Could ‘The X-Files’ Season 11 Be Taking Place in the IDW Comics Universe?

Could the long-running and fan-favorite world of Joe Harris’s The X-Files: Season Ten and beyond finally be appearing on TV?

Tonight’s episode of The X-Files introduced the idea of alternate universes, leading some viewers to wonder whether the seemingly flippant dismissal of 2016’s revival series was in fact an indicator that “Season Eleven” is occurring in a different universe than the one fans saw when they were watching that 6-episode miniseries.

So why would we assume this is the world of IDW’s The X-Files? Well, part of it is likely misguided optimism (those comics are pretty awesome), but there are some more legitimate reasons, too.

When they were first introduced, the X-Files comics were ostensibly the follow-up to the series. The revival was still a ways off in the distance, and not yet a sure thing. The comics picked up a story where the TV series, as well as the second movie, which came out in 2008, “counted.”

The comics brought back the Cigarette-Smoking Man and the Lone Gunmen, fan-favorite characters who cast a long shadow on the TV series, in order to establish a new-reader-friendly status quo and offer writer Joe Harris and artist Matthew Dow Smith (mostly) the opportunity to tell a version of The X-Files that was truly The X-Files, with no restrictions to speak of.

In the 2016 TV revival, CSM (whose name and role we now know more about) was revived, but the Lone Gunmen remained absent. A shot of Richard Langly appeared in one of the trailers for the series, implying that the Gunmen were back among the land of the living, but it was not until the whole “alternate universe” thing came into play that it was even a consideration that they could be back as a result of the show “relocating.”

That seems not to be the case — per the episode, Langly appears as a result of advanced digital trickery…at least for now. Still, the inclusion of The Lone Gunmen got us to thinking: is there anything that really indicates that this world could not be the world of the IDW series?

The answer is no, and furthermore, the series is clearly popular with those behind the scenes. While it was removed from canon when showrunner Chris Carter revived the franchise for TV, the first arc of the comics was adapted into an audio drama in which several key cast members appeared.

“It’s gratifying; it also opens up a can of worms for people who wonder ‘How exactly will this tie into the television series?’” Harris said at the time. “There are incompatible turns of character and plot, and the simple answer is, it really doesn’t. They really just straight adapted my comics in ways that, if you’re looking for it to perfectly line up as canon, you’re going to be disappointed I would say, but it needs to be thought of that way.”

…but will they have to be forever?

The X-Files airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.