The world has a habit of taking a few steps forward, and many steps back. In the case of The X-Files, the eleventh series of the show has finally recruited some women to its writing and directing team. But now, that’s being saluted as some kind of victory when in fact there’s a long, long, long, long way to go.
Fox TV boss Chris Walden confirmed earlier this week that showrunner Chris Carter “has assigned two women episodes” (lovely phrase, right?). She added that “two of the 10 episodes will be written by women, and we do have two female directors . . . so I think Chris is making moves in the right direction”.
This announcement comes in the aftermath of backlash, against the otherwise all-male team behind the new run of The X-Files. Ironic, that a series that gave us one of the all-time great women heroes in front of the camera is so lacking behind it.
Fox, incidentally, has since confirmed that three women are on directing duties for the ten episode run. We think that Rachel Talalay, currently editing the Doctor Who Christmas special, probably puts it best, in response to a Vanity Fair upbeat report that suggested “Scully would be proud”…
No Scully would not be proud. Embarrassing that this is news. #NowMoreThanEver https://t.co/HqiXwuD0b4
— Rachel Talalay (@rtalalay) August 9, 2017
And from Scully herself, back in June…
And 2 out of 207 eps directed by women. I too look forward to the day when the numbers are different. #TheFutureisFemale https://t.co/38SVdTfCR1
— Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) June 29, 2017
The X-Files, clearly, still has work to do.