Movies - TV
Why David Duchovny Quit The X-Files After Season 7
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
David Duchovny, who played Fox Mulder, left "The X-Files" after season 7. There was a lot of fan speculation as to why, but the truth is that the studio denied him royalties.
A 2019 court case revealed that Fox was engaged in a shady underbidding scheme in which they kept all the advertising revenue using their vertically integrated streaming services.
The actors had expected Fox to sell the show to the highest bidder rather than keeping it on their own services. As a result, they were denied a huge amount of royalties.
Something similar happened with Duchovny in 1999. Show creator Chris Carter was making millions off of "The X-Files" reruns, but Duchovny was cut out of many of those deals.
Duchovny and Carter's relationship became strained and Duchovny later sued Fox. He had signed a contract to remain on the show through the seventh season, but he did not renew it.