The X-Files Is Back, And We Want 90s Gillian Anderson Back Too

With a new six-part series on the horizon, Dana Scully's boxy suits might make a comeback

Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully in The X-Files
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully in The X-Files
(Image credit: Rex)

With a new six-part series on the horizon, Dana Scully's boxy suits might make a comeback

Sci-fi nerds and 1990s nostalgists rejoice: cult show The X-Files is back after a 13-year hiatus, with production on a new six-part series kicking off this summer. And we already have a lot of notes for the costume department.

Our first sighting of Anderson as Dana Scully was more than 20 years ago, when the show debuted in 1993 - and to us she remains the quintessential 1990s woman, complete with feathered fringe and dusky pink lipstick. She walked a fine style line; she had a penchant for boxy suits and sensible kitten heels, but she was a beloved sex symbol to sweaty-palmed adolescents everywhere. Scully was the teenage boy's holy grail: someone who owned a lot of tight blouses, yet was also involved in exciting alien conspiracy theories.

Bearing in mind that these days, Anderson is better known as the willowy, blonde star of The Fall, it will be fascinating to see what a modern Scully will look like. She might have upgraded her kitten heels for a more contemporary ankle boot, but we'd like to think she'll still be that sexy-frumpy icon with a considerable blazer collection and an endless supply of lipstick. Otherwise it might all start to feel a bit too CSI: Alien Edition.

Even more intriguingly, Anderson told the Guardian in a recent interview that during the original series, she and David Duchovny often weren't even speaking to each other: "I mean, yes, there were definitely periods when we hated each other … Hate is too strong a word. We didn’t talk for long periods of time. It was intense, and we were both pains in the arse for the other at various times." If that doesn't sound like a recipe for six episodes of tangible sexual tension, we don't know what does.

There's no broadcast date yet, but we suggest you nominate a man in his thirties to keep you updated on any news. Those teenage crushes never fade...

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