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Vince Gilligan, the creator of "Breaking Bad," is just one of many former "X-Files" scribes still leaving a mark on TV
Vince Gilligan's dark AMC drama owes much to his eight-season stint with "The X-Files." Among the many ties: In Gilligan’s stand-out sixth season episode “Drive,” his “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston played an antihero with a terminal disorder (sound familiar?). Gilligan, pictured in inset, has also hired many former “X-Files” writers, including John Shiban and Thomas Schnauz, to work on “Breaking Bad.”
"X-Files" creator Chris Carter (left), who managed to launch three other Fox series ("Harsh Realm," "Millennium" and "The Lone Gunmen") over the alien-heavy drama’s 1993-2002 run, is currently finishing post-production on the ultra-secretive film "Fencewalkers." Shockingly little is known about the upcoming movie, but it stars Katie Cassidy (bottom right) of "Supernatural” and “Gossip Girl” fame. While 2008’s “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” didn’t live up to critical expectations, a third film based on the show remains very much a possibility.
Frank Spotnitz (pictured in inset), who was with "The X-Files" from 1995 until its conclusion and is responsible for some of the series’ most memorable mythology episodes, co-wrote "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" with Carter. Now he's helping bring the UK special-ops series “Strike Back” to Cinemax; it debuts August 12.
Over eight seasons on “The X-Files,” John Shiban (pictured, inset) wrote 24 episodes -- the fourth-most, after Carter (70), Spotniz (48) and Gilligan (30). He's been a busy man since the show ended, working on “Star Trek: Enterprise," "Supernatural," "Legend of the Seeker," "The Vampire Diaries” and "Breaking Bad." More recently, he wrote two episodes for Starz’s "Torchwood: Miracle Day,” and he will be an executive producer on AMC's Civil War drama "Hell on Wheels,” launching this fall.
Howard Gordon (inset, left) is likely best known for his work on “24,” but he wrote 20 episodes of “The X-Files” during the show’s first four seasons. With his frequent “X-Files” writing partner Alex Gansa, Gordon created the CIA action series “Homeland," which debuts on Showtime this fall and stars Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin. He's also producing an apocalypic robot movie with former "X-Files" colleague James Wong.
Howard Gordon is also an executive producer on Kyle Killen’s midseason NBC drama "Awake," which stars Jason Isaacs (aka Lucius Malfoy from the “Harry Potter" movie series) as a detective whose life is split into two realities after a car accident. Tim Minear, who wrote two fifth-season episodes of "The X-Files" before departing for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and then "Angel," is also involved with “Awake.”
With his old writing partner Glen Morgan, James Wong (pictured in inset) is responsible for some of the most memorable non-mythology episodes during the first four seasons of "The X-Files," including fan favorites “Tooms” and “Home.” The pair went on to create the “Final Destination” horror franchise. Most recently, Wong worked on NBC's failed sci-fi drama "The Event." He and Howard Gordon recently sold "2084," a possible robots-in-the-future film franchise.
Glen Morgan (pictured, left), James Wong's former writing partner, was the showrunner on "Tower Prep," a 2010 live-action Cartoon Network series about abnormally gifted high school students. Joining him in the endeavor was his brother, Darin Morgan (right), whose quirky 1995 script for “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” made him the only "X-Files" staffer ever to win an Emmy in the writing category.
David Amann was an "X-Files" writer during its final four seasons and later spent time on “Crossing Jordan" and "Without a Trace.” He joined "Castle" as an executive producer in 2010 and is currently getting ready for the ABC drama’s fourth season.
Jeffrey Bell wrote five episodes of "The X-Files" during its later seasons before departing for "Angel." He also spent time on "Alias," "Harper's Island" and "V.” In June, Lifetime launched “The Protector,” a drama about a LAPD homicide detective that he developed.
David Greenwalt, who later co-created "Angel" with Joss Whedon, spent just one year on "The X-Files" – the series’ breakout fourth season. He is the co-creator of "Grimm," an upcoming NBC series about a detective who just happens to be a descendant of the Brothers Grimm, whose gruesome fairy-tale creations are actually real. The show's time slot this fall? Fridays at 9 p.m., exactly where "The X-Files" debuted in 1993.
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Published Date:
Fri, 2011-07-15 08:20