very different personalities, much as sweet and innocent Maddy is diametrically opposed to the dark and secretive Laura in Twin Peaks.
Another example can be found in the final episode of the first season, when Leo Johnson is shot in a dramatic fashion, and a similar event is shown happening to the character of Montana in Invitation to Love. Both shootings involve the character who has been shot lying down and slowly dying.
There is one final reference in one episode of the second season (audio only).
Invitation characters
•   Jared Lancaster, soap patriarch and owner of "The Towers". Aging father to Emerald and Jade. Played by "Evan St. Vincent" (Peter Michael Goetz).
•   Chet, geeky husband to Jade, and keeper of Jared's will. He is played by the fictional actor "Martin Hadley" (Lance Davis).
•   Montana, an aggressive, rapacious bully who schemes with Emerald to gain ownership of The Towers. He is played by "Jason Denbo" (Rick Giolito).
•   Emerald, seductive, manipulative twin sister to Jade. Schemes with Montana to end her father's life and collect the inheritance. Played by "Selina Swift" (Erika Anderson).
•   Jade, sweeter, more innocent twin to Emerald, who tries to save her father's life. Wife of Chet. Also played by "Selina Swift" (Erika Anderson).
Lynch later reused the motif of a show-within-a-show in his film Inland Empire which incorporated a secondary series, Rabbits. The more recent series, Ugly Betty also employed a similar recurring motif in its first season.