Chris Carter | |
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.jpg) Carter at the July 2008 London premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe | |
| Born | Christopher Carl Carter[1] (1956-10-13)October 13, 1956 (age 69) Bellflower, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California State University, Long Beach |
| Occupations | Writer, director, producer |
| Employer | Ten Thirteen Productions |
| Known for | Creator ofThe X-Files |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
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Christopher Carl Carter (born October 13, 1956) is an American television and film producer, director and writer. Born inBellflower, California, Carter graduated with a degree in journalism fromCalifornia State University, Long Beach before spending thirteen years working forSurfing Magazine. After beginning his television career working on television films forWalt Disney Studios, Carter rose to fame in the 1990s for creating theFox science fiction supernatural drama seriesThe X-Files. The show earned high viewership ratings, and eventually led to Carter's being able to negotiate the creation of future series.
Carter has his own television production company,Ten Thirteen Productions, wherein he went on to create three more series for the network—Millennium, a doomsday-themed series which met with critical approval and low viewer numbers;Harsh Realm, which was canceled after three episodes had aired; andThe Lone Gunmen, a spin-off ofThe X-Files which lasted for a single season. Carter's film roles include writing both ofThe X-Files' cinematic spin-offs—1998's successfulThe X-Files and the poorly received 2008 follow-upThe X-Files: I Want to Believe, the latter of which he also directed—while his television credits have earned him several accolades including eightPrimetime Emmy Award nominations.[2]
Chris Carter was born on October 13, 1956, inBellflower, California.[3][4] His father worked in the construction industry.[5] Carter has described his childhood as "fairly normal", and was fond of bothLittle League Baseball and surfing;[6] his surfing stance isgoofy footed.[7] He attendedCalifornia State University, Long Beach inLong Beach, graduated with a journalism degree in 1979. An avid surfer, he began writing forSurfing Magazine, aSan Clemente-based journal, eventually becoming its editor at the age of 28. Carter would work for the magazine for thirteen years, and credits his tenure there for teaching him how to run a business. It was also at this time that Carter began taking an interest in pottery, making "hundreds of thousands of pieces" of dinnerware as a hobby. He has compared the process of making pottery toZen meditations, although he has since thrown out most of his work.[6]
In 1983, Carter began dating Dori Pierson, whom he had met through a cousin of hers who worked with him atSurfing Magazine.[8] The couple were married in 1987,[9] and live in Santa Barbara.[10]
Pierson's connections atWalt Disney Studios led to chairmanJeffrey Katzenberg hiring Carter on a standard contract.[11] Carter began writing television films for the studio, penningThe B.R.A.T. Patrol in 1986 andMeet the Munceys in 1988. These scripts led to Carter being associated with contemporary youth comedy at the studio, and although he enjoyed the work he felt that his real strengths and interests lay in serious drama instead.[6]
Carter met the then-president ofNBC,Brandon Tartikoff, at a company softball game inBrentwood, California. Tartikoff and Carter began talking between innings, and when Tartikoff eventually read some of Carter's script work, he brought him over to write for the network. There, Carter developed a number of unproducedtelevision pilots—Cameo By Night, featuringSela Ward;Brand New Life, which has been described as being similar toThe Brady Bunch;Copter Cop, a science fiction series that was hampered by Tartikoff's injuries after a car accident; andCool Culture, influenced by Carter's passion for surfing and experience withSurfing Magazine.[12] During this time Carter would also work as aproducer onRags to Riches, a job he accepted in order to learn more about producing a series.[13]
Peter Roth, at that time the president ofStephen J. Cannell Productions, obtained a copy of Carter's pilot script forCool Culture, and although the series was never picked up, Roth was interested in hiring Carter to work on theCBS seriesPalace Guard. However, Roth would soon leave Cannell Productions to work forFox as the head of its television production wing. Carter was among the first wave of new staff hired by Roth in 1992 to develop material for the network,[14] and he began work on a series based on his own childhood fondness forThe Twilight Zone,Night Gallery andKolchak: The Night Stalker.[13]
Carter's new series would take its stylistic inspiration fromKolchak, while thematically reflecting his experiences growing up during theWatergate scandal. Carter also drew inspiration from his friendJohn E. Mack's survey of American beliefs inufology, which indicated thatthree percent of the population believed they had been abducted by aliens.[15] Roth warmed to the idea upon hearing of the influence ofKolchak, believing that vampires—one of the central antagonists of the original series—would be popular with audiences given the interest being shown in the upcoming filmInterview with the Vampire, although Carter insisted on an extraterrestrial-focused series.[16] However, Carter had never been interested in science fiction before this point, professing to have briefly read one novel each byUrsula K. Le Guin andRobert A. Heinlein.[17] Basing his characters instead on those found in the English television seriesThe Avengers, Carter took an eighteen-page treatment for his new project—by now titledThe X-Files—to a pitch meeting at Fox, where it was soon rejected.[18] With the help of Roth, Carter was able to arrange a second pitch meeting, at which the network reluctantly agreed to greenlight a pilot for the series.[19]
