%0 Journal Article
%T Conspiracy, Procedure, Continuity: Reopening The X
%A Felix Brinker
%J Television & New Media
%@ 1552-8316
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/1527476417742974
%X This article examines how the 2016 X-Files revival restages the storytelling strategies that defined the show¡¯s original run within the framework of the six-episodes-long event season. It argues that the 2016 iteration of the program adopts the alternation between procedural ¡°Monster-of-the-Week¡± episodes, parodistic installments, and entries that advance an ongoing conspiracy plot for its own purposes. More specifically, the article suggests that the revival abandons the original series¡¯ emphasis on long-term audience engagement in favor of a retrospective outlook that serves to legitimate the revival¡¯s status as a worthy continuation of the original run¡ªand that this shift is informed by its status as an event series. In doing so, the revival resurrects a mode of television storytelling informed by the demands of television¡¯s multichannel era. To make this argument, the article discusses the storytelling strategies of The X-Files¡¯ original run, and examines their implementation in the revival series
%K The X-Files
%K TV series revivals
%K television storytelling
%K audience engagement
%K media events
%K conspiracy narratives
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1527476417742974