It's hard to believe (even if you want to) that January finally brings The X-Files series back to television. However, the truth is out there and Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are back.
In anticipation of that return, Fox just released a 21-minute preview offering fans a first really good peek into what the series has in store for viewers when it airs next month.
The preview not only shows clips from upcoming episodes, but also goes behind the scenes, thanks to interviews with showrunner Chris Carter, as well as with Duchovny, Anderson and others involved with the series this time around.
The new limited series will feature stand-alone episodes, but still mix in the show's overall mythology, look and feel. In the clip, we see that the aliens are possibly back, but that as usual, the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) tells Mulder that he's wrong and that he's always been wrong.
One thing is for certain, though: in the new series, Mulder and Scully are not romantic partners. That was a decision Carter made early on. Although the pair have a son together, when the new series picks up, they are officially no longer a couple.
"I thought it was honest," said Carter to TV Line. "And I thought it was an interesting thing to explore, as well as a way to put tension into the idea that the X-Files would be more difficult to reopen if they were split up versus together."
There's also a possibility that this six-episode event series of The X-Files isn't so limited. In a separate interview with TV Line, Duchovny recently hinted that this is something that Fox could do every year, although it's probably all dependent on fan reception.
"I don't see why not," said Duchovny when asked about potentially making The X-Files an annual event. "But we don't want to just make more episodes because we can. I'm not interested in that. And I don't think Chris is interested in that. If Chris is re-inspired to start thinking about where to take the show and the characters next, I'm sure we'd all listen."
The X-Files premieres Jan. 24 on Fox.