After finding the series' two starring leads inGillian Anderson andDavid Duchovny,[17] Carter was given a budget of$2 million to produce apilot episode.[20] The series aired on Friday nights on the Fox network, being broadcast in tandem withThe Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. in what was perceived to be an unpopular timeslot. The series earned relatively impressiveNielsen ratings for its Friday timeslot, and was given a full twenty-four episode order.[17] The series' popularity and critical acclaim built over the course of its second and third seasons, and saw it earning its firstGolden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama and breaking the record for highest price paid by a network for rights to air re-runs, fetching $600,000 per episode from Fox's sister networkFX.[21] After Carter's initial three-year signing for Fox had ended, the success of the series allowed him to negotiate a five-year contract with several additional perks, including the guarantee of a feature film adaptation to be produced by the parent company's film studio, and the greenlighting of Carter's next television project.[22] In March 2015, it was confirmed that Carter was set to executive produce and write for the revival ofThe X-Files,[23] which was set for asix-episode event series.[24] In 2017 it was announced that The X-Files would return to Fox with a ten-episodeseason 11, with Carter set to executive produce and write.[25] Both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny returned, as well as veteran writersGlen Morgan,Darin Morgan, andJim Wong, and newcomersGabe Rotter, Benjamin Van Allen, and Brad Follmer.[26] The eleventh season has received generally positive if somewhat lukewarm reviews from critics,[27] butratings fell dramatically, and Gillian Anderson has stated she will not play Scully again.[28]
In August 2020, Fox announced that an animated comedy spin-off series was in development.[29]
In October 2020, Chris Carter said: "I always thought there would be even moreX-Files." He admitted that continuing the series at this point with Duchovny and Anderson is unlikely, but has plans to continue the franchise with an upcoming animated spinoff. "Being that Gillian has decided to move on with her career, we certainly couldn't do Mulder and Scully again. But that's not to say there isn't another way to doThe X-Files. And so right now I think the future is unwritten." The rights are now owned byDisney.[30]
Carter began work on a new series,Millennium.[31] The genesis of this new project stemmed from "Irresistible", a second-season episode ofThe X-Files which Carter had written, which focused on a sexually motivated serial killer with none of that series' usual supernatural trappings.[31] Carter fleshed out the basis of the new show's protagonist,Frank Black, and travelled toSeattle for inspiration for a new setting. Influence was also drawn from the works ofNostradamus, and the increasing popular interest ineschatology ahead of the coming millennium.[32] The central role of Black was eventually filled byLance Henriksen, and the series began airing in the Friday timeslot formerly occupied byThe X-Files.[33] "Pilot", the début episode, was heavily promoted by Fox, and brought in over a quarter of the total audience during its broadcast.[34]
The series also attracted a high degree of critical appraisal, earning aPeople's Choice Award for "Favorite New TV Dramatic Series" in its first year.[35] At the beginning of the second season, Carter handed over control of the series toGlen Morgan andJames Wong, with whom he had previously worked on bothMillennium's first season and several seasons ofThe X-Files.[36] Despite its promising start, however, ratings forMillennium after the pilot remained consistently low, and it was cancelled after three seasons.[37]
During the production of the fourth season ofThe X-Files, work on the first feature film adaptation of the series began. Also titledThe X-Files, Carter initially began a treatment for the script over Christmas holidays in Hawaii in 1996. Series producerFrank Spotnitz collaborated on the story outline at this time. Carter would later return to Hawaii for a ten-day stint in 1997 to begin fleshing out the finished script.[38] Carter appointed frequent series directorRob Bowman as director of the film,[39] which went on to feature many of the series' regular cast, including Duchovny, Anderson,Mitch Pileggi andWilliam B. Davis.[40]
The X-Files premiered on June 19, 1998, eventually making a worldwide gross of $189 million,[41] and received mixed reviews.[42][43]
Ten years after the success of the first film, and six years afterThe X-Files final season had finished, Carter would both write and direct a second feature film, titledThe X-Files: I Want to Believe.[44] Filmed inBritish Columbia,[45]I Want To Believe was released on July 25, 2008;[44] eventually grossing $68,369,434 worldwide.[46] The film received generally negative reviews from critics.[47][48]
