TV series
The truth is out there.
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Jul 22, 2026
The X-Files is available to stream on Disney+, Hulu, and Pluto TV in United States. You can also rent or buy it from Google Play, Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Scully finds her career with the FBI in jeopardy as Mulder is still missing and the Cigarette Smoking Man is pursuing the stolen files. The Navajo elders find Mulder's body in a cave and perform an ancient ceremony to call the spirit back to the empty vessel.
Directed by R. W. GoodwinWritten by Chris CarterGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Peter Donat, Jerry Hardin, Alf Humphreys, John Neville, Melinda McGraw, Dakota House
Episode 2
A.D. Skinner and Scully are at a standoff when Mulder bursts in and discovers that Skinner has the digital tape. Reunited, Mulder and Scully travel to a secret vault inside a mine and find an elaborate filing system of medical records which reveals that Mulder's sister may not have been the first choice for abduction. Meanwhile, Skinner deals with the Cigarette-Smoking Man for their safety.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Chris CarterGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Walter Gotell, John Neville, Melinda McGraw, Rebecca Toolan, Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, Sheila Larken
Episode 3
Mulder and Scully investigate a series of human and cattle deaths by lightning and are led to a teenage boy who is the only survivor out of five people recently hit by lightning strikes.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by Howard GordonGuest stars Giovanni Ribisi, Jack Black, Ernie Lively, Karen Lorre, Steve Makaj, Peter Anderson, Kate Robbins, Mar Andersons
Episode 4
In the midst of a psychic sideshow while on a murder case, Mulder and Scully enlist the help of a man who may have a true psychic ability to foresee how people will die to help the agents catch a man killing fortune tellers.
Directed by David NutterWritten by Darin MorganGuest stars Peter Boyle, Stuart Charno, Frank Cassini, Dwight McFee, Alex Diakun, Karin Konoval, Ken Roberts, David MacKay
Episode 5
Nobody takes much notice when a death row inmate vows on the electric chair to come back from the dead and kill five men who have wronged him during his time in prison, until a guard is mysteriously murdered in the former inmate's cell.
Directed by Chris CarterWritten by Chris CarterGuest stars Bokeem Woodbine, Badja Djola, John Toles-Bey, Ken Foree, April Grace, J.T. Walsh, Greg Rogers, Mitchell Kosterman
Episode 6
A man with a genetic abnormality, who must prey on overweight women in order to suck the fatty tissue from their bodies, begins to meet his victims through internet chat rooms.
Directed by David NutterWritten by Jeff VlamingGuest stars Beverley Elliott, Dean Mckenzie, P.J. Prinsloo, Brad Wattum, Timothy Carhart, Catherine Paolone, James Handy, Kerry Sandomirsky
Episode 7
After a suicide attempt and multiple murders at a military hospital, Mulder and Scully meet a quadruple amputee who has gained the power of astral projection and is taking out his personal frustrations on his commanding officers.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by John ShibanGuest stars Thomas Kopache, Pat Bermel, Willie Garson, Don Thompson, Nancy Sorel, Ian Tracey, Paula Shaw, Deryl Hayes
Episode 8
Mulder seeks the help of a woman who he believes has a special connection with a young girl who has recently been kidnapped by the same man who held her captive many years earlier.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by Charles Grant CraigGuest stars Jewel Staite, Tracey Ellis, Michael Chieffo, Ken Ryan, Dean Wray, Jacques Lalonde, David Fredericks, Sidonie Boll
Episode 9
An investigation into a video of an alien autopsy puts Mulder and Scully in the middle of a conspiracy involving WWII Japanese scientists brought to America to continue their experiments which may shed light on Scully's abduction.
Directed by David NutterWritten by Howard Gordon, Chris Carter, Frank SpotnitzGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, Carrie Cain-Sparks, Warren Takeuchi, Corrine Koslo, Lori Triolo, Paul Anthony McLean, Yasuo Sakurai, Stephen McHattie
Episode 10
Mulder is trapped inside a train car which contains a suspected alien-human hybrid and also a bomb, while Scully pursues the truth about her abduction and the mystery behind the implant in her neck.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Frank SpotnitzGuest stars William B. Davis, Michael Puttonen, Colin Cunningham, Sean Campbell, Victoria Maxwell, Don S. Williams, Stephen McHattie, Robert Ito
Episode 11
Mulder and Scully swap roles as they pursue a man killing priests that claim to have the wounds of Christ. The agents find and must protect a young boy who may be a real stigmatic. While Scully's faith draws her close to the boy, Mulder is convinced of another explanation.
