David Duchovny on his favorite episode of The X-Files revival

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

With just a month and a day to go until The X-Files returns to our screens, it's time to start getting very excited about witnessing Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigating the paranormal once again. Much of the old gang will be returning, both on-camera and behind-the-scenes, for six new episodes and TVLine was able to sit down with David Duchovny recently for a chat about all things X-Files, they even got him to reveal his personal favourite of this new batch of episodes.

For me in terms of being an actor, Darin [Morgan]’s scripts — which were funny and whimsical yet very smart and rigorous — were always challenging and fun. And it’s the same this time with [the Morgan written/directed “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster,” airing Feb. 1]. Chris [Carter] really took care of the scope and the action, [but] action’s less interesting for me to play as an actor. You’ve got to be there at night, basically. And you’ve got to run to something or from something. [Laughs] That’s not a knock on Chris’ writing. But Darin’s episodes were always very verbally, often comically driven and thematically twisted. And it’s the same this time.

If he had any creative input on the revival:

No. When we were originally talking about [a possible revival] we were conceiving of it as 12 or 13 episodes, because that was the [traditional] model. And in that [scenario] I thought I would write one or direct one. But the way it worked out with six episodes, there just wasn’t any room.

On whether The X-Files could return for more episodes:

I don’t see why not. But we don’t want to just make more episodes because we can. I’m not interested in that. And I don’t think Chris is interested in that. If Chris is re-inspired to start thinking about where to take the show and the characters next I’m sure we’d all listen.

I hope that The X-Files' return is successful enough to warrent another set of six-episodes as it would be great to see Mulder and Scully back on television every couple of years, but for now, I'm just happy that we're getting anything at all. The X-Files returns to television on January 24, 2016.