About The X-Files
The X-Files follows FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigate the bureau's unsolved and unexplained cases, the so-called X-Files. Mulder is a brilliant profiler who believes in the existence of extraterrestrial life and the paranormal, driven by the childhood disappearance of his sister. Scully, a medical doctor and skeptic, is initially assigned to scientifically debunk his work, but the partnership grows into one of television's most enduring on-screen pairings.
Episodes alternate between self-contained 'monster of the week' mysteries and a sprawling overarching mythology involving government conspiracies, alien colonization, and a shadowy group working to hide the truth. Recurring figures such as Assistant Director Walter Skinner and the enigmatic Cigarette Smoking Man populate this larger story, while the agents' contrasting worldviews of belief and science anchor each case.
Created by Chris Carter, the series originally aired on Fox from 1993 to 2002 across nine seasons, becoming a cultural phenomenon and a cornerstone of 1990s television. Following two feature films, the show returned for revival seasons in 2016 and 2018, bringing Mulder and Scully back to investigate new cases and revisit long-running questions. Its catchphrases, 'The Truth Is Out There' and 'Trust No One,' became part of the popular lexicon.