“The X-Files” gang is getting back together for a six-episode limited series to which Fox has formally given a series order.
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be back as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Series creator Chris Carter will be at the helm for 20th Century Fox TV and Ten Thirteen Productions. Production is set to begin this summer, although Fox has not yet set an air date.
“I think of it as a 13-year commercial break,” Carter said. “The good news is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these six stories.”
The “X-Files” revival follows last spring’s return of “24” as a 13-episode limited series. NBC has joined the mania for resurrecting series with built-in audience awareness with its plans for the “Heroes Reborn” miniseries next season.
“X-Files” is a natural, as the show about FBI sleuths investigating instances of paranormal activity is tailor-made for social-media obsession — even if it hails from an earlier TV era. “X-Files” had a nine-season run on Fox from 1993-2002. It spawned two feature films, 1998’s “The X-Files: Fight the Future” and 2008’s “The X-Files: I Want to Believe.”
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Fox Television Group chairs Gary Newman and Dana Walden shepherded the show on the studio side during its network run. The pair have made no secret of their interest in bringing it back. The new episodes may well spark renewed interest in the show from SVOD platforms, just as the “24: Live Another Day” episodes spurred Fox to cut a rich pact for the entire series library with Amazon Prime.
Earlier this year, Newman and Walden confirmed early plans for “The X-Files” revival at the Television Critics Assn. press tour.
Now official, the duo commented: “We had the privilege of working with Chris on all nine seasons of ‘The X-Files’ — one of the most rewarding creative experiences of our careers — and we couldn’t be more excited to explore that incredible world with him again.”
They added, “‘The X-Files’ was not only a seminal show for both the studio and the network, it was a worldwide phenomenon that shaped pop culture — yet remained a true gem for the legions of fans who embraced it from the beginning. Few shows on television have drawn such dedicated fans as ‘The X-Files,’ and we’re ecstatic to give them the next thrilling chapter of Mulder and Scully they’ve been waiting for.”
