We all have different experiences when it comes to relationships with co-workers. Some walk away from a workplace knowing they’ve made lifelong friends, while others leave with nothing more than professional connections.

For longtime The X-Files co-stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, it took a while to get to the comfortable friendship they have today. The latter was a recent guest on the podcast Fail Better with David Duchovny, and they reflected on how their friendship evolved throughout the years.

Duchovny and Anderson worked together in the sci-fi drama series The X-Files where they portrayed the roles of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The original run aired for nine seasons from 1993 to 2002, and there were also two X-Files movies in between — released in 1998 and 2008. The series returned for seasons 10 and 11 in 2016 and 2018, much to the delight of fans.

Throughout the years, there have been rumors circulating about their relationship offscreen. It is believed that the two didn’t get along, and they’ve addressed it in a few interviews. In 2016, Duchovny and Anderson were guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live where the host said he was surprised they were friendly as he was “under the impression that you didn’t like each other.”

Both stars agreed they hit a rough patch and when pressed as to why, Anderson said one of the reasons was she took too long to get ready between takes because of what the humidity did to her hair, which kept her co-star waiting. “And I got pissed about it?” Duchovny asked. Anderson said it added to the tension between them. “It kinda makes me sound like an a**hole,” Duchovny declared.

The two have forged a good friendship

In the podcast, Duchovny told Anderson, “We know each other very deeply and yet we don’t know each other either in some weird way.” The two immediately connected as early as the auditions for X-Files, but at some point during the original run of the series, they drifted apart in what Duchovny described as his “failure of friendship.”

“There was a long time, working on the show, where we were just not even dealing with one another off-camera. And there was a lot of tension. Which didn’t matter, apparently, for the work cause we’re both f**king crazy, I guess. We could just go out there and do what we needed to do.”

Anderson agreed that it was unbelievable how they were able to project good chemistry on the series and not speak to each other at all when the cameras weren’t rolling. The tension was so obvious that Duchovny recalled The X-Files creator Chris Carter suggested that the two partake in a fake couples therapy.

Another memory that came to mind was when Duchovny offered a ride to Anderson via a private jet, despite not speaking to each other in what he described as their “most dysfunctional” time together. Duchovny was angry that Anderson was late, and the latter wrote him a note that touched him. “It’s a beautiful letter. I don’t it exactly, but it was appreciative, and it was all the things that I wanted to hear,” he shared.

It isn’t clear when Duchovny and Anderson resolved their issues, but the two are now good friends and each other’s endeavors. They occasionally appear in each other’s Instagram posts, a reassuring reminder that their relationship has withstood the test of time. Will they stay close? Let’s just say “I want to believe”.

The following article includes discussions of incest.

With a combination of 11 seasons, two films, and a potential reboot, The X-Files continues to resonate with fans. Whether they tune in for the romance or the monsters, there is something for everyone.

Core to the The X-Files success is the relationship between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). The two pull off the classic dichotomy of the believer vs. the skeptic with ease and affection. As the two FBI agents investigate cases no one else wants, they get closer to evidence that aliens exist. And to each other.

This chemistry has given the series longevity and remains a classic with a long list of impressive episodes. Though it may be hard to pick just a few, here are the 10 that stand above the rest.

10. Season 4, Episode 5 ‘The Field Where I Died’

Perhaps one of the more divisive episodes of the series, season 4, episode 5, should still be acknowledged as a brave attempt from The X-Files. It doesn’t feature the typical fare of alien abductions but instead finds a story based on the concept of past lives. While investigating a polygamous cult, Mulder becomes convinced that one of the women can recall her past lives. Melissa (Kristen Cloke) claims to be Mulder’s soulmate reincarnated, which drives him to undergo hypnosis.

The best part of the episode is the concept that he and Scully are also soulmates of a sort. In every one of his lives, Scully is a part of it, even though they are always driven apart. This plants seeds of the romance between the two, as well as being one of the more ambitious attempts of the show.

9. Season 2, Episode 2 – ‘The Host’

“The Host” is one monster-of-the-week episode that sticks in your mind no matter how much you wish it wouldn’t. The second episode of season 2 uses a combination of special effects and serious subject matter to make a memorable episode. Mulder and Scully investigate the sewers of New Jersey, only to realize it is being terrorized by a fluke-man. This creature is a parasitic creature created by the radiation of the Chernobyl disaster. 

As Scully points out, this isn’t the result of some supernatural event. People created this monster. “The Host” is a change of pace for the series and results in a thought-provoking story with disturbing imagery.

8. Season 1, Episode 3 – ‘Squeeze’

The third episode of the series sets the tone for the entire show. It debuts the character Eugene Victor Tooms (Doug Hutchison), a serial killer who can contort his body into any shape. Tooms hibernates for decades until he is ready to go on the hunt and create a nest. He naturally goes after Scully in an episode that replicates the feeling of a decent thriller.

Most impressive in the episode is the precedent for the character. Tooms recurs throughout the show as the personification of remorseless evil, amplified disturbingly by Hutchison’s performance.

