The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.

In this episode, Wayne Federman, an entrepreneurial Hollywood producer and college friend of Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) picks up the idea for a film based on the X-Files, however Mulder and Scully find that the level of realism in their fictional portrayal is somewhat questionable.

The episode—written with a "self-referential" tone—features myriad guest stars, including, most notably, Garry Shandling and Téa Leoni, who portray Mulder and Scully, respectively, in the episode's fictional movie.

Walter Skinner's college friend, Hollywood producer Wayne Federman, is involved in a film project about the FBI.

During Federman's research phase, Skinner gives him access to Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who are investigating the attempted murder of Cardinal O'Fallon.

Mulder brings the relic to Chuck Burks, who, after performing a sonic analysis, discovers voices in Aramaic: In one portion part of the audio, one man commands another to rise from the dead.

The agents leave the set holding hands, presumably on their way to dinner with the FBI credit card Skinner gave them after watching the movie, hinting at the continued romantic relationship between them.

[1] As they leave, the dead who were resting underneath the film set are revived and begin to dance passionately, reinforcing a theory Mulder made earlier in the episode.

After receiving largely positive feedback about his last creation, sixth-season episode "The Unnatural", Duchovny approached executive producer Frank Spotnitz about the possibility of writing another.

Series creator Chris Carter was very happy with the story, calling it "a smart, [...], quirky, and intelligent idea" and he later described it as "outside the norm, even for The X-Files.

[2] Thanks to their part in this episode, several of Duchovny's family members and friends were able to apply for their Screen Actor's Guild card, making them eligible for health insurance.

"[2][5] Duchovny also cast his friend and fellow actor Garry Shandling as a fictionalized version of himself portraying Mulder in the movie.

Duchovny explained: "We used to always have the joke on set that when they do the movie it's going to be Richard Gere and Jodie Foster [playing Mulder and Scully].

[13] Sarah Kendzior from 11th Hour Magazine wrote that, "My favorite [episode] this year may well be 'Hollywood A.D.', an ambitious, often ingenious and occasionally flawed sophomore effort concerning the entertainment industry, religion, and pretty much everything in between.

"[14] Rich Rosell from DigitallyObsessed.com awarded the episode 5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "[the] scene from the 'movie' where Shandling/Mulder faces off against The Cigarette Smoking Pontiff, and his army of sniper zombies, is classic stuff, and earns 'Hollywood A.D.' high marks.

[18] On the "Killer Cable Snaps" episode of the popular science television series MythBusters, which aired on October 11, 2006, the possibility that audio could be transcribed onto pottery was tested (the myth received a "busted" result).

[19] In a March 2021 interview with Emiko Tamagawa on the National Public Radio program "Here & Now," David Duchovny said that his 2021 novel Truly Like Lightning originated in research he had done about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while writing this episode.