The truth is out there…and Chris Carter is the one who knows it. At least when it comes to The X-Files. The showrunner of the cult hit series is bringing Mulder and Scully back, and introducing them to a whole new generation of people who want to believe.
Of course, it’s a big job to update a series as beloved as The X-Files, but thankfully the world has only gotten more strange, giving the conspiracy-loving show way more fodder. While social media might make it harder to keep certain things under wraps, the buzz around the series’ return is as deafening as a swarm of bees. (Damn bees!)
At New York Comic Con BuddyTV caught up with showrunner Chris Carter after a packed panel premiering the pilot of the new limited series. In the interview below he talks about bringing the series back, social media marketing woes, and the conspiracy conventions that give him plenty of ideas for the show…maybe even enough ideas for another season.
Watch the full interview below:
Interview Highlights:
- Chris Carter says it was David Duchovny’s idea to do the new series.
- Is there added pressure now that he’s releasing The X-Files in the new world of social media and instant feedback? He say it does make it harder because it’s like you’re in charge of marketing as well as making a television show.
- “We showed it today and we’re three and a half months from airing and that seems too much for me. It’s scary to me but it’s the world we live in.” This was back in October after they’d shown the premiere to a packed panel of screaming fans.
- He’s paying attention to all the conspiracy stuff online and he’s even gone to conspiracy conventions. “There’s a lot to draw from.”
- He went to a convention in San Jose that was about the secret space program. He saw a lot of people speak at that convention that lead him down new paths for ideas for the show.
- “I think that they would both be technologically savvy. I have not imagined their Twitter or Instagram accounts…or Snapchat accounts more likely,” Carter says about Mulder and Scully’s social media usage. So I guess Snapchat would be their social channel of choice.
- The marketing didn’t effect the storytelling but it did effect his job. “Every step of the way they want to leak things. They want to titillate the fans and it’s scary.”
- They shot back in Vancouver and hired people who used to work on the show.
- Joel McHale comes back into the show and you’ll see him again in episode six. His character is instrumental because he’s the bridge that brings Mulder and Scully back together.
- “Every time I open the paper I see something different that would make an interesting X-File,” Carter says about the possibility of another season of the show. “As long as they’re game, I’m game.”
- William would be a teenager now and the show will mention him in this new season.
- When asked what Golden Age of Television shows he’s been inspired by lately Carter rattles off a laundry list of prestige drama including Breaking Bad, Mad Men, True Detective, The Shield, The Wire and Six Feet Under.
- On a movie versus a series: “You could tell an arc of stories instead of two hours of the same story, so it’s a different animal.”
What are you most excited about seeing when The X-Files returns? Sound off in the comments!
The X-Files airs Mondays at 8pm EST on FOX.
(Photo courtesy of Sarah Boyce, video courtesy of Morgan Glennon)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