7. Season 1, Episode 24 – ‘Erlenmeyer Flask’

The season 1 finale of The X-Files was the culmination of a cult phenomenon. There was nothing else like it on television, and the final episode of the first season wraps up the experience. Mulder spends the first season investigating his hunches, only to find himself in the middle of a government conspiracy. He and Scully discover that upon finding possible evidence of alien DNA, anyone involved starts getting killed off.

The episode features the death of Mulder’s source, known as “Deep Throat” (Jerry Hardin), and confirms for Mulder that his beliefs are on the right track. ‘Erlenmeyer Flask’ adds to the central mythology of the series and the central thesis: “Trust no one.”

6. Season 4, Episode 7 – ‘Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man’

Since the beginning of The X-Files, the central antagonist has been a government conspiracy. This concept is represented by the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) who knows the truth about basically everything. Episode 7 of season 4 reveals the possible origins of this character. 

Though his beginnings are not corroborated, viewers are taken on a trip to see the Cigarette Smoking Man’s youth and involvement in many government cover-ups, including the assassination of JFK. The episode makes the character even more mysterious but also indicates possible truths about the villain that should make viewers even more afraid of him.

5. Season 3, Episode 20 – ‘Jose Chung From Outer Space’

The X-Files’ season 3 episode delves into the humorous territory of the unreliable narrator. Lauded as one of the most comedic detours in the series, Mulder and Scully investigate testimony by a couple allegedly abducted by aliens. This testimony is to be part of the titular book that an author is writing about UFO abductions. The humor of the episode is taken from how widely ridiculous these stories are, though not necessarily negating if aliens are real or not. The episode concludes, as many of The X-Files episodes do, ambiguously.

4. Season 5, Episode 5 – ‘The Post-Modern Prometheus’

A love letter to the Universal monster movies of days gone by, Mulder and Scully find themselves in a modern Frankenstein story. The episode is shot in black and white as the two find that a local scientist has been performing experiments that result in a creature known as Mutato (Chris Owens).

Though the townspeople turn on Mutato with torches and pitchforks, as is typically depicted in the story, the two FBI agents ensure the man has a happily ever after. The episode doubles down on themes about isolation and loneliness, making the episode an outlier in The X-Files pantheon.

3. Season 2, Episode 25 – ‘Anasazi’

As with many season finales in The X-Files, the season 2 conclusion, “Anasazi” further develops the mythology of the series. The episode is the beginning of a three-episode arc that continues into season 3, where Mulder becomes obsessed with an encrypted tape supposedly with government secrets on it. During his investigation, his father, Bill (Peter Donat), almost tells him the secrets of the government cover-up only to be shot and killed. The episode ends on a cliffhanger with many more questions being raised than answered.

2. Season 5, Episode 12 – ‘Bad Blood’

Before he was the mind behind AMC’s magnum opus, Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan wrote season 5, episode 12, “Bad Blood.” Once again, the series finds a way to balance humor and the truly spooky happenings of the series. When Mulder kills a young man he believes to be a vampire, he is disturbed to find out he may be human. He and Scully compare the events of what happened to Ronnie (Patrick Renna), which naturally reveals inconsistent perceptions of events.

Luckily for Mulder, it turns out that he hasn’t harmed an innocent person. Ronnie wakes up after being staked, revealing that the entire town is full of vampires. The episode is less focused on whether vampires are real and more on the contradictory statements that Mulder and Scully make.

1. Season 4, Episode 2 – ‘Home’

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that “Home” has a place on every The X-Files list. For many die-hard fans, the episode has been maligned because it doesn’t have any supernatural or paranormal elements. But that is what makes it so brilliant. Sometimes, the most evil things that exist are people.

“Home” was initially banned from broadcast television because of its graphic depictions of incest. Mulder and Scully happen across a disturbing display when investigating the death of a baby who has a wide range of physical defects. They find their way to the home of the Peacock family, whose sons have been procreating with their mother. The sons are committed to an old way of life and the ways of their household, which cannot be allowed to continue. The foundations of what everyone believes are shaken, making for an unforgettable episode.

Nobody can outrun the cultural reach of the FBI.

A shorthand for the real deal when it comes to catching criminals (and stalking and harassing civil rights leaders) the agency has inspired a raft of content, from countless police procedural novels to an endless stream of television shows and films.

Among all the gritty, inspired by real-life yet entirely generic stories (and blatant copaganda) there are plenty of great series’ about the Bureau, which show its agents as rounded characters who make mistakes and get put in extreme situations. If you love a good crime case or want some more action in your daily viewing, then read ahead for our list of the 10 best TV shows about the FBI!

Criminal Minds

After a slow start, this CBS police procedural hit a high note with its fifth season. That gripping, brilliant collection of episodes was followed by more addictive television, and as a result the show is still on the air today, and has also launched a whole host of franchises.

The original Criminal Minds takes us into the world of FBI criminal profilers, who work in its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), utilizing their training to profile potential perpetrators based on the nature of their crime. Some story arcs last a single episode, whereas some span seasons, but the main gist is that our team of overworked, cynical profilers are always searching for an unsub (unknown subject), and we see how that affects both their personal and professional lives.

