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“The X-Files” is now regarded as one of the best horror TV series of all time, but did you know Fox almost resisted finding out about the truth that’s out there? Chris Carter set out to make a series inspired by “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” — a show you should watch if you like “The X-Files” — but network executives anticipated him pitching something less spooky.
“We thought he was going to pitch a family or teenage soap, so we were surprised when he brought us high-concept science fiction,” Bob Greenblatt, a former Fox higher-up, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “We were reluctant to develop it because we didn’t have any other drama like it and weren’t in the market for sci-fi.”
Danielle Gelber, the company’s former director of drama development, also weighed in on those early meetings. According to the former exec, she and Greenblatt were impressed by Carter’s pitch, but they didn’t greenlight the series right away. “We were fascinated, but it begged so many questions. He came back with this 15- or 20-page document that was riveting.”
With Fox seemingly warming to the idea of making a sci-fi instead of a soap opera, things looked good for Carter. However, the show’s genre wasn’t the only thing that concerned the big wigs at the time.
Fox had concerns about Gillian Anderson’s X-Files casting
Fox was in the market for a drama series and ended up with a sci-fi horror series instead. What’s more, Chris Carter revealed that there were reservations from above about casting Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, as some executives wanted a Pamela Anderson-type to play the agent.
“Even though Gillian’s beautiful, she wasn’t their idea of sexy,” Carter told Inverse. “First, because they didn’t understand what I was trying to do with the show. And she was an unknown, so that never helps.”
In the end, they were right to trust in Carter’s vision for the character and series as a whole. “The X-Files” is one of the greatest shows to ever grace the Fox network, and its status as a TV classic is undisputed. To read more, be sure to check out TVLine’s ranking of the 15 greatest “X-Files” episodes!