The X-Files: Hulu Launches "Best Of" Collections for Franchise Newcomers

The X-Files is an iconic sci-fi series from the '90s which has deservedly earned a passionate following, but for audiences who aren't as familiar with the series, it can be daunting to dive into the mythology that sprawls eleven seasons of TV, two movies, and multiple comic books and novels. Luckily, Hulu is offering some assistance to newcomers and has released all-new collections of episodes that highlight some of the best the series has to offer, allowing audiences to easily consume some of the best in supernatural, alien, or monster stories. With all eleven seasons of the series available to stream on Hulu, newcomers can explore the rest of the franchise once they're hooked by the highlights.

The collections are as follows:

Best of Aliens & UFOs

• "Pilot" (Season 1, Episode 1)
• "Ice" (Season 1, Episode 8)
• "The Erlenmeyer Flask" (Season 1, Episode 24)
• "Duane Barry" (Season 2, Episode 5)
• "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" (Season 3, Episode 20)
• "Memento Mori" (Season 4, Episode 14)
• "Small Potatoes" (Season 4, Episode 20)
• "Dreamland" (Season 6, Episodes 4 & 5)
• "Requiem" (Season 7, Episode 2)
• "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" (Season 11, Episode 4)

Best of Paranormal & Supernatural

• "Shadows" (Season 1, Episode 6)
• "Beyond the Sea" (Season 1, Episode 13)
• "Excelsis Dei" (Season 2, Episode 11)
• "Elegy" (Season 4, Episode 22)
• "Chinga" (Season 5, Episode 10)
• "Triangle" (Season 6, Episode 3)
• "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" (Season 6, Episode 6)
• "Sein und Zeit" (Season 7, Episode 10)
• "Closure" (Season 7, Episode 11)

Best of "Monsters-of-the-Week"

• "Squeeze" (Season 1, Episode 3)
• "Tooms" (Season 1, Episode 21)
• "The Host" (Season 2, Episode 2)
• "Quagmire" (Season 3, Episode 22)
• "Home" (Season 4, Episode 2)
• "Detour" (Season 5, Episode 4)
• "The Post-Modern Prometheus" (Season 5, Episode 5)
• "Bad Blood" (Season 5, Episode 12)
• "Folie à Deux" (Season 5, Episode 19)
• "Arcadia" (Season 6, Episode 15)
• "X-Cops" (Season 7, Episode 12)
• "Roadrunners" (Season 8, Episode 4)
• "Invocation" (Season 8, Episode 5)
• "Lord of the Flies" (Season 9, Episode 5)
• "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" (Season 10, Episode 3)

The series is described, "The truth is out there. FBI agents Scully and Mulder seek it in this sci-fi phenomenon about their quest to explain the seemingly unexplainable. Their strange cases include UFO sightings, alien encounters and abductions, and just about everything else among the paranormal."

Between Season 5 and 6, the movie The X-Files: Fight the Future landed in theaters, an event that largely bridged the gap between the two seasons. In 2008, The X-Files: I Want to Believe landed in theaters, which served more as a standalone experience. After the original nine-season run, the six-episode Season 10 revival debuted in 2015 while Season 11 debuted in 2017. There are currently no confirmed plans for new entries into The X-Files franchise.

You can stream all eleven seasons of The X-Files on Hulu now.

What are your favorite episodes of the series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!