"The X-Files" revival won in the ratings game as the much-anticipated follow-up to the series premiered on Sunday, Jan. 24 and was watched by nearly 13.47 million people, making it one of Fox's most impressive debuts of all time.
According to TV by the Numbers, the show's debut earned a 5.1 rating in the key 18 to 49 demographic. The second episode, which aired on Monday night, was also well-received as most critics noted that it was a refreshing change among other shows that aired on the same night.
Prior to the show's premiere, "The X-Files" went all out with regards to promotion—from Comic-Con screenings to a stunt which involves a crashed space ship in a popular Los Angeles outdoor shopping plaza—and it appears that Fox's marketing efforts paid off. Longtime fans as well as a new generation of viewers tuned in to see Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) navigate their relationship after their split while solving mysteries involving aliens.
The first episode of the revival gave very little information about what caused the longtime partners to split up in the time between 2008's "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" and Sunday's premiere. Complicating matters is the fact that Tad (Joel McHale) has shown an interest in Sully. While it is unclear whether Mulder and Scully will get back together sometime in the revival's six-episode run, show creator Chris Carter told The Hollywood Reporter that there is definitely "a rift" between the two and that they will deal with that.
But one of the most important plot lines of the premiere revealed that Scully has alien DNA in her system. In the original series, Scully was abducted by aliens in season 2 and she turned up comatose three months later with no explanation about how she got there.
Carter said that finding out that she has alien DNA in her system will "change the way [Scully] looks at life," and more importantly, it might also serve to build her relationship with Mulder.
"Now they're bonded together in a way they might not have been otherwise," he told THR.
"The X-Files" airs Mondays on Fox.
