David Duchovny really wants you to believe that The X-Files is coming back again on Fox – “soon-ish.” Putting more than the tea leaves in motion, the Aquarius star took to social media today to wish co-star Gillian Anderson a happy birthday and send some news to fans and Fox TV Group chairman Dana Walden.

Take a look here at what Duchovny teased about another season of FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on the case – whatever the case might be:

David Duchovny ‏@davidduchovny 15h15 hours ago
Happy Birthday, Gillian. If you see Dana, tell her Fox says she might wanna polish up the ol' badge soon-ish. Love, D


The brief words from the three-time Golden Globe winner come a day after Walden and Fox Entertainment president David Madden talked up at TCA that “significant talks” are underway to bring back the Chris Carter created series for another limited run.

The X-Files initially ran from 1993 to 2002 on Fox and became a cultural touchstone of the Clinton Era with its mysteries within mysteries, power plays and search for alien contact with humans. The 6-episode revival earlier this year proved to be a hit for the net, with strong broadcast results and even stronger digital and on-demand pull.

“I don’t see a full season of episodes, but I’d be happy to get 10 or 8 episodes,” said Walden on Monday of more X-Files, which have been under discussion for awhile. Looks like Duchovny would be happy with that too so guess that ol’ Bureau badge better get polished up.

Posted August 8 2016 — 4:59 PM EDT

Fox is defending its The X-Files revival last season, which some critics felt was wildly uneven.

EW gave the premiere of the sci-fi reboot a C- grade (others were even more harsh), though bestowed the third episode of the season an A grade, concluding the six-episode revival was “never better, never worse.” Many fans felt the bookending mythology episodes were clunky, stuffed with shouty exposition, while the stand-alone episodes seemed to recapture some of the 1990s series’ original magic.

“I actually think that the season, the six episodes, were strong,” said Fox entertainment president David Madden. “We worked hard with [creator Chris Carter]. The episodes represent Chris and his team’s vision. Everybody reads what they read, but if we have the opportunity to do more episodes, we will take our cue from Chris and his team and I think that there was some very strong work the previous season and we look forward to more. I would just add that the show was off the air for a very long time and was introduced to a variety of new viewers. There was still a lot of time to cover in these six episodes so they had the challenge of filling in the mythology and explaining where the characters were and how they got to where they are at the start of the six episodes. I think going forward there won’t be the same obligation to reset the series, but I will tell you that on our social platforms, the chatter is overwhelmingly positive and the fans want more episodes. I did read some negative reviews and I also saw some glowing reviews. So, like with most shows, I thought it was very mixed.”

Madden added he’s definitely trying to strike deals with all involved to get another season of the show. “There are significant talks going on with all three of the principals,” he said. “Schedules are hard but we’re working hard to get this done and we would love to get [another] season out.”

The next season of The X-Files would once again probably not be a full season, but executives say they’re aiming for about 10 episodes.

I’m told (FOX) is eyeing a Spring/Mid-2017 production start in Vancouver. Sources also tell TVWise that Fox is eyeing the new season for a key slot on their 2017 Fall schedule.



Once the official pick-up comes down, talks will then begin with other key players who are deemed vital for the new season. That includes Glen Morgan, who wrote and executive produced season ten, and Mitch Pileggi who plays Mulder and Scully’s erstwhile boss, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner. Chris Carter will once again serve as lead writer, executive producer and showrunner. There is no word on who Carter is looking at to staff the writers room for these new episodes, which will have to pick up from the cliffhanger ending of season ten.

Fox’s most popular “new” show last year was the revival of The X-Files, and now the network is finally very close to ordering more episodes.

At the Television Critics Association’s press tour in Pasadena, California on Wednesday, Fox president David Madden told reporters that while the deal-making is “complex” on the show due to the schedules of stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, the network expects “to have an announcement shortly.”

After Fox’s executive session, Madden told us he wanted to have a reveal ready for Wednesday’s event, but any deals weren’t quite done.

Fox is looking to have more than the shortened, six-episode season that was ordered for last year’s revival … but also cautioned that its order won’t be as large as a traditional 22-episode broadcast series.

Most likely, The X-Files will return in 2018, the executive noted.