Futures of The X-Files, The Exorcist and Wayward Pines uncertain

Last Updated on July 21, 2021

The Television Critis Association is holding their annual Press Tour right now in L.A. so we'll be getting updates on plenty of upcoming and existing TV shows. Today Fox was up to discuss the fates of a few of their juicier genre titles; namely, The X-Files, Wayward Pines and The Exorcist.

The X-Files, which came back to television with a 6-episode mini-series last January, still hasn't been officially renewed, but talks are underway. Said Fox entertainment president David Madden:

A lot of conversations are going on, as you can imagine, these conversations are complex… We hope to be able to announce something shortly.”

According to E Online, Madden allowed for a little more optimism after the Fox panel concluded and he spoke directly to reporters. Here he remarks on how many episodes he hopes to see:

It won't be 22, but we are hoping for more than six. That's our goal. I think the ideal is to get it ready for '18. Whether or not it would be January…"

Obviously not the commitment fans might be hoping for, but at least we know the door is still wide open.

Next we have The Exorcist, which recently ended its 10-episode first season to fairly mixed reviews. (Our own Jake Dee followed every episode; read his write-ups HERE.) It would appear as though The Exorcist's chances of returning are a little slighter than X-Files', but it hasn’t been excised for good just yet. After noting that its numbers weren't exactly stellar and that a decision to renew wasn't an easy one, Madden remarked…

We are having conversions with producers about what we can do in second season. But like with Pitch, we can’t make a decision yet."

Finally, the M. Night Shyamalan-produced Wayward Pines, which had a really strong first season when Matt Dillon was the lead but a subpar sophomore season with a new protagonist played by Jason Patric. Where does it stand at the network? Fox Chairman Gary Newman weighed in:

Wayward is not canceled, but it will not be on this summer. Wayward didn’t come together quickly enough for us to have it this summer; there have been discussions about casting. We’re still talking about it, it’s possible you’ll see Wayward at some point back on Fox. But we are focusing a little bit more heavily on unscripted this summer.”

Bottom line: if you're a fan of any or all of those three genre shows and can't wait for them to retun, Fox is going to keep you in suspense for a little while longer.