Is The X-Files still popular?

[TMC]

(US Perspective)

Unfortunately no.

Why?

1. It was supersaturated in the syndication market - Basically any group of stations and several of the super stations played The X-Files in heavy rotation thus taking anything that approached novelty or mystery away from the program. The show has aired far too many times and even loyal fans have lost a great deal of interest in it.
   
2. The feature films for the series were mediocre to poor - The first film (Fight The Future) was average. It did extend the overarching narrative somewhat; however when it’s watched today (2022) you realize that nothing really happens it and that they stakes were always pretty low. The second film was indescribably bad. It basically killed the feature narrative universe and it’s unlikely that anyone except fans of the characters like it even now.
   
3. The series reboot blew chunks - They brought the series back to “wrap up“ the loose ends and they did so in nearly the worst ways possible. They could have left well enough alone, they didn’t, and they damaged the series as a result.
   
4. The spinoffs failed early - Millennium took a dump (no other elegant way to put it) fairly early and that meant that The X-Files universe was always going to small. The Lone Gunman oddly never seemed to get an audience which is strange because aspects of it were quite good. It’s failure essentially ended any hope that the narrative universe would continue once the main series was cancelled.
   
5. The leads in the series seem to be apathetic about things at this point - While David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson can certainly do whatever they want, they seem to have forgotten that without The X-files, they would either be character actors in small roles or out of the business by now. However they have gone on to other things and they treat The X-Files like it was their first job at McDonald’s. Their lack of enthusiasm about the program (as opposed to how Star Trek and Star Wars are treated by its former stars) has certainly done little to make the series appealing at this late date.

The X-Files was cancelled more than 20 years ago in the United States. the two seasons that made it to air to conclude the series narrative weren’t very good and the spinoffs of the original failed relatively early on. The disinterest shown by the series leads simply placed the final nails in the show’s coffin.

The X-Files is no longer popular in the United States, questioner.

[TMC]

The X-Files is almost 30 years old, but it still is a part of our cultural establishment. How is this possible and why does it still hold up today?