The truth is most definitely out there - The X-Files is returning for a limited event series on Fox next year.

Here's everything we know about the return of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Mulder and Scully - in honour of the show's 22nd anniversary today (September 10):

The Basics

Ed Araquel

Fox will air the first new episodes of The X-Files since 2002 as part of a two-night special event on Sunday, January 24 and Monday, January 25 - following an unofficial premiere as part of the TCA press tour on January 12.

X-Files creator Chris Carter both writes and directs the season premiere 'My Struggle', while night two's 'Home Again' comes from classic series writer Glen Morgan.

Three months prior to the premiere of 'My Struggle' on television, it will be shown to a select few at a New York Comic-Con panel on October 10.

All six episodes have been penned by veterans of the science fiction series, with James Wong and Glen's brother Darin Morgan also on board for single episodes.

In all, Carter has written half of the event series' six stories, which will mix the overarching alien mythology (more on that later) with Monsters-of-the-Week.

Also back is composer Mark Snow, whose haunting X-Files score set the tone for many science fiction shows and movies that followed.

Like in the first five seasons of the classic X-Files, this miniseries has been filmed on location in Vancouver.

New faces

Ed Araquel

In the vein of Marita Covarrubias, X and Deep Throat before him, newcomer Joel McHale has a key role in the return of The X-Files as an important ally for Mulder.

McHale is playing conservative newsman Tad O'Malley, who clues Mulder into a mystery involving alien abductee Sveta (Annet Mahendru).

Tad O'Malley is expected to be a recurring presence throughout the season - at least in episodes based on The X-Files' alien conspiracy.

Mulder and Scully will also encounter two younger FBI agents in their travels - the dashing Agent Miller (Robbie Amell) and his red-headed partner Agent Einstein (Lauren Ambrose). Sound familiar?

Other newcomers include X-Files superfan and Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani, Chuck's Vik Sahay and Flight of the Conchords comedian Rhys Darby.

...and Some Old (Dead?) Ones

Fox

Mulder and Scully have been off the road for quite a while, so they're going to need all the help they can get solving this new mystery.

Thankfully, their old FBI boss Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and fellow agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) will be around to presumably lend a helping hand.

Much more curious is the production team's revelation that William B Davis's devious power-broker The Cigarette-Smoking Man and Mulder's confidants The Lone Gunmen will all figure into the miniseries.

If you're asking how that's possible since all four characters were killed off in the past... well, we are too!

Although rarely a character at the forefront of The X Files, Scully's mother Margaret (Sheila Larken) will be re-visited as well.

One familiar face you shouldn't expect to see is Robert Patrick, who confirmed in July that he'd not been asked back to reprise his role as FBI agent (and resident sceptic) John Doggett.

What is... The Truth?

Chris Carter and his staff are naturally keeping the broad strokes of the upcoming storyline a secret, but bits of key information have leaked.

The threat of alien colonisation of earth from Fox's previous X-Files series will be picked up again - with some significant tweaks.

To start with, Carter will apparently answer why an alien invasion of earth did not occur on December 22, 2012 - as predicted by The Smoking Man in 2002's series finale 'The Truth'.

Episode one and six are linked by titles - 'My Struggle' and 'My Struggle II' - and are likely to be mythology-based.

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An 18-second teaser released in July tipped a few more clues, showing law enforcement officers investigating a downed spaceship.

"Are you ready for this Scully," a dishevelled Mulder asks in the clip, with his partner answering: "I don't know if there's a choice."

Duchovny and co have been dropping hints all year

Earlier in the year, leading man Duchovny revealed that these six new episodes will blend mythology with standalone mysteries.

"We're gonna do both," he revealed in March. "I'm pretty sure it's gonna begin and end with the mythology."

The most tantalising of titles is for episode two - 'Home Again' by X-Files veteran Glen Morgan.

There was initial speculation that 'Home Again' would be a sequel to Glen Morgan and James Wong's horrifying 1996 episode 'Home' - although Carter later clarified that this is not the case.

'We're not going to reboot any of the old favorites, although it was something we all thought about," Carter told Entertainment Weekly. "These are all brand new stories. We hope to scare you in brand new ways."

Ed Araquel

All we know about 'Home Again' is that it will feature a villain called The Band-Aid Nose Man - who was described by TV Line as being "intimidating, odd, weary, creepy and immeasurably strong".



We have even fewer details about the three other episodes, other than their highly-intriguing titles: 'Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster' (February 1), 'Babylon' (February 8) and 'Founder's Mutation' (February 15).

Finally, these six new episodes could also be a trial run for a further expansion of the franchise - if star David Duchovny is to be believed.

"I would hope [the revival] will be successful, I would hope we could continue, but right now, I'm just looking at it as these six, and then we'll see what happens," Duchovny told Variety in April.

In other words, don't count on The X-Files' long-running conspiracy to completely unravel in Fox's miniseries.

Are you excited for the return of The X-Files? Let us know in our comment section below:

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