‘The X-Files’ Mulder And Scully Are The Greatest TV Couple Of All Time

Many TV pairings have come and gone over the years, but there’s one that stands out above all the rest as the best example of chemistry, compatibility, and overall OTP-ness (that would be One True Pairing for those of you less internet inclined). I’m talking about Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) from The X-Files! What other small screen couple could come close? Ever since ‘93, they’ve been fighting the bad guys, uncovering government conspiracies, staring longingly at each other and then denying they were doing it — and in more recent series, having a miracle baby together, giving him up for adoption, going on the lam, separating, and finally getting back together again because hello, they’re each other’s touchstones. Whew.

Mulder and Scully ‘shippers—and there are so very many of them—have seen the undeniable magic between the characters from the very beginning. Scully, the brilliant, straight-laced scientist tasked with debunking Mulder’s supposedly bogus alien theories (spoiler: aliens are totally real!), walked into what was to be their shared basement office in the pilot episode — and true love was born. Of course, they wouldn’t figure it out for several seasons, but then that was part of the joy of watching.

Seeing these characters grow as individuals and as a team through their shared experiences, many of which were extremely traumatic and life-threatening, solidified their bond and strengthened viewers’ desire to see them just get it on already.

To be clear, The X-Files was not a show about love and loss, though there was plenty of it during the original series’ nine season run (and continuing on the current reboot). It was meant to be about the untrustworthiness of the government, aliens, and finding the always elusive truth behind weird circumstances — a truth which we were promised from the beginning was definitely “out there.” That the relationship between its two main characters eventually overshadowed all of that and even continued making the show watchable long past its original sell-by date likely wasn’t intentional. But it happened, and frankly? We should all be glad it did.

Much of this is down to the brilliant David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, actors whose electric on-screen chemistry was undeniable to even the biggest sci-fi nerd tuning in for a peek at little green men. Anderson, at the time a young, inexperienced actor who’d never auditioned for a TV series before, brought a sober intensity to the role of Scully, imbuing her with a depth and cogency that has never been rivaled. Duchovny added a sense of levity and fun, the two of them bouncing off one another so naturally that you couldn’t not root for them. The fact that their off-screen relationship was often fraught during the show’s early years had no bearing on Mulder and Scully’s burgeoning relationship on screen. It’s just another testament to how much these two characters are meant to be.

While most real life couples will never be tested in the ways Mulder and Scully have been over the years—multiple abductions and assaults for both of them, Mulder faking his death and Scully lying to the FBI to cover it up, Scully discovering she has a half-alien child who died, Scully being told she’s barren only to get pregnant with Mulder’s child years later when he disappears yet again, Scully being diagnosed with an inoperable nasopharyngeal tumor as a result of removing an implant put into her by one of her abductors, Mulder willingly (!) drilling a hole into his skull so some quack doctor can help him remember something important…. The list goes on and on here, and it’s the extreme nature of their obstacles which required such dedication to one another not only as colleagues but first as friends and later as lovers (as gross as that word sounds when it’s not between “meat” and “pizza”).

The very “WTF?” nature of their daily existence is what made the regular, ho-hum moments of normalcy between them that much more grounded and beautiful to experience. For example, who could forget the aww-inducing moment in Season 6’s “How The Ghosts Stole Christmas” in which Mulder and Scully gleefully—yes, gleefully!—exchanged Christmas presents despite agreeing they wouldn’t buy each other anything? How about the following season’s “The Amazing Maleeni,” in which Scully demonstrates a baffling sleight of hand to a curious but frustrated Mulder? These little instances served as respite from all the existential danger and sealed their status as the best TV couple ever.

Even now, as they chug along in Season 11, wearier and wiser but still insistent on fighting the good fight, the long-standing chemistry which ignited back in Season 1 is still there in spades. It’s less urgent, more comfortable and secure in itself, but it’s definitely there—and that’s most likely what viewers will remember most when the series bows for good.

Turns out the truth was out there, but that truth was always that Mulder and Scully are the original, and greatest OTP of all time.

Jennifer Still is a writer and editor from New York who cares too way much about fictional characters and spends her time writing about them.

Where to stream The X-Files