Carter has had several brief cameo roles as an actor — first appearing inThe X-Files' "Anasazi" as an FBI agent;[49] before portraying a member of a film audience in "Hollywood A.D.", a later episode of the same series.[50] Carter also made a brief appearance in "Three Men and a Smoking Diaper", an episode ofThe Lone Gunmen.[51]
In 1999, Carter began adapting the comic book seriesHarsh Realm as a television show. Carter's friend and frequent collaboratorDaniel Sackheim had optioned the comics for adaptation in 1996. However, when the series first aired on October 8, 1999, the comics' writers Andrew Paquette and James Hudnall were given no writing credits for the work; the two then filed suit against Fox to be credited for their work.[52]Harsh Realm received disappointing viewing figures,[52] and was cancelled after only three episodes had been broadcast.[53]
Two years later, Carter launched a spin-off ofThe X-Files titledThe Lone Gunmen, a series centred on three minor characters from the former series.[54]The Lone Gunmen was cancelled after thirteen episodes, later receiving a coda in the form of a crossover episode withThe X-Files.[55] Carter has since been involved with writing and directing the as-yet unreleased filmFencewalker, set to featureNatalie Dormer andKatie Cassidy.[56] In 2011, he began working to developUnique, a police thriller television series;[57] the project was eventually dropped before completion.[58]
Carter next began work on theAmazon Studios television seriesThe After.[59] The pilot episode was made available for viewing on February 6, 2014;[60] the series was green-lit the following month, but finally cancelled on January 5, 2015, without another episode beyond the pilot being shot.[2][61]
As well asThe Twilight Zone andKolchak: The Night Stalker, Carter has spoken about the influence on his work ofFrankenstein (both theWhale film and theMary Shelley novel),[62]The Wizard of Oz (1939),[62]Spielberg films (specifically citingE.T.,Schindler's List andMunich),[63] andTwin Peaks, about which he has said, "I could have watched that show every night of the week, that's how much I loved it."[63]
In addition to these cultural sources, Carter has spoken about the impact that witnessing the hypnosis, by John Mack, of an alleged abductee, and meeting alleged abductees and UFO witnesses in general, had upon his work writingThe X-Files: "When I was writing about the phenomenon, it wasn’t as a disbeliever – it was as a person who wanted to believe."[64]
Carter's work has earned him several accolades over his career, including eight nominations at thePrimetime Emmy Awards.[65] Carter has also received award nominations for theDirectors Guild of America Awards,[66][67][68] theEdgar Awards,[69] and theBritish Academy Television Awards.[70]
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | 1995 | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | "Duane Barry" | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Drama Series | The X-Files | Nominated | |||
| 1996 | Outstanding Drama Series | The X-Files | Nominated | ||
| 1997 | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | "Memento Mori" | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Drama Series | The X-Files | Nominated | |||
| 1998 | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | "The Post-Modern Prometheus" | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | "The Post-Modern Prometheus" | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Drama Series | The X-Files | Nominated | |||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | 1995 | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | "The List" | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | "The Post-Modern Prometheus" | Nominated | ||
| 1999 | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | "Triangle" | Nominated | ||
| British Academy Television Awards | 1999 | Best International Programme or Series | The X-Files | Nominated | |
| Edgar Awards | 1995 | Best International Programme or Series | "The Erlenmeyer Flask" | Nominated |
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The B.R.A.T. Patrol | No | Yes | No |
| 1988 | Meet the Munceys | No | Yes | No |
| 1998 | The X-Files | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | The X-Files: I Want to Believe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 | Rags to Riches | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Wrote 2 episodes, directed episode "That's Cheating"; Also co-producer |
| 1989–1990 | Brand New Life | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1991 | Midnight Caller | No | Yes | No | No | Wrote episode "A Cry in the Night" |
| 1993–2018 | The X-Files | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wrote 72 episodes, directed 10 episodes |
| 1996–1999 | Millennium | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wrote 7 episodes |
| 1999–2000 | Harsh Realm | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wrote 4 episodes |
| 2001 | The Lone Gunmen | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Wrote 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The After | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | TV movie |
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