Hannibal

Looking at the title of this show, a potential viewer might think the series would be focusing on the horrific eponymous character and his gruesome exploits. However, Hannibal mostly follows the FBI special investigator who comes into the murderous forensic psychologist’s life, and their ensuing cat-and-mouse relationship. With brilliant displays from its leads, who manage to give complex yet emotionally astute performances, it consistently achieved great critical reviews (the third season, despite being cancelled for low ratings, was truly phenomenal). Also, it has Gillian Anderson in it, which is always a plus.

The Blacklist

This James Spader vehicle is a compelling premise, excellently pulled off. In The Blacklist, Spader plays Raymond “Red” Reddington, a former US Naval intelligence officer who turned it all in for a life of crime, quickly becoming one of the most wanted people in America. After years of avoiding capture, Red voluntarily surrenders at the Hoover Building and tells agents that for immunity, he’s willing to help them catch a number of other high-profile criminals using a “blacklist” of their information that he’s compiled over the years.

However, there’s a catch: he’ll only work with rookie agent and criminal profiler Elizabeth Keen, someone he apparently has no connection to. With ten seasons of quality programming, this mystery thriller has been a critical and commercial hit.

Twin Peaks

So, we might be stretching the definition of “about the FBI” here, but the David Lynch mystery/horror/soap opera/comedy/everything in between is so unique and iconic that it needs to be on the list. And, after all, the main character does work for the FBI.

Twin Peaks follows special agent Dale Cooper as he’s sent to the town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of a local teenage girl named Laura Palmer. What then follows is some truly bizarre yet compulsively gripping television, as mystery melds with unreality to create a world like no other. There’s a reason this series spans several seasons, films, and even books: it’s one of a kind.

White Collar

White Collar has a familiar premise, but the relationships between its characters is what makes it tick. The series follows Neal Caffrey, one of the finest con artists and thieves in the States, just after he’s captured thanks to a three-year investigation by special agent Peter Burke. Caffrey, despite nearing the end of a long sentence, decides to try and escape prison, but is easily recaptured. However, this time, Caffrey offers Burke a deal: he’ll become an FBI consultant and snitch, but only if he’s allowed out of prison.

Quantico

While much of this show’s action takes place outside the bounds of the FBI, the agency is intrinsically bound to its story and characters. Quantico follows Alex Parrish (Priyanka Chopra), a former FBI agent who has become the prime suspect in an investigation into a terrorist attack on Grand Central Station.

In several flashback sequences, we see Parrish and her peers training at the FBI academy in Quantico, where we learn more about her past and how she ended up on the run. This thrilling mystery series is defined by its fast pace and great cast, fronted by Chopra, the first South Asian to lead an American network drama. So, if you’re after something that will have you clicking “play next,” then this is the series for you.

The F.B.I

An American classic, this show first aired in 1965 and ran for nine successful seasons. While the show itself is a great example of how simple mysteries can sometimes be the best ones, it was also hated by the agency it was about. J. Edgar Hoover attempted to cancel the show multiple times, and every episode was vetted by his underling, Clyde Tolson, who also looked into actors as he wanted to make sure no “criminals, subversives, or Communists” were associated with the agency.

The series was also based on real cases, and some episodes even ended with a segment that showed viewers the real most wanted people in the country at that time, blurring the line between the agency and the show portraying it.

Bones

Blending comedy and crime isn’t always easy, but Bones does it brilliantly. The show is about a forensic anthropologist named Temperance “Bones” Brennan and an FBI special agent named Seeley Booth, and their relationship is a huge aspect of what makes the show so popular.

Brennan’s team at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute Medico-Legal Lab collaborates with the FBI, utilizing new scientific tools to try and solve crimes. Brennan and Booth have a great will-they, won’t-they storyline that’s enhanced by some excellent chemistry. A little lighter than other entries on this list, but still dark in parts, and always bingeable.

Mindhunter

Criminal profilers are fertile ground for screenwriters, and this show uses that to full effect. Set in the seventies, just as criminal profiling was coming into its own, Mindhunter follows three main characters: FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, and the psychologist Wendy Carr. The series begins as they launch a project to interview convicted and incarcerated serial killers in an attempt to better understand their psychology, in the hope that they can use the information to solve current cases. Fantastic characterization, stunning visuals, and brilliant performances turn this into a must-watch series.

The X-Files

Mulder and Scully might just be the two most famous fictional FBI agents of all time thanks to the truly iconic nature of The X-Files. The show follows the two special agents as they investigate the “X-Files,” unsolved cases that allegedly involve paranormal or extraterrestrial phenomena.

Scully is the rational doctor, who has to analyze Mulder’s discoveries, whereas Mulder is a criminal profiler who believes in the beyond. The odd-couple pair soon learn they can only trust each other, even as the world around them becomes crazier and crazier. The X-Files isn’t just a great show about the FBI, but probably one of the best things to come out of the nineties in general.

FBI: Most Wanted

This high octane CBS series follows a group of agents who track down those on the infamous FBI most-wanted list. Originally a spin-off of Dick Wolf’s FBI, it has gained a devoted fanbase over its run, and when you watch an episode it’s easy to see why. Compelling plots, incredible characters, and plenty of action keeps viewers glued, even if it sometimes strains believability.

