NEW YORK — “The truth is out there” and viewers still want to find it.
The return of Fox’s “The X-Files” brought in impressive preliminary ratings for the rebooted cult classic on Sunday night.
The series, which was scheduled right after Fox’s broadcast of the NFC Championship game on Sunday night, brought in a preliminary viewership of 13.4 million viewers from 10:30 p.m to 11:00 p.m. ET.
It also brought in a healthy 5.1 rating with those in the prized advertising demographic of 18 to 49 years old, according to the early estimates.
These are preliminary numbers that will most likely change once the time zone-adjusted numbers are reported Tuesday.
Fox announced in March that the popular sci-fi drama that ran for nine seasons through the 1990s until 2002 would return for a six-episode event series.
The interest in the return of Mulder and Scully after a 14-year break was seen in the early TV numbers and on the Internet. Social media lit up on Sunday night as fans of the series were excited to see their two favorite FBI agents take on the paranormal once more.
“The X-Files is using the original opening credits!!” tweeted BuzzFeed News entertainment editor Jarett Wieselman on Sunday night. “Legit chills here.”
The reviews of the first episode were mixed with critics, but some like Vanity Fair’s Joanna Robinson told viewers to be patient seeing that the series, which continues on Monday night, gets better.
“‘X-Files’ fans have waited a long, long time to see Fox Mulder and Dana Scully team up again to investigate paranormal activity. But ‘My Struggle,’ the premiere — was far from the show’s best work,” Robinson wrote. “But after some critical outcry, Fox released two additional episodes for review and the good news is, X-Files fans, it gets much better.”
The show is set to air Monday nights at 8 p.m., so the second episode airs Monday, Jan. 25 and the third will be Monday, Feb. 1.
