‘The X-Files’ Will Be Back, but Will Duchovny Return?

“The X-Files” will go on, with or without David Duchovny.

Chris Carter, creator and executive producer of the hit Fox series, made an agreement late Monday with 20th Century Fox Television to stay with the drama for one more season. He added that he was negotiating with Fox to keep filming the series in Los Angeles, instead of returning to Vancouver, the drama’s home base since its 1993 premiere before moving in 1998.

Although Gillian Anderson, who plays FBI Special Agent Dana Scully, is set to return, Duchovny, who plays FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, is still up in the air as to whether he will stay with the series. Duchovny has been embroiled in contract negotiations and legal settlements with the studio that may come down to the wire of Fox’s Thursday announcement of the new fall season.

Carter said he has worked all year to “create the possibility of David’s return.” He added that the season finale this Sunday will be a cliffhanger that “sets up a new situation and creates a new possibility in any event.”

There have been discussions of Duchovny coming back for a limited number of episodes next season--the likely scenario.

“X-Files” is averaging 12.5 million viewers this season, down from 15.3 million a year ago, due in part to competition from “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and “The Sopranos.” Even with that decline, however, “X-Files” remains Fox’s highest-rated drama and third most-watched show, behind only the comedies preceding it, “Malcolm in the Middle” and “The Simpsons.”