The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

– supernatural television series that originally aired on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

network for 9 seasons from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002. The series centers on

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

special agents

Fox Mulder Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterre ...

(

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...

) and

Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the Fox science-fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anderson. Scully is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Spec ...

(

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

), who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called

X-File In the fictional universe of the television series '' The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. Th ...

s. Mulder, an FBI profiler, is a believer in the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

, and the skeptical Scully, a medical doctor, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries which could ultimately be used to discredit his work. Throughout the series the two develop a close friendship. During the eighth and ninth seasons of the series, Duchovny's role was reduced from lead actor to an intermittent lead role. The show's premise originated with Chris Carter, who served as an executive producer along with R. W. Goodwin,

Frank Spotnitz Frank Charles Spotnitz is an American television screenwriter and executive producer, best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''The Man in the High Castle''. Spotnitz is also the chief executive officer and founder of Big Light Production ...

Howard Gordon Howard Gordon (born March 31, 1961) is an American television writer and producer. He is well known for his work on the Fox action series '' 24'' alongside the Showtime thriller ''Homeland'', which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon ...

Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's '' Breaking Bad'' (2008– ...

John Shiban John Shiban is an American television writer and producer. He worked in both capacities on ''The X-Files'' and its spin-off '' The Lone Gunmen'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', '' Smallville'', '' Supernatural'', '' Legend of the Seeker'', '' Breakin ...

Kim Manners Kim Manners (January 13, 1951 – January 25, 2009) was an American television producer, director and actor best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''Supernatural''. Early life Kim Manners was raised in a show business family. His fath ...

Glen Morgan Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served a ...

, James Wong, and many others. Filming for seasons one to

five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

took place primarily in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and for the remaining seasons in Los Angeles. Episodes were broadcast on Fridays at 9:00 pm Eastern Time for the series' first three seasons; the remaining six seasons aired on Sundays at 9:00 pm Eastern Time. Episodes are approximately 45 minutes in length (not including commercials) and were broadcast in

standard definition Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...

. Two feature films based on the television series have been released as part of ''The X-Files'' franchise: the first premiered in summer 1998, between seasons five and six of the series, and a post-series film, '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe'', was released in 2008. On March 24, 2015, Fox officially announced the series would return for a six-episode tenth season, which aired in 2016. On April 20, 2017, Fox officially announced ''The X-Files'' would be returning for an eleventh season of ten episodes, which premiered on January 3, 2018. Many mythology collections of ''The X-Files'' episodes have been released on DVD. Since 2000,

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

has distributed all seasons on DVD, and episodes are also available for download at the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

and

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

, and are available for streaming on Hulu. The show's episodes have won a number of awards, including three Golden Globe Awards for Best Drama Series and a Satellite Award for Best Drama Series. Various cast members' performances have been praised by critics, particularly those of Duchovny and Anderson.

Series overview

Episodes

Episodes marked with a

double dagger A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descenda ...

() are episodes in the series' alien mythology arc.

Season 1 (1993–94)

Season 2 (1994–95)

Season 3 (1995–96)

Season 4 (1996–97)

Season 5 (1997–98)

''The X-Files'' (1998)

Season 6 (1998–99)

Season 7 (1999–2000)

Season 8 (2000–01)

Season 9 (2001–02)

''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' (2008)

Season 10 (2016)

Season 11 (2018)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:The X-Files Episodes X-Files X Files

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...