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Online spying makes this the 'perfect time' to bring back 'X-Files,' says creator Chris Carter

Mulder and Scully are armed with more powerful technology than they had in the '90s as they search for the truth in today's America.

Bonnie Burton
Journalist Bonnie Burton writes about movies, TV shows, comics, science and robots. She is the author of the books Live or Die: Survival Hacks, Wizarding World: Movie Magic Amazing Artifacts, The Star Wars Craft Book, Girls Against Girls, Draw Star Wars, Planets in Peril and more! E-mail Bonnie.
Bonnie Burton
3 min read

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The new "X-Files" promo poster reminds us that "The truth is still out there." Fox

The new series of "The X-Files" will see agents Mulder and Scully tackle conspiracies in a modern world of spy tech, government surveillance and alternative online media. And for some fans, the wait is already over. Stop reading now if you're paranoid about spoilers, because details of the first new episode are already starting to make their way into the world.

Attendees at the MIPCOM television conference in Cannes were treated to a screening of the first episode as well as a live Q&A with the show's creator, Chris Carter. And the first thing they learned was good news: The iconic opening credit music is the same as you remember it.

"We thought about doing some changes to the original credits, but then it seemed like sacrilege," Carter said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "Those credits were on 202 episodes. They belong on these next six."

The show will, however, reflect advances in technology and science since the original "X-Files." The series ended in 2002, and FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) were last seen chasing paranormal mysteries in the 2008 movie "The X-Files: I Want to Believe."

"Mulder and Scully used to walk around with giant cellphones. They now have the Internet and they didn't have that in the beginning, so much has changed," Carter said, as reported on the conference's blog. "We're trying to be honest with the changes dealing with digital technology, the capability of spying. Clearly we're being spied on in the US, or at least spying on you. And there seems to be no shame in it."

In addition to Mulder and Scully, the new series will introduce new character Tad O'Malley, an anchor of a popular conservative Internet news network played by Joel McHale of "Community."

"Right now in the Internet there are 500 conspiracy sites, and there are people like Tad O'Malley out here who have got the public's attention. And I'm interested in these people," Carter said. "Tad O'Malley for me is a combination of many of these personalities who are talking: they're alternative media folk."

The six-episode season begins and ends with stories continuing the show's mythos, and there will be standalone, "monster-of-the-week" episodes in between. But there will be plenty of "ripped from the headlines" stories that pay close attention to the US government's reliance on surveillance, large corporations covering up their wrongdoings and a heaping dose of the usual paranoia.

"Every day I look at the newspaper and I see a possible 'X-Files' episode, so this is obviously something that -- I did it for a long time and you never quite lose the eye for what would be good 'X-Files' storytelling," Carter told the audience. "It's a perfect time to come back with the 'X-Files' considering global politics."

Hoping to see the debut episode of the new "X-Files" before the year's out? You can catch it if you're at New York Comic Con on October 10. The event will also include a Q&A session with Duchovny and Carter, moderated by actor Kumail Nanjiani, who also has a small part in the new series.