The tenth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing in the United States on January 24, 2016, on Fox. The season consists of six episodes and concluded airing on February 22, 2016. When Fox initially announced the string of episodes, the network referred to them collectively as an "event series". After their release, Fox began referring to the episodes collectively as "season 10" on their website, as did streaming sites like Amazon Prime and Hulu, and myriad critics.For a small sampling, see:

The season, which takes place fourteen years after the ninth season (200102) and seven years after the film The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), follows newly re-instated Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they learn more about the existence of extraterrestrials and their relationship with the government.

Ever since The X-Files: I Want to Believe debuted in theaters, there was talk of a third X-Files movie to wrap-up the series' remaining storylines. However, for years these talks never resulted in action until on March 24, 2015, Fox announced that the series would return as a short-format event series with six episodes. After the season aired, it received mixed reviews from critics. The second, third, and fourth episodes were met with mostly positive comments, with "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" receiving overwhelmingly positive comments. Conversely, the first, fifth, and sixth episodes were largely derided by critics. The mythology episodes, in particular, were poorly received.

Plot overview Fourteen years after the closure of the X-Files, Fox Mulder is contacted by Dana Scully at the behest of FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, who wants him to meet a right-wing online webcaster named Tad O'Malley. Mulder and Scully reunite in Washington, D.C., where they are picked up by O'Malley in his limousine. They meet a young woman named Sveta, who claims to have fragmented memories of having her fetuses stolen from her during alien abductions and to possess alien DNA.

O'Malley takes Mulder to a secret location where a triangular aircraft (referred to as an "ARV", or Alien Replica Vehicle) built from alien technology is being housed. Mulder now believes that Colonization and the alien invasion were all an elaborate hoax to distract. Instead, Mulder thinks it was a "conspiracy of men" who have used extraterrestrial technology on human parties for decades, and these events were subsequently made to look like alien abductions. Before O'Malley can go public with his claims, his website is shut down, the "ARV" craft and its scientists are destroyed by heavily armed men dressed in military uniforms, and a UFO intercepts Sveta while she is driving, destroying her car.

Scully reveals that Sveta's re-tested DNA sample confirms that she does in fact possess extraterrestrial DNA; a test Scully has performed on herself has revealed that she does as well. Mulder states that Sveta is the key to exposing the conspiracy and those responsible. They then receive an urgent summons from Skinner requesting them to meet him. The Cigarette Smoking Man, now alive in the present day, receives word via telephone that the X-Files have been re-opened.

Six weeks after the events of "My Struggle", Scully arrives at FBI headquarters to find that Mulder has disappeared after watching an excerpt from Tad O'Malley's online news broadcast. As Scully informs Skinner and Agent Liz Einstein of Mulder's absence, Mulder attempts to leave Washington—visibly unwell and badly bruised. O'Malley explains to Scully that he suspects that alien DNA has been injected into every American citizen in order to facilitate the widespread outbreak of the Spartan Virus. Designed to strip humans of their immune systems, this contagion quickly manifests itself nationwide, with Scully and Einstein noting a sharp increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals and triage centers.

Agent Kyd Miller finds a phone-tracking app on Mulder's computer and notes his position in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Scully receives a phone-call from former X-Files agent Monica Reyes to meet with her. Reyes reveals that Cigarette Smoking Man offered to secure both Scully and Reyes a place among the designated survivors of the end-times. Scully and Einstein attempt to develop a vaccine using Scully's DNA. Scully realizes that she is being protected from the contagion by a combination of the alien genomes that remained after she was abducted and experimented on, and the DNA anomalies instilled within her at the request of Reyes.

Mulder approaches Cigarette Smoking Man, who offers him a chance to survive the outbreak. Mulder declines, and is found by Miller, who returns him to Washington with the hope of finding a cure. Scully travels to Mulder and Miller's location, finding them at the 14th Street Bridge. Miller asks how Mulder will survive, Scully replies that William, their son, will have to be the donor of a stem cell transplant. Mulder begins to succumb to the virus. Suddenly, a beam of light shines down onto Miller, Scully, and Mulder, and a triangle-shaped UFO slowly descends and hovers above them. The episode ends with Scully looking at the lights of the spacecraft, shining down directly onto her and her partners.

Cast

Main cast David Duchovny as Fox Mulder, an FBI special agent assigned to the newly reopened X-Files division. He remains a believer in the paranormal and the existence of extraterrestrial life, though, throughout the season, his faith begins to waver. Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, a medical doctor and FBI special agent assigned to the X-Files. Although an initial skeptic, after Mulder's abduction, she became more open-minded about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner, an assistant director at the FBI and an ally of Mulder and Scully.

