The truth is still out there: “X-Files” mounts comeback

X Files

 

Get your conspiracy on folks, because Mulder and Scully are about to make another run to find “the truth”.

Looking to strike gold again, Fox announced Tuesday it has ordered six episodes of The X-Files, with production set to begin this summer. With an airdate yet to be set, the X-Files revival is expected to air sometime next season as an “event”.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are reprising their roles as FBI agents Mulder and Scully, respectively. Also on board is creator and executive producer Chris Carter, who was quoted as saying “I think of it as a thirteen-year commercial break.” All three appeared at Comic-Con San Diego panel two years ago, celebrating the show’s twentieth anniversary (which you can watch here.) Anderson noted her character inspired many young women to enter the field of physics.

Premiering on September 10, 1993, The X-Files was one of the most successful science fiction series in television history, airing on Fox for nine years. After three seasons on Fridays, the series moved to Sundays in 1996 and became a huge ratings hit, peaking in audience during the 1997-98 season.

The X-Files also spawned two feature files and a 2001 spinoff, the short-lived Lone Gunmen. Repeats of The X-Files‘ went into weekend broadcast syndication in 1997 and had a successful eight-year run.

Just last year, Fox successfully revived hit drama 24 with 24: Live Another Day, bringing back Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer as an “event” mini-series. Going back into TV history, NBC successfully revived 1950’s crime drama Dragnet in 1967, with Jack Webb reprising his role as Joe Friday. Airing until 1970, he and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) dealt with the issues of the time (drug use, stop-and-frisk, hippies, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, etc.)

What will Mulder and Scully deal with in 2016 which wasn’t present in the ’90’s? Spying? Video surveillance? Terrorism? Advanced cybercrime? Fans are eager to find out.

 

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