Fail Better with David Duchovny Fail Again: Chris Carter Wants You To Believe
Mar 24, 2026
Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, surfer and craftsman, joins to trace his path from pottery to TV fame. They dig into storytelling craft, writers’ room mechanics, and on-set culture. Conversation covers creative grind, handling criticism, the show’s ending clues, and why limitations shaped its eerie style.
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How Chris Carter Re-Taught Storytelling
- David Duchovny credits Chris Carter with re-teaching him to value plot and the “smart machinery” that keeps audiences guessing.
- Duchovny explains he shifted from deconstruction-focused writing back to story-driven plotting after watching Carter's methods on The X-Files.
Success Can Become A Crushing Workload
- Carter describes producing 50 hours of television in one year while also preparing a feature, calling it the hardest year of his life.
- He highlights 16-hour days and extreme workload as the hidden cost of success on hit shows like The X-Files.
Pottery Taught Carter Television's Serial Craft
- Chris Carter describes becoming a production potter: sitting 14 hours to make 300 identical pieces and loving the repetitive craft.
- He connects that serialized, meditative process directly to how he approaches television as serialized manufacturing.