David Duchovny Explains Why Mulder is the Worst FBI Agent Ever

The truth was out there on Saturday at New York Comic Con, as Fox premiered the first episode of The X-Files for fans inside New York’s Javits Center. Before that screening, X-Files stars David Duchovny, Mitch Pileggi, and Kumail Nanjiani, along with show creator Chris Carter, stopped by the EW and Sirius XM lounge to discuss the return of Agents Mulder and Scully.

“They’re brand new fresh stories. Nothing that was sitting on the shelf,” Carter told EW’s Kyle Anderson about bringing the show back to television after a 13-year hiatus.

“The truth is we’ve always kept in touch about doing more stories in whatever form was available to us,” Duchovny added. “When cable came in, and limited runs came on the network through the cable model, it became clear to us that if we weren’t able to do the movies, we could tell the stories Chris wanted to tell, and it might even be better suited for these long short runs.”

As for why The X-Files, and Mulder in particular, has resonated with fans for so many years, Duchovny said he wasn’t entirely sure, but did credit his character’s stick-to-itiveness. “I think he fails and he never gives up. People like his sense of wonder and never giving up. They like his sense of humor, they love the relationship between him and Scully,” Duchovny said. “I’ve always described him as the worst FBI agent in history. He’s not put one person behind bars in how many episodes? And yet, I think that’s what’s lovable about him. He continues to do his job the way he conceives of his job, in spite of his complete incompetence.”

Added Nanjiani: “He’s this little guy. One guy going up against this massive conspiracy, and he thinks he can win. That’s very optimistic.”

The six-episode run of The X-Files will debut on Fox in January. For more on the premiere episode, head here.

This story originally appeared on EW.com