--- title: The X-Files Is Back—Here's Why the Original Was So '90s description: The revival of the hit TV show starts in January, but the first episode premieres at a conference on Oct. 6 canonical: https://time.com/4054271/x-files-1995/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-06T16:00:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:37.504Z article:section: History og:title: The X-Files Is Back—Here's Why the Original Was So '90s og:description: The first episode of the revival premieres at a conference on Oct. 6 og:url: https://time.com/4054271/x-files-1995/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62b5bc1964cd582d/69886613cd1bba622e6fd6bb/xfiles.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: xfiles og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The X-Files Is Back—Here's Why the Original Was So '90s twitter:description: The first episode of the revival premieres at a conference on Oct. 6 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62b5bc1964cd582d/69886613cd1bba622e6fd6bb/xfiles.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _The X-Files_ Is Back—Here's Why the Original Was So '90s > Sponsored content. 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Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is included in a TIME print and digital subscription? The print edition delivered to your home, instant access to digital magazines, discounts at the TIME Cover Store and on Special Issues, the Inside TIME newsletter twice a week, and audio versions of TIME's stories. It is from $29 for one year or $49 for two years at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is the difference between TIME's digital and print plans? Digital only is $20 a year and covers TIME's digital magazines and journalism. Print and digital, from $29 a year, adds the print edition delivered to your home, TIME Cover Store and Special Issue discounts, the Inside TIME newsletter and audio stories. #### Is TIME a reliable news source? TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923. Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: The 14 Best Television Intros [Watch (HLS stream): The 14 Best Television Intros](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/43fbt7yd.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2014-07-10. The best 30 seconds on TV come before the feature. Here are the best opening credits television has to offer._  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 6, 2015 4:00 PM UTC  A 1996 scene from The X-Files A 1996 scene from The X-Files Fox / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 6, 2015 4:00 PM UTC Mulder and Scully are back, but the world has changed. When the first episode of the upcoming revival of _The X-Files_ premieres on Tuesday at an entertainment-industry conference in France (it will air on TV in January), the FBI agents who helped kick start the 1990s paranormal craze will solve crimes in a newly wired world (the [trailer ](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/29/x-files-teaser-trailer)does show smartphones, after all). But no matter how the show is updated for 2016, it will bring a little bit of the 1990s with it. After all, _The X-Files_ helped define the decade. When the show premiered in 1993, it helped precipitate a programming trend that would last for years. As TIME wrote in 1995, _The X-Files_ and its imitators spoke to a distinctly pre-Y2K interest: --- > “” --- **_Read more from 1995, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Out of This World](http://time.com/vault/issue/1995-04-03/page/74/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4054271/x-files-1995/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4054271/x-files-1995/"},"headline":"The X-Files Is Back—Here's Why the Original Was So '90s","datePublished":"2015-10-06T16:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:37.504Z","description":"The first episode of the revival premieres at a conference on Tuesday","url":"https://time.com/4054271/x-files-1995/","keywords":["Television","TV"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62b5bc1964cd582d/69886613cd1bba622e6fd6bb/xfiles.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62b5bc1964cd582d/69886613cd1bba622e6fd6bb/xfiles.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"xfiles","caption":"x-files","creditText":"Fox / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4054271/x-files-1995/","name":"The X-Files Is Back—Here's Why the Original Was So '90s"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 14 Best Television Intros","description":"The best 30 seconds on TV come before the feature. 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