Fox Might Be Bringing X-Files Back to Television - The UpStream

Last week on the Nerdist podcast with Chris Hardwick, Gillian Anderson was asked if she would be interested in returning to the X-Files universe in her acting career, and she said she would be overjoyed. Apparently she misses the series so much that she has been working to gather a loud enough fanbase on social media to bring the show back. For most of us, this seemed like a longshot, but Fox recently brought 24 back with a miniseries, so nothing is impossible, right?

Correct. In fact, Fox has spoken with creator Chris Carter, and they are in talks to revive the long-dead franchise, probably in miniseries form. Here's the thing about miniseries that many people may not know: they are actually an active pilot program to see if a program could survive on its own. That means, should the proposed miniseries succeed, the series could return full time to the network.

There is a catch, though: both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny would have to agree to come back as a pair. Obviously Anderson is interested, but her time may not be available. She is currently starring on Hannibal on NBC and The Fall on Netflix, which leaves little time for a 3rd full-time series. Duchovny, after the end of Californication last year has signed on to headline Aquarius on NBC.

All of this does not mean that the series return is impossible. In fact, if Anderson is interested enough to be actively recruiting fans to demand its return, that means she believes there is enough room in her schedule to make it work, at least at a miniseries level. If Fox is able to revive the series, even for a short run, it would mark a good year for Sci-Fi fans, with NBC set to revive Heroes, also in miniseries form, as early as this year.