‘The X-Files’ Revived at Fox for Six-Part Limited Series

It’s official: The truth is still out there.

Months of rumblings about a TV revival of Fox’s landmark series The X-Files have panned out. The drama is set to return for a limited run on its original network.

Both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are locked in to reprise their respective roles of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, parts they originated in 1993 and played (for the most part) over nine seasons and two feature films. Production on the six-part series will start this summer, with a premiere date to be announced at a later date.

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“I think of it as a 13-year commercial break,” said series creator and executive producer Chris Carter, who also is returning. “The good news is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these six stories.”

For Fox Television Group chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman, it’s also a reunion. They were both with 20th Century Fox Television when the studio first launched the serial about paranormal investigations more than 20 years ago.

“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,” said Newman and Walden. “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.”

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They’re not the only ones who’ve been waiting. The series boasts a rabid fan base. The films raked in a respective $190 million and $68 million worldwide. And at its high point, between the fourth and sixth seasons, the series was grabbing nearly 20 million viewers a week. It was the highest-rated show on Fox at the time.

The X-Files has since earned the status as one of the greatest incubators for TV writing talent from the last 30 years. Alums of the writers room include Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and Homeland’s Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon — among many others.

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It seems that any late series is fair game for resurrection these days. Showtime recently landed a revival of David Lynch’s iconic Twin Peaks, and Fox brought back another 20th TV property, 24, just last year. Walden and Newman also have mentioned being open to an event treatment of Prison Break.

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