'X-Files' Season 11 First Look Hints At What's To Come

Cue the Mark Snow theme music – The X-Files is coming back for a new season, and bringing all its conspiracies with it. Mulder and Scully are back, investigating mysterious forces and occasionally holding hands. Fans wondering what to expect next from The X-Files now have their first look at the new season via two new images. The X-Files Season 11 first look is out there (and by out there I mean below).

The X-Files is one of the biggest cult shows of all time. For over 9 years, 9 seasons of TV and 2 movies, Special Agents Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) explored the unknown, dealing with monsters, aliens, government conspiracies and all sorts of weird, wild stuff. After being off the air for 14 years, The X-Files returned with a 6-episode 10th season, and the results were...mixed, at best. One of the episodes, "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster", was one of the best things the series ever produced. The rest? Not so much. As good as it was to see Duchovny and Anderson back in their pivotal roles, it felt like the magic was gone for most of the new season, and the flimsy writing of the episodes left much to be desired. Despite this, the reunion was a big enough hit for Fox to greenlight season 11, which will feature 10 episodes as opposed to 6.EW has our first look at the new season, along with several pieces of information from series creator Chris Carter. In the best X-Files tradition, the two images are vague but tantalizing enough to whet the appetite of most fans. One image shows Scully bedridden in a hospital bed as Mulder sits nearby, looking forlorn. Carter says this shows the agents "swapping places" – the season finale of season 10 featured a very sick Mulder reacting to an alien virus running rampant while Scully seemed immune. Now the tables are turned. "Obviously something unexpected has happened," Carter said in his deliberately vague fashion.

The other image shows an episode set in the past that reveals more of the backstory of the the villainous Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis), a character who is apparently immortal as far as this show is concerned. In a smoky room, a young CSM stands with two other people looking on as a shadowy gray alien lingers in the background.

Carter also talks about more lighthearted episodes, the return of Annabeth Gish's Agent Reyes and Mitch Pileggi's Assistant Director Skinner, new characters, and much more. The upcoming season drew some much-deserved criticism when it was announced that it would feature an all-male writer's room and only male directors. Carter thankfully rectified that by hiring more female writers and directors. Hopefully the new writers and directors will liven up the series and rectify the mistakes of season 10.

The X-Files season 11 will air sometime in early 2018.