The original series finale , " The Truth " , attracted 13.25 million viewers , the series ' lowest rated season finale . The ninth season was the 63rd most-watched show for the 200102 season , tying its season two rank . On May 19 , 2002 , the finale aired and the Fox network confirmed that '' The X-Files '' was over . When talking about the beginning of the ninth season , Carter said " We lost our audience on the first episode . It 's like the audience had gone away and I did n't know how to find them . I did n't want to work to get them back because I believed what we are doing deserved to have them back . " While news outlets cited declining ratings because of lackluster stories and poor writing , '' The X-Files '' production crew blamed September 11 terrorist attacks as the main factor . At the end of 2002 , '' The X-Files '' had become the longest-running consecutive science fiction series ever on U.S. broadcast television . This record was later surpassed by '' Stargate SG-1 '' in 2007 and '' Smallville '' in 2011
September 11 terrorist attacks
September 11 attacks
The X-Files