Claim: There was a popular television show Gillian Anderson was part of.

The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter , which originally aired from September 10 , 1993 to May 19 , 2002 on Fox . The program spanned nine seasons , included 202 episodes , and a feature film of the same name . Later in 2008 , a second film was made and preceded a tenth season revival , which consisted of six episodes , in 2016 . The revival premiered on January 24 , 2016 . In April 2017 , Fox officially announced that The X-Files would be returning for an eleventh season of ten episodes , which would air in the 2017 -- 18 television season .   The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation -LRB- FBI -RRB- special agents Fox Mulder -LRB- David Duchovny -RRB- and Dana Scully -LRB- Gillian Anderson -RRB- who investigate X-Files : marginalized , unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena . Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully , a medical doctor and a skeptic , is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder 's discoveries to debunk his work and thus return him to mainstream cases . Early in the series , both agents become pawns in a larger conflict and come to trust only each other and a very few select people . The agents also discover an agenda of the government to keep the existence of extraterrestrial life a secret . They develop a close relationship which begins as a platonic friendship , but becomes a romance by the end of the series . In addition to the series-spanning story arc , `` Monster-of-the-Week '' episodes form roughly two-thirds of all episodes .   The X-Files was inspired by earlier television series which featured elements of suspense and speculative fiction , including Alfred Hitchcock Presents , The Twilight Zone , Night Gallery , Tales from the Darkside , and especially Kolchak : The Night Stalker . When creating the main characters , Carter sought to reverse gender stereotypes by making Mulder a believer and Scully a skeptic . The first seven seasons featured Duchovny and Anderson equally . In the last two seasons , Anderson took precedence while Duchovny appeared intermittently . New main characters were introduced : FBI agents John Doggett -LRB- Robert Patrick -RRB- and Monica Reyes -LRB- Annabeth Gish -RRB- . Mulder and Scully 's boss , Assistant Director Walter Skinner -LRB- Mitch Pileggi -RRB- , also became a main character . The first five seasons of The X-Files were filmed and produced in Vancouver , British Columbia , before eventually moving to Los Angeles to accommodate Duchovny . The series later returned to Vancouver to film The X-Files : I Want to Believe as well as the tenth season of the series .   The X-Files was a hit for the Fox network and received largely positive reviews , although its long-term story arc was criticized near the conclusion . Initially considered a cult series , it turned into a pop culture touchstone that tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality . Both the series itself and lead actors Duchovny and Anderson received multiple awards and nominations , and by the end it was the longest-running science fiction series in U.S. television history . The series also spawned a franchise which includes The Lone Gunmen spin-off , two theatrical films and accompanying merchandise . After the final theatrical film in 2008 , fans continued to push for a third movie to conclude the series ' plot lines , and in March 2015 , Fox eventually announced that the series would return , with Chris Carter as executive producer and writer , and Duchovny , Anderson , Pileggi , Davis , and Gish all reprising their roles .