Fox brought classic supernatural series The X-Files back to the airwaves in early 2016 for a shortened tenth season, and while the show accumulated a loyal fanbase over its original nine year run, Mulder and Scully had been gone from the small screen for nearly 14 years by the time Season 10 premiered. There was really no saying if the revival would be a hit, but luckily for fans, the new episodes brought huge ratings for Fox that have had many of us wondering if an eleventh season could really be in the works. Now, Fox has the answer. Or an answer, The network is actively trying to work with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson to reunite them once more for a Season 11, according to Fox entertainment president David Madden.
Significant talks [are underway]. We would obviously love to do another season [but] schedules are hard. We're working hard to get this done.
Madden's reveal that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have been officially approached about Season 11 came during the TCA press tour (via TVLine). The actors and executives have been vague about whether or not actual progress has been made toward more X-Files in the months since Season 10 premiered, so news that Fox is moving forward and trying to work out a schedule with the stars is definitely reason to get excited (X-cited).
Still, we shouldn't start whistling the theme song and planning our next X-Files watch parties yet. A lot still needs to happen before we can count on another season. The show could conceivably move forward without Mitch Pileggi as Skinner and William B. Davis as the Cigarette-Smoking Man, but Mulder and Scully are a package deal. Folks tuned into Season 10 to see David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson together as the intrepid agents, and any of us who remember Season 9 of the original series know that the show isn't the same without both actors on board full time. Anderson recently signed on for a role in American Gods, among her other active gigs, and Duchovny is rarely idle for long, so it could be a struggle to work out a time for both of the actors to return to pay off that terrible Season 10 cliffhanger. Fox Television CEO Dana Walden has stated that the network is looking for eight to ten episodes for Season 11, which would require more filming time from the actors than the six episodes of Season 10.
There's also the question of how motivated the actors are to return to their iconic characters for Season 11. Although David Duchovny has been enthusiastic about coming back for more, Gillian Anderson has spoken out about the difficulties of filming in Canada when she and her family are living in London. Fox may not have the easiest time getting all of the X-Files ducks in a row again, so hopefully the studio will know better than to try offering Anderson half of Duchovny's pay again. I'm a huge fan of The X-Files, but I wouldn't blame her if she has some reservations about jumping into a new deal for another batch of episodes.
On the whole, I'm encouraged by the news that Fox is actively working toward bringing David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson back for more X-Files. The revival could have easily flopped if the actors hadn't been able to channel their characters again, and there had been no knowing if the cases and mysteries that worked for audiences in the 1990s could work in 2016. The six episodes were solid enough to warrant more, and we don't want to wait another fourteen years for Season 11.
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