Robert Patrick is interested in reprising the character of John Doggett during The X-Files season 11. While most viewers will always understandably associate The X-Files solely with the team of Mulder and Scully, longtime fans will remember that near the end of the series' original run, co-lead David Duchovny opted to leave and pursue a film career. Neither FOX or creator Chris Carter was prepared to let Mulder's departure be the end of The X-Files, so an attempt was made to continue things by adding in a new partner for Scully: Special Agent John Doggett (Patrick).

The addition of Doggett to the cast effectively flipped the script when it came to character dynamics, as Scully - who by that point had seen a multitude of things that she couldn't explain - was thrust into the believer role, while Doggett assumed her old position as the skeptic of the team. In fact, Doggett was arguably even more skeptical of supernatural phenomena than Scully had been at the beginning of the series.

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Some fans eventually came to like the Doggett character, but the Doggett/Scully combo never managed to produce the same level of onscreen chemistry as Mulder and Scully, and the same proved even truer for season 9's lead duo of Doggett and Monica Reyes. In the years since The X-Files' original series finale, Doggett is one of the only characters to never return, with even Reyes popping back up during season 10. According to TV Line though, this isn't due to a lack of trying, as both Patrick and Carter would very much like to bring Doggett back into the fold.

In fact, Carter says that he actually wrote Doggett into an early episode of season 11, but changed plans after he learned that Patrick would be unavailable. Patrick currently stars on CBS' Scorpion, and his commitments to the filming of that series made it impossible for him to participate in the X-Files episode in question. While Carter was forced to write Patrick back out of that particular script, the actor says that he's interested in trying to make an X-Files return work in the future.

For Patrick's return as Doggett to occur during season 11, an arrangement would have to be worked out fairly soon, as The X-Files is currently preparing to begin production on episode 6 out of a 10 episode order. Season 11 would definitely be an intriguing time for Doggett to resurface, as his old partner Reyes is already confirmed as coming back. Season 10 revealed that Reyes had entered into an unholy alliance with the Cigarette-Smoking Man, and one assumes that Doggett would not be pleased with that development.

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The X-Files season 11 premieres in 2018 on FOX.

Source: TV Line