The Americans

The bureau might not be the main focus of this show, but they play a vital part in it, so we think it belongs on this list. Plus, The Americans is just such great television, it’s well worth watching in general.

The series follows the Jennings’, a seemingly normal American family who live in a Virginia suburb of D.C. However, the parents Elizabeth and Philip are undercover KGB spies. Their neighbor Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) plays an FBI counterintelligence agent, and we get a lot of insight into his role at the agency during the show’s run.

Fringe

This spiritual successor to The X-FIles gained a cult following during its run, and falls under the category of shows that may have been ahead of their time. It follows a group of agents who look into fringe scientific theories, and includes elements of the paranormal and supernatural, as well as a mythology that’s as well built out as Game of Thrones. A must-watch for those who like genre-bending shows.

Manhunt (2017)

This anthology series portrays a pair of the most interesting and infamous FBI cases of all time in its two seasons: the search for the Unabomber and the attempt to find the man behind the Centennial Olympic Park Bombing in Atlanta.

Brilliant performances, cinematography, and plotting make both seasons incredibly bingeable. The only problem with this series is that there’s so little of it!

FBI

It might have the least imaginative name on this list, but Dick Wolf’s FBI is anything but generic. Episodes have wide-ranging plots that will glue you to the screen, and each member of the ensemble cast brings something special to their characters. There’s a reason the series spawned so many spin-offs, after all.

A big part of entertainment culture during the late 20th and early 21st century was the wide variety of sci-fi shows on television. The stories were always interesting, and they covered everything from space missions and alien to AI and robot takeover.

Yet, many series got canceled faster than hyper speed. Viewers might think cancellations were in part due to poor writing or performances, but the truth is that many fell victim to bad timing. If the show didn’t make a profit, or came during a public crisis (look how many shows didn’t renew for a second season due to COVID), it meant it was time to abort ship and set photon blasters back to zero.

Now, 30 years later (if not more in some cases), with CGI looking more pristine than ever, and social platforms becoming green-light makers (like what Twitter did for Doctor Who on BBC America), there’s no better time for these sci-fi gems to get a second chance. 

10. Firefly

A small but fervent fan base holds Firefly in extremely high regard, considering it one of the biggest television tragedies of all time. Joss Whedon, known for his work in the Avengers MCU and universally revered as the “Nerd God,” turned his space western into a beloved cult classic, even though it was sadly only in production for one lonely season.

Nothing else on television at the time could compare to Firefly, thanks to its entertaining ensemble of characters, meticulously designed universe, and Whedon’s signature humor. Fox ruined the series by not promoting it enough, airing the episodes in the wrong order, and eventually canceling it because of low viewership. While the 2005 film Serenity did help quench the thirst for Firefly audiences, it wasn’t enough to bring it back.

9. Battlestar Galactica

The serious tone of Battlestar Galactica reflects the toll of war and the annihilation of civilization, in contrast to its campier 1970s version it was based on. The four seasons of Battlestar Galactica, together with its prequels and spin-offs, provide a compelling tale and clearly expresses how fans have not had enough of the series. Rumor has it that Sam Esmail of Mr. Robot is working on a Battlestar Galactica reboot for Peacock, but it’s still too early to tell if fans would embrace a fresh perspective or lament the loss of the show they knew and loved.

8. The X-Files

The X-Files revolutionized science fiction television and continues to inspire imitators with its deft handling of both solo mysteries and broader sci-fi plots. The X-Files was one of the lucky few shows to endure for so long and to do so while also surviving a major cast shakeup. Seasons 10 (2016) and 11 (2018), the two shortened revival seasons, are among the worst in the series’ history and demonstrate that it should remain in the past. Yet a complete relaunch aimed at a new generation sounds like it could be quite promising. I want to believe it could happen.

7. Westworld

Westworld’s debut on HBO was praised by many, and the first season’s popularity made people think that the sci-fi show would become HBO’s next Game of Thrones. That feeling slowly subsided, as the next seasons of Westworld left fans with mixed emotions. The show tried too hard to get ahead of the audience, which made the narrative too hard to follow at times. Yet as many felt the show began to improve by season 4, it wasn’t enough to avoid the ax of cancellation. Without the closure so many fans desperately want, Westworld has become the Wild West, and it will be a while before the property can be rebooted again.

6. Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe was supposed to be different from the other shows in the franchise, hoping to recreate the success of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Unfortunately, it didn’t capture the imagination of audiences and critics the same way its predecessors had. It was about a group of scientists led by Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) who were looking into connections with other worlds outside of the Milky Way Galaxy. After two seasons, the end of SGU didn’t give a clear answer about whether or not there was life on other planets after the Big Bang. Instead, it left a big gaping black hole in the hearts of many fans, who wanted it to be a monster hit like Atlantis. Maybe another voyage with their spacecraft Destiny would do the trick.

