33 Years Later, the Best Sci‑Fi Horror Series Ever Made Proves Its Staying Power

The paranormal-investigator duo has long been one of sci-fi’s most-loved devices: two sharp minds, one skeptical and one open to the impossible, navigating conspiracies, unexplained phenomena, and secrets hidden in plain sight. Recent entries like Netflix's Lockwood & Co.

show the trope still resonates, but that blueprint was laid decades ago by a true classic. The X-Files, created by Chris Carter and starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, ran across nine seasons and two follow-up features and blurred the line between science and the supernatural.

Its scary cold opens, slow-burn tone and uncanny yet realistic monster-of-the-week stories pulled viewers in and forced audiences to question whom to trust and whether the truth was ever really meant to be found — turning "I want to believe" into more than just a slogan.

the x-files, chris carter, gillian anderson, david duchovny, paranormal investigators, sci-fi horror, monster-of-the-week, cold opens, slow burn, lockwood