The X-Files season 11 kicks off tonight, and it sounds like it’s going to be the last season in the series to feature Gillian Anderson’s Agent Scully.
Anderson has been adamant that this season will be her last, and recently reiterated that point to TV Guide. “I’ve said from the beginning this is it for me,” Anderson said. “I was a bit surprised by people’s reaction to my announcement [at New York Comic Con, where she said the same thing], because my understanding was that this was a single season.” The actress, who has portrayed Dana Scully since the show’s inception in 1993, had previously planned to call it quits following 2016’s season 10, but decided to return for more episodes given the unsatisfying ending of that short season. This time, though, she’s apparently done for good. So what does that mean for the future of The X-Files?
Series creator Chris Carter has reacted to Anderson’s decision, and while it sounds like he wants to continue the series, he doesn’t see really see a way forward without Scully. “For me, the show has always been Mulder & Scully. So the idea of doing the show without her isn’t something I’ve ever had to consider,” Carter said during a recent AMA on Reddit. “Was her character given a proper goodbye? I think you will want to sit down and watch the series finale very carefully.” He then added that the season 11 finale wasn’t necessarily the series finale, saying, “When I say series finale, I mean… The four ‘My Struggle’ episodes were all pieces of a whole and episode 10 (of season 11) completes the whole.” The writer had previously told TV Guide that the show had “more stories to tell,” but he wasn’t sure whether or not he’d have the chance to tell them or not.
The 10-episode eleventh season may very well end up being The X-Files‘ last, and at the very least it will be the last with Dana Scully as a character. So here’s hoping that the show — and especially Scully — go out on a high note.
