23 Years On, X-Files Creator Officially Ended the Main Character Debate
Carter Names the Protagonist
Fans have long debated whether FBI agents Fox Mulder or Dana Scully leads The X-Files. At a 2015 interview during the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, creator Chris Carter identified Scully as the show’s center.
Carter said he viewed Scully as the skeptic in the audience and the grounding force in the series. He also described his interest in strong women characters and said he had instinctively imagined her as the scientist.
Skepticism Drives the Story
Mulder accepts paranormal explanations, while Scully looks for logical ones. Because the show often presents aliens, cryptids, shapeshifters and ghosts as real, it can appear to favor Mulder’s beliefs.
Carter argued that Scully keeps the show’s world grounded. Her encounters with phenomena that challenge her understanding of reality create tension that would be missing if Mulder, already a believer, were the protagonist.
A Balance Others Struggled to Match
The original series ran for nine seasons, with the 1998 film Fight the Future released between seasons five and six. A standalone sequel arrived in 2008, followed by a two-season revival in 2016; the series reached 218 episodes.
The X-Files influenced shows including Fringe, The Outsider, Evil, Lucifer, Supernatural, Grimm and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The article argues that some later series made the supernatural a given, while others delayed accepting paranormal explanations for much of their run.
Scully’s Television Legacy
Fringe’s Olivia Dunham drew on Scully, but the article says her skepticism was rarely validated against the claims of her male colleagues. It argues that Fringe therefore lacked a protagonist firmly rooted in recognizable reality.
The article also connects Scully’s influence to female television figures including the leads of Bones and Veronica Mars, as well as Olivia Benson of Law & Order: SVU. Scully’s rational, scientifically minded approach helped shape the model for women investigators on television.
Key points
- Chris Carter identified Dana Scully as The X-Files’ central character in a 2015 interview.
- Scully’s skepticism created tension with Mulder’s belief in paranormal explanations.
- The series ran for nine seasons and reached 218 episodes after its revival.
- The article links Scully’s influence to later female television investigators.