5. Heroes

Heroes has the makings of a changer in the superhero genre game. Unfortunately, the writers couldn’t hold up plot and character arcs for too long, and the show started to go downhill fast. Heroes was canceled after four seasons, then brought back as a mini-series, Heroes Reborn, in 2015, but didn’t ignite the interest of critics or fans. Another reboot today could do the series some justice. The superhero genre could use a refresh, and harking on normal people coming to with their extraordinary powers is something audiences can cling onto again. Who doesn’t love a good origin story? Especially when a whole series revolves around it. Maybe the third time is the real charm. 

4. Babylon 5

Star Trek shan’t be mentioned on this list, since it has been redone more times than CBS paid Sylvester Stallone to air the Rocky movies in the 1980’s. Instead, we’ll include its close rival that also explored politics, culture, and emotional drama in a distant future in uncharted space. That show is Babylon 5. Coined as “Casablanca in space,” the show explored the lives of crew on the titular space station. Revisiting those crew is something creator J. Michael Straczynski wouldn’t mind doing for the CW. The network’s changing reorg, however, along with re-prioritization in programming, has left its future on the table. Fans haven’t completely given up on the fate of Babylon 5, but the lack of prioritization from CW might mean the end for the space comrades. 

3. Dark Angel

In the late ‘90s, there was a trend of strong female characters in television, sci-fi included. Thus Dark Angel got produced as a trend-setter, launching Jessica Alba to mega fame, and co-created by none other than Terminator director James Cameron. The show, inspired by the manga Battle Angel Alita, featured Max Guevara (Alba), a supersoldier who escaped at a young age from a secret military camp called Manticore. As an adult, she made it her mission to find her brothers and sisters with the help of cyber-journalist Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly). Although it made it to the third season, it was canceled after being outranked by the success of the competing series, Angel. Today, with the comeback of shows starring female leads (The Handmaid Tale, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and Netflix’s oh-so-good but also oh-so-canceled Glow come to mind), why not give Dark Angel a second chance to ride again into the night?

2. Almost Human

Seeing Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban) and Police “Synthetic” Dorian (Michael Ealy) work together made people wonder if a robot could be more humane than actual human cops. Even though it quickly became popular, it only had a short lived single season of 13 episodes, due to the deadly combo of low viewership and high production costs.

When Being Human moved away from its British roots, it really shined and delivered big with fans. A lot of reviewers thought that the British show could have finished a season earlier, but they thought that the American show could have gone on for a lot longer. Keeping the British source material to heart, diehard fans still believe there are way more stories to be told and character arcs to explore. Plus, with Karl Urban’s insane success with The Boys and Dredd fans awaiting its long lost sequel, now is the perfect time to bring back and reboot this cult hit.

1. Sliders

In the mid-1990s, Sliders was a must-watch for science fiction fans. Quinn Mallory and his close-knit group of friends find wormholes that let them “slide” to other worlds, but they can only go to each one once. The science may be hard to follow, but the brilliant combo of a hot ensemble cast and a witty self-awareness made it stand the test of time despite its cancellation after 5 seasons due to creative and political differences between its show-runners and Fox studios. The co-creators of the show and some of its original stars have talked about a new season of Sliders for a few years now, but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s a chance that the success of similar sci-fi revivals, like Quantum Leap and Doctor Who, will be looked at first before making more Sliders happen.

David Duchovny has been on our screens for more than thirty years, and has appeared in an array of productions, from science fiction to romcoms, from indie dramas to horror. Here are ten of his best performances.

10. Phantom

While hardly attaining the heights of The Hunt for Red October, Kathryn Bigelow’s Harrison Ford vehicle K-19: The Widowmaker, or even Crimson Tide, this 2013 Cold War submarine thriller is amiable if lightweight fare. Duchovny and co-star Ed Harris do everything asked of them as Zubov and Bruni, a Soviet sub captain and a KBG agent respectively, whose paths cross in an outlandish plot involving a top secret sonar device, but the story is as far-fetched as it sounds, and the movie bombed at the box office.

9. The X-Files (1998)

Neither of the two X-Files movies were runaway successes, but the 1998 film is by some distance the more watchable of the two. Duchovny co-stars with Gillian Anderson on a chase around the world to discover evidence of a planned alien colonization of Earth. William B. Davis and John Neville return from the TV series as the Cigar-Smoking Man and the Well-Manicured Man respectively.

8. Evolution

Ivan Reitman’s 2001 sci-fi comedy has acquired something of a cult status that belies the lukewarm critical response at the time. Duchovny stars alongside Orlando Jones, Julieanne Moore, and The Silence of the Lambs‘ Ted Levine as Dr. Ira Kane, who discovers a meteorite filled with microorganisms that can evolve at a terrifying rate. Duchovny’s timing is as impeccable as ever, but the lowest-common-denominator gags wear thin after a while.

7. Aquarius

This overlooked crime drama aired for two seasons on NBC before being canceled in 2016. Duchovny is right at home as Hodiak, a detective with the LAPD who roams 1967 Los Angeles in pursuit of Charles Manson. As an evocation of southern California at the height of the counterculture, Aquarius is solid and believable, and Gethin Anthony is suitably perverse as Manson.

