Fans of The X-Files have had a pretty grand year in 2016. Mulder and Scully returned to the small screen for the first time in more than a decade to do some fresh investigations into the paranormal. The big return was originally touted as a Season 10 miniseries event, but the huge success has meant that Fox is open to more X-Files in the future. The only real sour note about all things _X _- that is, aside from the excruciatingly frustrating cliffhanger in the Season 10 finale - was that there were only six new episodes. According to star David Duchovny, the low episode count is something that would be worth changing for a Season 11.
And I think there were too few episodes. Twenty-two is far too many, but six is too few, so we've got to figure out something right in between.
David Duchovny's reveal to TVInsider that he'd be game for more than six episodes of another season of The X-Files is a definite reason for fans to get excited about what's in store for the future of the series. Duchovny previously said he didn't think he or co-star Gillian Anderson would be up for a season of 20+ episodes, so his pitch for more than six but less than twenty-two sounds just about right. Duchovny has admitted that he had a hard time slipping back into some aspects of Mulder's character after being away for so long. It's encouraging to know that he's willing to continue to reprise Mulder for more episodes in the future.
Of course, David Duchovny wanting more than six episodes doesn't mean that we'll be getting more than six episodes. In fact, there's no saying if and/or when we might be getting any more episodes at all. Fourteen years passed before the stars could align to reunite Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and creator Chris Carter for another go at television. Anderson has expressed reluctance to hop back on the X-Files train again due to the fact that her life is currently based in London. A commute between Canada and the U.K. isn't one that any actress would likely want to make on a regular basis, and I personally wouldn't blame her if she still harbored some bitterness at being offered only half of what Duchovny was set to be paid for Season 10. She recently landed a role in the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, so she'll certainly be busy.
The X-Files obviously wouldn't work without both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on board. If Seasons 8 and 9 of the original run of the series are proof of anything, it's that the partnership of Mulder and Scully is what sparks the real magic of The X-Files. Hopefully, the two actors will be able to line up their schedules in a way that will bring a longer Season 11 onto our screens sooner rather than later. I'd frankly settle for a half-hour special if it meant resolution to the crazy Season 10 cliffhanger, but Duchovny's pitch for more than six new episodes sounds much better.
