The eleventh and final season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files premiered on January 3, 2018, on Fox.

It follows newly re-instated Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson).

[2] Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) wakes up in the hospital after having a seizure, now realizing the events of "My Struggle II" were a vision and haven't actually happened yet.

Mulder initially presumes Scully’s ramblings are a product of her illness but leaves the hospital to investigate.

He first balks at telling her the location of her son, revealing only the name of the family that adopted him—Van De Kamp.

Mulder tails a henchman who he believes will take him to The Smoking Man, but he arrives somewhere else with mysterious conspirators; Mr. Y (A.C. Peterson) and Erika Price (Barbara Hershey).

[3] Scully opens her eyes in the dark, lying on her side on a bed in a mysterious house.

"[22] In an interview with Variety prior to the premiere, co-star Gillian Anderson, Duchovny, and Walden stated their willingness for another renewal.

[23] In an interview with TV Guide, Carter reaffirmed plans for more episodes, but stressed that everyone involved is waiting on the success of the season.

[30][31][32] In addition to Duchovny and Anderson, Mitch Pileggi was confirmed to reprise his role, as Walter Skinner.

[33] Also returning are William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man and Annabeth Gish as Monica Reyes.

[2][34] In August 2017, it was confirmed that Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose would reprise their roles Agents Miller and Einstein from season ten.

"[38] The writers intended to bring back Robert Patrick as his character John Doggett, but he was unavailable due to scheduling issues as he was filming for his TV series Scorpion.

[41] After controversy sparked regarding the lack of female writers or directors on the series, it was announced in August 2017 that Carol Banker, a script supervisor on the original series who also directed an episode of The Lone Gunmen and Holly Dale were added as directors.

The site's consensus reads, "Though it may not make many new believers, The X-Files return to business as usual is a refreshing upgrade from the show's underwhelming previous outing.

While Miller wrote that the season premiere "is not good", she was much more positive of the following four standalone episodes, writing that "there are some intriguing mysteries, some eerie moments, solid action" and praised Darin Morgan's comedy installment, calling it "fantastic".

"[45] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture stated that compared to the previous season, "This new batch of episodes is considerably stronger.