To say that The X-Files was a groundbreaking and beloved series would be a massive understatement. The show, which was created by Chris Carter, ran on Fox from 1993 until 2002 with a total of 202 episodes. Due to the millions of viewers, it spawned two movies and two follow-up seasons in 2016 and 2018. The theme song became one of the most iconic in television history, as did the love/hate relationship between David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who played Agents Mulder and Scully respectively. Of course, both stars went on to become humungous stars. So much so that we actually care about who David Duchovny is dating and we want to know precisely how Gillian Anderson transformed into Margaret Thatcher for The Crown.

Given how successful the show was during its heyday, as well as the eternal mark it has left on the film and television industry, it may come as a surprise to some to learn that Fox had absolutely no idea what they were buying when they signed a deal with creator Chris Carter. Thanks to an eye-opening article by The Hollywood Reporter, we've got the scoop on this. Let's take a look...

The Origin Of The X-Files And How Fox Studios Didn't Even Know About It

According to the fantastic Hollywood Reporter article, Chris Carter was hired by Peter Roth to develop some TV shows at 20th Century Fox. Because Chris had the chance to play around with a number of ideas due to his near-open deal, he started to explore an idea that truly fascinated him... aliens...

"[Peter Roth and I] were both interested in something in the vein of [the 1974 cult series] Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and I already had an idea," Chris Carter said in the Hollywood Reporter article. "It was partly inspired by the shows of my youth, The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, but I had recently come upon a scientific survey done by Dr. John Mack. It said that 10 percent of Americans believed they had contact with, been abducted by or believed in extraterrestrials."

Humans have always had a sort-of obsession with whether or not there is life on other planets. Perhaps it comes from our curiosity about how we fit into the universe. Regardless, it is a topic that really interested Chris... but not so much Fox Studios... But because they had a 'blind deal' with Chris, they didn't have much of a choice. In fact, they didn't really know what he was developing until it was far into the process.

"We had a blind deal with Chris," Bob Greenblatt, the former Executive Vice President of Primetime Programming at Fox, said to The Hollywood Reporter. "We thought he was going to pitch a family or teenage soap, so we were surprised when he brought us high-concept science fiction. We were reluctant to develop it because we didn't have any other drama like it and weren't in the market for sci-fi.

Related: Here's What 'X-Files' Actress Yvonne Boismier Phillips Is Up To Now

But at the time, Fox wasn't the hottest network on television. In fact, according to the former Director of Drama Development at Fox, they were being called 'the coat-hanger network'. At least, that's what former NBC President Brandon Tartikoff was saying about them.

"We knew we were the last stop on the train," Danielle Gelber, the former Director of Drama Development at Fox said. "The X-Files was the first pitch from my first season. Chris had the most passionate, focused, dimensional, whole construct I've ever heard from anybody."

However, the network executives did not say yes after the first meeting. They claim that they were fascinated by it, as well as by the dynamic vision Chris had for it... but they weren't sure. They had so many questions. Therefore, Chris ended up coming back with a 20-page document that answered many of their questions and gave them a more detailed glimpse into the epic vision he had for X-Files. "What I very distinctly remember that fall was going to a meeting with Peter Roth and our management basically telling us that the hourlong business was impossible and we couldn't make any money doing it. We had an entire slate of drama in development," the former Vice President of Business Affairs at 20th Century Fox Television, Gary Newman, claimed.

Related: 15 Things You Didn't Know About David Duchovny

As luck would have it, not long after Chris Carter's pitch, there was a shake-up at Fox. New blood was brought in to vamp-up their television sector and this meant that there was an opportunity to develop a series that they had basically promised to develop without knowing what it was.

"My mandate was to make really good shows that spoke to a younger demographic that had been largely disenfranchised by the Big Three [networks]," the former President of Fox Entertainment Group, Sandy Grushow, said. "I was looking for whatever the Fox version of a procedural could be — a cop show or a medical show with Fox topspin. The X-Files fit that bill."

And the rest is history.

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