More than just the latest in a series of resurrected nostalgia properties, the paranormal series is a natural fit for a changed technological, cultural and political landscape. TV Club breaks out the tinfoil to find out why.

More than a decade after its ninth season aired on broadcast television, The X-Files is set to be revived in a six-part miniseries, premiering in the US on 24 January and six days later in Australia on Network Ten.

Most of the original cast and showrunner are along for the ride, and the timing couldn't be better according to Dr Glenn Donnar from RMIT's School of Media and Communication. Here's why:

The political angle

As the Obama presidency enters its final stages, the mood is ripe for a reinvestigation of old paranoiac themes.

The X-Files has previously been successful in 'tapping into a cultural zeitgeist of low trust in government seen during Democrat presidencies,' Donnar says, drawing on Pew Research figures.

That the show's original run (1993-2002) on television almost perfectly mirrors the Clinton presidency—from 1993 to 2001—is no mere coincidence.

Donnar says a general mistrust in government—of any political leaning—springs from a deep well. Paranoia has become something of a 'root mythology' in American culture, especially in the internet age.

It solidified after the Second World War, through events such as the JFK assassination and the Roswell UFO incident.

The current election year in the US provides fertile ground for the series return. 'It's interesting,' Donnar says, 'that it [The X-Files] is being revived at the tail end of another Democrat presidency.

'The intensified rhetoric of mistrust in government is most loudly expressed by Fox News and always suggests [Democratic presidents] are illegitimate, whether because of behaviour or birthplace—we can see that with both Clinton and Obama.'

A changed technological environment

Technologically speaking, the TV landscape has fundamentally changed since the original run of The X-Files.

This revived series, Donnar says, is premiering in a 'multi-channel and multi-platform, "post-TV" world'.

The rise of streaming video-on-demand services must have been central to the decision to revive The X-Files, Donnar says.

'One reason for the show's revival is that the Fox cable network wants to maximise the value of its old property, [original episodes of The X-Files, first broadcast in the 90s] and piggyback on the nostalgia associated with it.'

It's a strategy that's worked for Fox before: last year, a miniseries revival of the Kiefer Sutherland-fronted 24 gave the network confidence in the success of the mini-revival strategy.

The canny selection of a cult favourite like The X-Files, Donnar argues, points to the network's deep understanding of the burgeoning nature of TV fan culture.

Donnar describes Fox's marketing around the show as strategic and 'fan-driven', where hardcore enthusiasts are encouraged to generate hype.

'Glimpses of this new season were revealed at [fan event] ComicCon in New York in October. And YouTube reaction videos have also played a role in the revival’s promotion.'

In addition, television networks around the globe have been running a re-cap season of key episodes curated by Chris Carter, the original creator of The X-Files. For fans, Carter's role as executive producer of this revival miniseries (he has directed and written a number of the episodes) adds to its authenticity and credibility.

'We now get a steady drip-feed of promotional materials beforehand,' Donnar says. 'What fans used to have to seek out, what was a sign of obsession, is now quite mainstream—and it's exactly this type of fan marginalia that allows for a more organic promotion through social media.

'It makes us all a fan, much more easily, but without us having to do the "detective work".'

The rise of the anthology

The X-Files revival's relatively short season—six episodes—is worth noting. Donnar sees the move as linked to the rise of anthology series television.

The genre—defined by shorter seasons using different actors, tied together by a common mythos—has seen a resurgence with the likes of True Detective, Fargo and American Horror Story.

A key strength of the anthology series, Donnar notes, is that it entices stars onto television projects precisely because it won't take up their entire career.

'That aspect is relevant here, it makes it possible to get Duchovny and Anderson for the entire season.'

Since the original run of The X-Files finished in 2002, both its stars had moved on to other projects: David Duchovny, who plays Agent Fox Mulder, found notoriety in the television series Californication.

Gillian Anderson, who plays sceptical medical doctor Dana Scully, has been busy with commitments with acclaimed crime drama The Fall as well as a West End run of A Streetcar Named Desire.

'You can amp up the wattage of a TV show,' Donnar says of the anthology format. 'Continuity rests on the showrunner.'

But will this much-loved series lose something of its signature kookiness with so much strategic manoeuvring behind the scenes of what is one of the world’s hottest TV properties?

Early reviewers, such as Brian Lowry, TV columnist for the so-called Hollywood bible Variety, have hinted at a 'nagging sense of reassembling everyone just for the money’.

One thing’s for sure, fans will have plenty to discuss for a long time to come.