After months of speculation, Fox has announced that it is bringing back its hit ’90s TV show The X-Files, about a team of FBI special agents investigating unsolved cases about strange and paranormal phenomena, for at least six new episodes, delighting fans who have long pushed for a revival. Here are some things viewers can look forward to in the new episodes:
- First episode to loop in new viewers on dramatic conceit with Gillian Anderson loudly announcing, “I am the cynic” and David Duchovny announcing, “I am the believer”
- Mulder put on paid leave after firing 47 rounds into mutant reaching for wallet
- Controversial decision to forgo original series’s now-dated laugh track
- Increasingly depressing “will they or won’t they?” romantic tension continues playing out between middle-aged leads
- Story arc focusing on X-Files office’s efforts to increase intel sharing with partner agencies in accordance with 9/11 Commission recommendations
- More brass added to title music
- Copyright restrictions result in Mulder and Scully always being referred to as Muddy and Scamp
- Creator Chris Carter finally given chance to explore nuances of the X-Files universe in ways not allowed by 10,000 minutes of television, two feature films, a spin-off series, and dozens of comic books
- Visual confirmation of the inexorable march of time
- Entire season won’t make any sense unless you’ve read issues 1-16 of X-Files comic arc Afterflight
- New episodes to be bad