Directed by David NutterWritten by Kim NewtonGuest stars Kevin Zegers, Sam Bottoms, Kenneth Welsh, Michael Berryman, Hayley Tyson, R. Lee Ermey, Lesley Ewen, Fulvio Cecere
Episode 12
Widespread panic is caused in a small community after numerous deaths are linked to killer cockroaches, and a government agricultural agency is discovered to have set up a secret experiment involving insects.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by Darin MorganGuest stars Bobbie Phillips, Raye Birk, Dion Anderson, Bill Dow, Alex Bruhanski, Ken Kramer, Nicole Parker, A.J. Buckley
Episode 13
A rare planetary alignment causes strange behavior in the residents of a small town, but particularly in two teenage girls who were born at the exact same moment on that date. While investigating the strange occurrences Mulder's interest in the local female detective makes Scully jealous.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Chris CarterGuest stars Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Wendy Benson-Landes, Lisa Robin Kelly, Garry Davey, Denalda Williams, Gabrielle Miller, Ryan Reynolds, Tim Dixon
Episode 14
A serial killer is captured after a three year manhunt, and he claims an evil spirit is responsible for the crimes. When the killings continue as he sits in jail, Mulder's battle with a former colleague gets more heated when he suggests that something more paranormal may be involved.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by Howard GordonGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, Paul J. Anderson, John Milton Brandon, Levan Uchaneishvili, Kurtwood Smith, Greg Thirloway, Susan Bain, Kasper Michaels
Episode 15
A French salvage ship searching for a lost WWII fighter plane unknowingly surfaces an alien which appears in the form of black oil and has the ability to jump hosts. Mulder heads to Hong Kong to investigate the salvage broker who sold the information to the French and he encounters Krycek, who has been selling information from the MJ documents. As Mulder prepares to take Krycek back to the US, the alien makes its way to Hong Kong and takes control of Krycek.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Chris Carter, Frank SpotnitzGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, Robert Clothier, Jo Bates, Stephen E. Miller, Ari Solomon, Paul Batten, Russell Ferrier, Kimberly Unger
Episode 16
Mulder pursues Krycek (unaware of the alien that has taken over his body) to get back the DAT tape containing the MJ documents. Meanwhile, the shooting of A.D. Skinner uncovers evidence that could lead Scully to her sister's murderer.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by Chris Carter, Frank SpotnitzGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Stanley Walsh, Craig Warkentin, Harrison Coe, Eric Breker, John Neville, David Kaye
Episode 17
Mulder and Scully are asked to help in a case involving Robert Patrick Modell, a murderer possessing the psychic ability to force his will onto people. Due to a brain tumor that is slowly killing him, he is searching for a "worthy adversary" and forces Mulder into a battle of mind over matter.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Vince GilliganGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, Janyse Jaud, Dave Grohl, Henry O. Watson, Vic Polizos, Roger Cross, Steve Bacic, Don MacKay
Episode 18
The unearthing of an ancient Ecuadorian Amaru urn and its removal to America despite protests leads to a series of deaths linked to a shaman spirit released by the urn.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by John ShibanGuest stars Vic Trevino, Janne Mortil, Gordon Tootoosis, Tom McBeath, Ron Sauvé, Alan Robertson, Garrison Chrisjohn
Episode 19
Mulder, Scully and a local Chinese American cop investigate deaths of several Chinese men found to be missing vital internal organs. The clues lead them to a deadly secret lottery run by the Triads in San Francisco's Chinatown district. The game is free to play but losing will cost you more than an arm and a leg.
Directed by Tucker GatesWritten by Jeff VlamingGuest stars Lucy Liu, James Hong, BD Wong, Michael Yama, Ed Hong-Louie, Doug Abrahams, Ellie Harvie, Derek Lowe
Episode 20
A alien abduction of two teenagers with endless versions of the same story prompts a science-fiction novelist to to write a book about the incident; however, nobody involved with the investigation can tell him the full story with any accuracy.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Darin MorganGuest stars Charles Nelson Reilly, Alex Trebek, William Lucking, Jesse Ventura, Jason Gaffney, Larry Musser, Sarah Sawatsky, Terry Arrowsmith
Episode 21
During a one-night-stand in the midst of his divorce, A.D. Skinner becomes a murder suspect, and Mulder and Scully return the many favors that he has done for them by analyzing evidence that someone doesn't want uncovered to prove his innocence.
Directed by Jim CharlestonWritten by David Duchovny, Howard GordonGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Amanda Tapping, Jennifer Hetrick, Malcolm Stewart, Bethoe Shirkoff, Janie Woods-Morris, Tom Mason
Episode 22
Mulder and Scully investigate a series of disappearances and attacks around a lake where Mulder believes that the local legend about a lake monster may be all too real. Frustrated Scully insightfully confronts Mulder about the futility of their work on the X-Files.
Directed by Kim MannersWritten by Kim NewtonGuest stars Mark Acheson, Chris Ellis, Peter Hanlon, R. Nelson Brown, Murray Lowry, Terrance Leigh, Timothy Webber, Nicole Parker
Episode 23
Mulder and Scully investigate a series of murders linked to a mysterious device that alters television signals causing paranoid hallucinations. One of them falls victim to it.
Directed by Rob BowmanWritten by Mat BeckGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Sandy Tucker, Zinaid Memišević, Chris Turner, Sheila Larken, Colin Cunningham, Linden Banks
Episode 24
After his mother suffers a stroke under strange circumstances, Mulder searches for a strange, benevolent alien man that possesses miraculous healing powers. With the help from Mr. X, he learns about the involvement of the Cigarette-Smoking Man and uncovers some secrets kept by his parents.
Directed by David Duchovny, R. W. Goodwin, Chris CarterWritten by David Duchovny, Chris CarterGuest stars Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Roy Thinnes, Brian Thompson, Stephen Dimopoulos, Angelo Vacco, Peter Donat, Rebecca Toolan
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
David DuchovnyFox Mulder
Gillian AndersonDana Scully
Robert PatrickJohn Doggett
Annabeth GishMonica Reyes
Mitch PileggiWalter Skinner
Cary ElwesBrad Follmer
John FinnMichael Kritschgau
William B. DavisCigarette Smoking Man
FOXUnited States
20th Century Fox TelevisionUnited States
