Fox revives 'X-Files' as six-episode event
The truth may still be out there, but the search for it is resuming at Fox.
The network Tuesday announced the return of The X-Files as a six-episode event series, with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprising their roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Creator Chris Carter will be back in charge, too.
Production will begin this summer, but Fox did not announce a premiere date or any other details.
The return isn't surprising, as Fox executives said in January that they were talking to Carter about a reboot of the series.
That same month, Duchovny told USA TODAY he expected X-Files would return and that he was "more than happy and excited to bring it back and do it again with Gillian and Chris. ... It will be in some kind of limited form. We're all old, we don't have the energy for a full season," he said with a laugh.
The Emmy-winning sci-fi hit became a pop-culture phenomenon during a nine-season run that ended in 2002. The series also spawned feature films, the most recent one in 2008. The series followed Scully and Mulder as they investigated unexplained phenomena, frequently venturing into the world of the paranormal.
"I think of it as a 13-year commercial break," Carter said in a statement. "The good news is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these six stories."
"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," Fox Television Group chairmen and CEOs Gary Newman and Dana Walden said in a statement. "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."