6. House of D

Critics lambasted this coming-of-age comedy-drama as a vanity project for Duchovny, who wrote and directed. But the cast includes some heavy hitters, such as Frank Langella, Robin Williams, and a 13-year-old Anton Yelchin, who would make his name just a few years later as Chekhov in the Star Trek reboot. Duchovny is as watchable as ever, but despite a promising premise, the film never quite takes flight.

5. Things We Lost In The Fire

This 2007 Sam Mendes-produced drama sees Duchovny star opposite Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. Berry plays Audrey, whose family life with Brian (Duchovny) and their son is shattered when Brian is killed attempting to protect a woman from a beating by her husband. Duchovny appears in flashbacks as Audrey tries to rebuild her life with the help of Brian’s school friend and heroin addict Jerry (Del Toro).

4. Twin Peaks

Duchovny got in on David Lynch’s seminal drama during its second season, when story issues and scheduling problems put the show on the fast track to cancellation. But Duchovny’s turn as Denise, a transgender DEA officer complete with big hair, mascara, and ruby red lipstick, was one of the season’s highlights. Duchovny briefly reprised the role for the 2017 revival.

3. What Happens Later

After an almost decade-long absence from film, Duchovny returned in 2020, appearing in a slew of low-energy romcoms and comedy-dramas that underperformed critically and at the box office. This year’s What Happens Later represents a return to form for both Duchovny and his co-star Meg Ryan, who also directs.

2. Californication

Duchovny followed his stint on The X-Files with this long-running, Emmy Award-winning Showtime drama. Duchovny bagged a Golden Globe for his performance as Hank Moody, Hollywood’s most dissolute novelist, whose constant binging on drink and drugs and wayward sex life provides all of the thrills and spills.

1. The X-Files

Duchovny’s double act with Gillian Anderson as the paranormal-obsessed half of FBI duo Mulder and Scully was required viewing in the 1990s, and although the episodic formula meant that some of the more lurid “monster of the week” stories have long since ed their sell-by date, the more serious episodes, the ambitious story arcs, and above Duchovny’s effortless chemistry with Anderson remains as watchable and compelling today as it was then.

Multi-hyphenate talent David Duchovny has given us so much, but what have we given him in return? 

Duchovny hit the jackpot when he landed the role of Fox Mulder on The X-Files back in 1993. What started as a three-season contract paying $150,000 per episode morphed lucratively up to $240,000 per episode starting with season four. Keep in mind, this was back in the days when shows shot 24 episodes per season. He was doing alright for himself – Probably exhausted, but alright.

His journey in entertainment was only just beginning during his X-Files days, and with a lengthy career in entertainment, his net worth grew with each new project added to his filmography. If you’re wondering how much of a nest egg he’s built for himself, we’ve got you covered.

What is David Duchovny’s net worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Duchovny is worth $80 million — and let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money. Where did it all come from? Being an internationally famous film and television star certainly didn’t hurt. As we shared above, living life as the face of one of the biggest network TV hits in the 1990s definitely had its advantages, too.

Then there were the movies. X-Files: Fight the Future debuted in 1998, landing Duchovny a reported $4 million paycheck. The sequel, X-Files: I Want to Believe, hit theaters a decade later, adding $6 million to the star’s bank . Business being business, Duchovny also sued the makers of The X-Files for cutting him out of the show’s profits and nabbed another $20 million for his efforts.

The success train continued, and Duchovny made an estimated $2.7 million per season for his Showtime series Californication, which ran from 2007 to 2014.

Massive fame gives, and massive fame takes away. In 2011, Duchovny and his wife, Tea Leoni, split after years of rocky business, with Duchovny having entered treatment for sex addiction in 2008. By 2014, their divorce was finalized, and Duchovny found himself with a $40,000 monthly spousal payment to deal with, in addition to $8,000 of payments per month in child . Based on his projected net worth, he’ll only be able to keep those payments up for 138 years before he needs to find more work.

So, as far as we’re concerned, he’s doing just fine for himself.

Disney Plus has always wanted a piece of the Netflix action, but lately the Mouse House platform has seemingly had ambitions of snatching Netflix’s crown as the most disappointing streaming service of them all. After May’s mega content purge, Disney has continued wiping multiple shows from the face of the internet, which has naturally turned a fair few subscribers away. Now, in another novel approach, the studio has decided to give up some of its most popular series for people to watch for free.

As per Variety, Disney Plus has licensed out 10 U.S. TV dramas and comedies to Channel 4’s streaming platform in the U.K. The shows in question are Alias (seasons 1-5), The Americans (seasons 1-6), Empire (seasons 1-6), Scandal (seasons 1-7), The X-Files (seasons 1-11), Bones (seasons 1-12), The Killing (seasons 1-4), Star (seasons 1-3), Grown-ish (seasons 1-6), and Abbott Elementary (seasons 1-2). With the exception of Star, all series can also be found on Disney Plus.

To be fair to D+, it’s not the only major streaming that’s starting to license out its previously exclusive content. Notably, Prime Video is planning on selling off one of its most prized possessions, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, to outside parties for the first time. As the streaming boom dies off and the various studios realize these platforms are more costly than they initially appeared, it seems everyone’s keen to decrease their losses as much as possible, whether that be achieved by removing or giving away certain titles.

