There's been plenty good shows since X files came out, maybe it's more of a problem that you're in a different head space than you were and not as open to like new shows anymore. Happens to me with video games, I keep going back to the ones I played in my early twenties when I had more time over the summer to invest into games. Now I have much less time to start a new game and get over the boring introductory bits before getting to the good parts.

I'm in the middle of rewatching X-Files yet again. It's really hit and miss, even in the good seasons. I think people remember all the good episodes and forget about the bad and average ones.

You looking for a new X-Files type show? I can't think of any good ones but I don't really look for that type of show anymore either.

But they still make good shows? I don't understand your point? There were plenty of mediocre and bad episodes of xfiles. Are you just talking like low sci-fi? Also how old are you - depending on your age - xfiles may have just played a big role in shaping you, so it will be hard for you to find anything that tops xfiles. Like for example - no game has ever grabbed me as hard as Earthbound - there have been so many good games that have come out, but nothing tops Earthbound for me. So i think it would help if you didn't compare other shows and media to xfiles and try to find something that makes each of those shows worthwhile in their own way - plus, would you really want another xfiles?

I'm middle-aged, and Xfiles was great, but some of the best shows I've seen have been in the last decade

Mr. sighofannoyance this is a lie detector.

I'm gonna make you some questions and you shall answer with honesty.

Have you ever watched any tv show other than "X-Files"?

Might be that it is hard to make good art.

And even the X Files got bad after about 5 seasons.

Episodic vs Serial.

Everything is a serial now. They're not bad, but you can't just pick any random episode and have a good time. I prefer episodic stuff for that very reason.

Because good is an entirely subjective measure. Ask a 5 year old what the best tv show is and you’ll get a different answer than if you asked a professional critic. There have been loads of shows since X-Files ended that are entertaining and have engaging characters. It’s okay to have a favorite.

I'm going to interpret the question more as "why don't they make shows like "The X-Files" any more than on specific quality.

The 90's was the last hurrah of quality serialized television. You were seeing a lot of improvements in the quality of writing and willingness to push against norms and standards. You could still make a shallow serialized series and they still do today, but you could make a show back then with a lore tied together from callbacks.

So why did these kinds of shows stop? DVD sets and ubiquitous time-skipping technology meant that writers could shift from good serialized content to longer form and continuous stories. You started seeing shows filled with "previously on..." because it became the expectation that viewers watched all the episodes up to then. Streaming make it the default.

There has been a recent push to go back to a serialized model, but the economics of the industry has changed. Writers rooms able to churn out 26 shows a year have been whittled away. You also have some actors that don't want the work schedule that comes with it. You also had a time where a show that lasted a year found it easier stay on air to get to the 100 episode minimum to make syndication valuable; there isn't that profit motive any more.

Have you seen Fringe? It's a tv show from about a decade ago, very similar vibe to the X-files.

If you don't like that and combined with all the other stuff in this thread, then I think you might just not like TV as a medium anymore.

Because they have started making better ones.

In TV there is a watershed moment. Before sopranos and after sopranos.

The shows that came before were specced to the particularities of broadcast television. Season length, episode lengths, budget, guest appearances, were all determined by the details of how broadcast television was organized in the late twentieth century, with seasons and sweep weeks and all that crap.

HBO was the first TV producer to bin all of that, and enable TV to reach its creative potential.

X files was a very cool show, but its late 20th century broadcast pedigree is on full display.

I've never watched the X-Files, but the crossover episode with the Simpsons is one of my favorites.

Since you seems to be a big fan, i'm gonna ask.

Does Mulder always show people a photo of him wearing a speedo?

Shows like that are still happening.

The real issue is that instead of 5-15 channels, there are dozens-hundreds, plus a dozen streaming service, and intellectual property is constantly pinging back and forth between them all.

No media has a reliable "home" you can consistently access it from. And when it does you still run into the discoverability issue. So many shows are made that you can't reasonably scroll through all of them, so personal recommendations and algorithms ultimately dictate what we find.

If you want unusual and stand-out sci-fi then I'd recommend Twin Peaks: The Return, assuming you've seen Twin Peaks.

Also the show "Dark" on Netflix is incredible.

I still have a cue of newer stuff I haven't gotten to because there's so much to try.

I think what we've really lost is the social element. When FAR fewer things were on, and everyone had to "tune in" to see new episodes, it meant a ton more people would be watching the same thing at the same time.

Now the default has become everything on demand, and released in full seasons at a time. "Dark" is actually from several years ago, but became big in the US just a few years ago, and I just found it last year.

The viewing and Fandom experiences are just more fragmented and scattered now.

there have been good shows since but ill admit there is a lot of crap to wade through as the various media streams pump out anything they can.

They still make amazing shows, it's just a matter of taste and preference.

You can try Fringe, it's obviously inspired by X-Files. I even prefer Fringe but I don't think it's a popular opinion.

There's also From, it's like the only mystery horror TV show that gets horror right in a series setting. It gave me some similar vibes though it's a very different show.

I’d just like to point out that the Stone Angels episode of Doctor Who came out after X-Files.

OP, are you sure you’re not conflating the X-Files being your favorite show with it being good? Because Breaking Bad exists and that came out after X-Files. Also is arguably better than the X-Files lol

Lived through peak TV... Why dOn'T x-FiLEs bE tV aS GoOD?