Recurring cast William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man, a former government official, and nemesis of Mulder and Scully, who worked to cover up the truth of the existence of aliens and their plan to colonize the Earth.

Guest cast Joel McHale as Tad O'Malley, an Internet news anchor who is an ally of Mulder. Lauren Ambrose as Agent Liz Einstein, a medical doctor, Miller's partner, and a hard-skeptic. Robbie Amell as Agent Kyd Miller, an open-minded FBI agent who believes in the paranormal, and is Einstein's partner. Aliza Vellani as Sandeep, a nurse at the Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital. She acts as an assistant to Dana Scully. Annabeth Gish as Monica Reyes, an FBI special agent and ally to Mulder and Scully who was formerly assigned to the X-Files division. Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers, a member of The Lone Gunmen. Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike, a member of The Lone Gunmen. Dean Haglund as Richard Langly, a member of The Lone Gunmen. Sheila Larken as Margaret Scully, Scully's mother. Annet Mahendru as Sveta, a victim of multiple alien abductions. Rhys Darby as Guy Mann, a shape-shifter. Kumail Nanjiani as Pasha, an animal control officer.

Episodes

Episodes marked with a double dagger () are episodes in the series' alien mythology arc.

Background The X-Files aired from 1993 to 2002 on Fox and followed the efforts of federal agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigated crimes linked to the paranormal. Following the series' seventh season, Duchovny scaled back his involvement substantially, appearing in only half of the eighth season's episodes, and only starring in two of season nine's. Likewise, during the ninth season, both Anderson and Carter had signed on at the last minute, with their contract extensions only lasting until the end of 2002, and Anderson specifically stated that she would leave the show following the conclusion of the season.Spelling, Ian. (February 2002) "Doggett's Pursuit". The X-Files Magazine. Retrieved on October 1, 2009. During these final two seasons, FBI agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) became the series' new leads. Executive producer Frank Spotnitz speculated that the show could extend into a tenth and possibly eleventh season, if the show was able to attract an audience. However, the show lost viewers and was eventually cancelled by Fox.

In 2008, both Duchovny and Anderson reprised their roles as Mulder and Scully in the film The X-Files: I Want to Believe. In several interviews around the release, series creator Chris Carter said that if The X-Files: I Want to Believe proved successful at the box office, a third installment would be made going back to the TV series' mythology, focusing specifically on the alien invasion and colonization of Earth foretold in the series finale, due to occur on December 22, 2012. In an October 2009 interview, Duchovny said he would want to do a 2012 X-Files film, but did not know if he would get the chance.

Anderson stated in August 2012 that a third X-Files film was "looking pretty good". At the October 2013 New York Comic Con, Duchovny and Anderson reaffirmed that they and Carter are interested in making a third film, with Anderson saying "If it takes fan encouragement to get Fox interested in that, then I guess that's what it would be." In January 2015, Fox Television Group chairman and CEO Gary Newman revealed that there was network interest in reviving The X-Files, not as a film franchise, but as a six-episode limited run.

Broadcast The season had a two-night premiere on Fox, debuting on Sunday, January 24, 2016, with the following episode airing on Monday at 8:00 pm, the timeslot in which the remaining episodes also aired. The premiere episode was screened at New York Comic Con on October 10, 2015.

Internationally, the season premiered in Canada on CTV on January 24, 2016, simultaneous with the American broadcast. It premiered in Ireland on RTÉ2 on January 26, 2016, two days after its U.S. premiere. It premiered in Australia on Network Ten on January 31, 2016. It premiered in the United Kingdom on Channel 5 on February 8, 2016, where it became the highest-rated drama in the channel's history.

Fox International Channels, where available, premiered the series the day after the American premiere.

Production

Casting

Once Newman revealed thoughts of bringing back the series, he noted that the revival would include "all key players": Carter, Duchovny, and Anderson. Fox TV Group chairman Dana Walden later noted that finding the ideal time that the three key members of the series were free would pose a challenge. At the time of the announcement, Duchovny was working on the NBC series Aquarius, and Anderson was involved in the BBC drama The Fall. However, both co-stars expressed their desire to return to the series: prior to Newman's announcement, Anderson said that she would be "fucking overjoyed" if Fox brought back The X-Files, and Duchovny said that he would be "more than happy" to reprise his role as Mulder.

In a later interview with GQ magazine, Anderson revealed that, when asked about returning for a television continuation of the program, she was hesitant, since she assumed the network would want to order over twenty new episodes (the length of a season when the show had originally aired). When it was revealed that the network would only order a short run, she enthusiastically agreed to reprise her role. Initially, Anderson was offered half the pay of Duchovny, but she negotiated her contract so that both leads received the same amount.