The X-Files is coming back to television, and Fox is canny enough to know how much a small-screen revival of the beloved sci-fi/detective drama will mean to its long-time fans. As such, we can probably expect a lot of infuriating, intriguing teasers like the one released today.
With that haunting theme tune and that iconic “I Want to Believe” poster (trampling over it crosses some serious boundaries, random spook), as well as glimpses of David Duchovny’s Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully, the trailer is a tiny but still enjoyable teaser for the reboot that gives away absolutely no plot but should still manage to get fans worked up.
Duchovny and Anderson are returning to topline the new episodes, and they’ll be joined by Mitch Pileggi as Skinner and William B. Davis as the Cigarette Smoking Man. Annet Mehendru and Joel McHale are both joining the cast in new roles, the latter as a conservative talk show host who allies himself with Mulder under unexpected circumstances.
No word yet on specific plot details for the revival, which will span six episodes and be overseen by original creator Chris Carter. As such, fans can expect a mix of overarching plot threads and case-of-the-week episodes. We’ll be sure to have more plot details closer to the premiere but, for now, all I’ll say is that I really, really want to believe in this series coming back and not missing a beat.
The X-Files returns to Fox in January of next year.