Channel 4’s streaming service will no doubt see this influx of new shows as a boon, especially as it’s struggled with branding issues over the years. Originally known as 4oD, it was renamed All4 in 2015 before relaunching simply as Channel 4 in 2022. These 10 series will become available for U.K. streamers to binge at no extra cost from later this month.

With 11 seasons, 218 episodes, a brief spin-off, two movies, massive amounts of multimedia tie-ins, 16 Emmy victories, and five Golden Globe wins under its belt to name just a few of the show’s many accomplishments and accolades, nobody in their right mind can deny that The X-Files is in with a shout for being named as the single greatest sci-fi TV series of all-time.

While it’s entirely down to personal opinion whether or not you’d rank it above the genre’s other heaviest hitters, it proved to be such a cultural and mainstream phenomenon that it’s also deemed as one of the best small screen projects ever, regardless of what medium it fall under when the hairs are split.

However, the downside of Mulder and Scully’s adventures ranking as some of the best episodic science fiction storytelling there’s ever been is that it often tends to get overlooked when it comes to horror. Whether it’s the stunning season 4 installment “Home,” season 1’s The Thing-inspired “Ice,” the haunting “Darkness Falls,” or any other of the regular detours into outright terror, The X-Files is also one of the best horror shows in history.

Thankfully, a hardy band of Redditors have gone out of their way to remind everyone of that fact, with the “Monster of the Week” favorites coming under renewed praise for the way they handle countless offshoots including creature features, supernatural entities, demons, vampires, and pretty much anything spooky you could shake a stick at.

It might be sci-fi first and foremost and will always be designated as such, but there aren’t many better shows to have dived headlong into horror than The X-Files.

The debate over naming the greatest TV show of all-time is one that can never be definitively answered, especially when the current Golden Age we’ve been living in keeps on throwing up new contenders on a regular basis. However, if you narrow the focus down to sci-fi, fantasy, and/or horror, then The X-Files has got to be very near the top.

More than just an ongoing episodic series, the supernatural mystery favorite was a certifiable cultural phenomenon that drew in monster ratings across a three-decade run that encomed 11 seasons, 218 episodes, a short-lived spin-off, two feature films, and a mind-boggling assortment of multimedia tie-ins.

In addition, The X-Files turned Fox Mulder and Dana Scully into cultural icons, as well as winning 16 Emmys and five Golden Globes, enshrining it as one of the very best. Whether you prefer the slow-burning dynamic between the two leads, the intergalactic conspiracies, the monster of the week episodes, the light-hearted comedy, the jolting moments of skin-crawling horror or anything else in between, in one way or another there’s barely an itch it doesn’t scratch.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise to find a Reddit thread asking if The X-Files was “watch-worthy” opening the floor to a discussion and celebration of its many, many merits. It ticks countless genre boxes, provided enough in of sheer volume to keep you occupied for a very long time, and features some of the finest standalone installments the small screen has ever seen.

In short; is The X-Files worth watching? Of course it is, and if you haven’t seen it, then maybe that’s something to be rectified immediately.

Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully gave us incredible investigative thrills for more than ten years as they led the FBI’s eponymous division to solve mysterious yet enticing cases. The X-Files gained tremendous popularity, a fan following, and, interestingly, a widely positive critical response during its run. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s iconic duo of a supernaturalist and a medical expert made for a nice mix against the show’s science-fiction setting with an added adventure of having the FBI investigate cases of potential paranormal activity.

Now, a plan is in motion to redevelop the series with a fresh take and an all-new cast. And the man with his feet on the throttle is Ryan Coogler, director of MCU hits Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the Rocky follow-up, Creed. Original series creator Chris Carter revealed the news during an interview on the podcast, On The Coast With Gloria Macarenko. Carter was celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of his long-running television show when he said,

“I just spoke to a young man, Ryan Coogler, who is going to remount ‘The X-Files’ with a diverse cast.”

Variety confirmed that Ryan Coogler has yet to speak up about the series reboot, and neither are there any social media updates from him or his representatives. But, as it comes from the original brains behind The X-Files, the news is undoubtedly accurate, and a reboot is definitely on the cards.

However, while many fans are rejoicing in the idea of Ryan Coogler helming the show, considering he has proved his chops in creating surreal sci-fi elements, a few have raised some interesting concerns about the show’s significance in this day and age.

A fan took to Twitter to point out how the show won’t work in the 21st century, and the concept is technically dead.

A couple more agreed and thought bringing in new ideas was better than reviving the show.

Though it might seem an exaggeration, these tweets have a valid point. The X-Files have already undergone a revival twice. The show initially ran from 1993 to 2002. A six-episode mini-series aired in 2016, followed by a one-season revival in 2018. Unfortunately, the newer iterations soured the legacy of the original run and weren’t well received.

