Fox teams up with The X-Files creator Chris Carter for an animated spin-off. The X-Files follows FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigate unsolved paranormal cases. The dichotomy between the two characters, Mulder’s belief in supernatural and Scully’s skepticism, drew in audiences. The series was heavily influenced by alien abductions, the Watergate political scandal, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
The science-fiction/drama has a history of revivals. The series originally ran on Fox from 1993-2002. After nine seasons, Fox greenlit two feature films and eventually revived The X-Files for 2 more seasons, which ended in 2018. In 2001, Fox attempted a comedic spin-off with Lone Gunman as the titular character, but was canceled after 13 episodes. The characters of the shows have even extended into comic books, but now the famous series is returning to TV.
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According to TV Line, Fox is working with original creator Chris Carter in creating an animated comedy spin-off of The X-Files. The animated series, titled The X-Files: Albuquerque, will follow the X-Files’ B-Team, an office of misfit agents tasked with the X-Files “too wacky, ridiculous or downright dopey” cases. Bento Box will animate the spin-off, the studio who recently animated Netflix’s Hoops.
Rocky Russo, Jeremy Sosenko, and Gabe Rotter join Carter as Executive producers. Russo and Sosenko worked together on Netflix’s Paradise PD also animated by Bento Box. Rotter wrote for the revival season of The X-Files and has worked with Carter on other projects like his canceled Amazon series The After. There are no actors currently attached to the animated series.
The franchise is no stranger to spin-offs and Fox, now owned by Disney, is taking advantage of the surge of animation. Animation, however, takes longer to produce than live-action series. Even with Covid-19 coloring the production line for live-action and animation productions, the series could be canceled during development. However, the franchise is 27 years old, spanning multiple generations who will surely voice their disappointment if the spin-off is canceled. Hulu currently streams The X-Files, and although the animated spin-off hasn’t found a home, streaming the spin-off on Hulu would be strategic because the older episodes are already accessible on Hulu.
The X-Files news comes at a strategic time of nostalgia and because Supernatural will finish its run this year. The X-Files can return without having to compete with live-action productions like Supernatural, plus animation is a flexible medium that will also allow for physical comedy. Supernatural’s departure from the TV lineup also means there’s a gap of paranormal activity on television which can be filled by the spin-off. Details regarding the project are scarce at this point, but more news will surely come out once the series starts to gain more traction at Fox.
Source: TV Line