‘The X-Files’ Season 11: Fox Stands By Chris Carter And ‘Would Love to Do It’
When “The X-Files” returned this spring for a short six-episode “event series,” fans and critics alike probably didn’t expect that the season would end with an extreme cliffhanger — one that creator Chris Carter told IndieWire was “me being devious. What it does, for me, is provide the opportunity to promote more ‘X-Files’ episodes, which I think everyone would like — including me, the studio, the network, and the fans.”
News on when those new episodes would be delivered has been minimal, however, in the months since “Season 10” ended. And we didn’t get too much of an update today at the TCA summer press tour — except for the fact that Fox executives Dana Walden and David Madden confirmed that they would “love to do it” and that “significant talks with all three of the principals” are underway.
READ MORE: ‘The X-Files’ Cast & Crew ‘On Board’ For Another Installment, Says Fox CEO
(“That’s a very smart–” Madden began to joke in response to a critic suggesting that Duchovny’s agent was playing hardball.)
“The X-Files” was a ratings hit for Fox this year — or, in Walden’s words this morning, “It returned in a big way.” More than 16 million people watched each episode, and it reached 50 million people globally.
But not all of those people loved what they saw. When asked about the critical reaction to the six “uneven” episodes, the execs stressed their support for Carter’s vision.
READ MORE: The 49 Most Important Characters of ‘The X-Files,’ Ranked
“I actually think that the six episodes were strong,” Madden said, adding that the Fox team worked hard with Carter on Season 10 and that they felt it represented the vision of Carter and the writers. “There was strong work there.”
Walden added that “the show was off the air for a very long time,” and had the challenge of filling in the mythology and setting up the current status of the characters. A new season, she believes, wouldn’t have those same obstacles.
(In May, Fox’s Gary Newman told reporters that “Chris and David and Gillian would all like to do more of these, and certainly the network and studio would love to do more. So we feel encouraged by that. It shouldn’t be anything you anticipate before the 2017-2018 season.”)
In short, it sounds like Chris Carter will continue to get what he wants. Though we’ve still got a while to wait before we see that that is.
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