The argument for the show’s concept’s credibility is also reasonable. For nine seasons, The X-Files brought forth some unique subjects, including supernatural, paranormal, and even extraterrestrial life. Later on, it all merges with the concept of government conspiracies, public distrust, and political games, which hid such things from the general people. In its nine season run, the X-Files covered a wide array of ideas. And since such concepts were fresh in the ’90s, the show’s popularity reached new heights among ’90s acclaimed television shows.

However, these concepts have been repurposed several times. With science fiction emerging as a prominent genre in the 2010s, too much is already served on that plate. And it’s something that even Chris Carter pointed out during his interview. He said,

“He’s [Ryan Coogler] got his work cut out for him because we covered so much territory.”

For The X-Files to be a hit again, Coogler would need to go ahead of what’s already been told and develop ideas that fit today’s audience’s preferences. With Ryan’s background and filmography as a writer, director, and producer, we could get a great experience with the reboot. Given that Carter mentioned it would be a new take, Coogler might have had some new plans. And many fans are behind the man’s talent.

Ryan Coogler indeed is the right person for such a concept. With his vast background and excellent understanding of dealing with a diverse cast, The X-Files reboot could be something to get excited for.

Other details are still yet to be determined, as the reboot is very much in the earliest development stages. Moreover, Coogler is currently busy with Ironheart and is a prominent director in the race to helm Avengers: Secret Wars.

On Feb. 19, actor Richard Belzer died at the age of 78. The loss of the beloved star, a familiar face to any fan of American television, caused an outpouring of grief from his colleagues, including those from his legendary stint as part of the Law & Order family. In the role of the no-nonsense NYPD detective John Munch, Belzer memorably appeared on the first 15 seasons of Law & Order: SVU, as well as occasional guest spots on sister shows Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

This is just the beginning of Belzer and Munch’s surprisingly expansive impact on the small screen. Belzer actually holds the record for being the only actor to play the same character across 10 distinct TV series, with the shows in question stretching across multiple networks and multiple genres. Belzer debuted as Munch on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Streets. Once that concluded after seven seasons in 1997, he was invited to then-new spinoff, SVU, in 1999, which cemented his iconic status.

Prior to his SVU transfer, however, Belzer had already cameod on another series, appearing as Munch in a 1997 episode of Fox’s The X-Files. This thereby confirms that the otherwise down-to-earth Law & Order franchise shares a universe with the alien-busting Mulder and Scully. By extension, The Simpsons takes place in the same world, thanks to Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny’s roles in that same year’s “The Springfield Files” crossover. In 2016, Munch turned up in animated form himself in an episode of American Dad, proving yet again that The Simpsons shares a universe with Seth McFarlane’s shows.

Munch adds another Fox sitcom into this universe thanks to Belzer’s 2006 guest spot on Arrested Development. Returning to the grittier end of things, Munch likewise showed up in a 2008 episode of HBO’s The Wire. Brilliantly, BBC’s Luther later saw DCI John Luther mention his NYPD SVU Munch, throwing that one into the mix as well (despite Idris Elba already playing Stringer Bell on The Wire). Belzer also cameoed on UPN’s short-lived cop drama The Beat in 2000.

In addition, Belzer made non-canon appearances as himself playing Munch in episodes of PBS’s Sesame Street, NBC’s 30 Rock, and Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as a skit on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! The icing on the cake is that Homicide‘s own crossovers with St. Elsewhere link the ever-expanding Munchverse with the truly mind-blowing Tommy Westphall Universe. We can even link Munch into the Marvel Universe, too, thanks to a comic book cameo in 2016’s Spider-Man/Deadpool #6.

Rest in peace, Richard Belzer. Television will truly not be the same without you.

In 1992, David Duchovny was an up-and-coming character actor, having appeared in Twin Peaks, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Chaplin, and Beethoven. The following year, he exploded onto the A-list thanks to The X-Files, with his laconic FBI Agent Fox Mulder instantly becoming a television icon.

If one audition had gone differently, though, things could have been very different. In an interview with Collider, Duchovny revealed that he’d auditioned for a role in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, the filmmaker’s breakout movie about a heist gone wrong and the criminals slowly turning on one another as they try to figure out who betrayed them.

Duchovny’s laidback style doesn’t seem like a great fit for Tarantino’s writing, but he still says the unsuccessful audition was worthwhile:

“So I auditioned for Quentin Tarantino, and this is not an imitation of Quentin, but he’s a high-energy guy, and he goes, ‘I really like what you do. I just don’t know if I want you to do it in my movie.’ It was the best rejection I ever got in my life.”

Earlier in the interview, Duchovny hints that the role he auditioned for was Mr. Orange, the undercover cop who spends much of the movie bleeding out from a bullet wound. This role went on to make a star out of Tim Roth, and at this point we can’t imagine anyone else in the role.

Duchovny will next appear in Netflix’s You People from Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. He’s part of an impressive cast including Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with the show said to be about a “forbidden romance” that brings a Black Islamic and White Jewish family into conflict. Duchovny and Louis-Dreyfus will play the Jewish parents, and with that cast it sounds like a must-watch.

Beyond that, Duchovny hasn’t ruled out returning to The X-Files, though would only do it if Gillian Anderson were also on board. We want to believe!

You People premieres on Netflix on Jan. 27.