Why is Gillian Anderson leaving The X-Files after season 11?

Why is Gillian Anderson leaving The X-Files? We know that this is a question a lot of people are striving to get an answer to, and we now seem to have it.

Take a deep breath first and foremost — Anderson is not leaving because she hates the show or is wishing something terrible to happen to it. On the contrary. Instead, she loves the show, but she wants to be able to keep doing new things. That’s been largely her career path ever since leaving The X-Files in the first place.

Here is what Anderson had to say on the subject to TVLine while at the TCA Winter Press Tour:

“[There] are lots of things that I want to do in my life and career. It’s been an extraordinary opportunity. I’m extremely grateful. [But] I don’t want to be tied down to doing one thing for months and months… I like to be challenged as an actor. That’s why I got into this business. And it’s time for me to hang up Scully’s hat. This is it for me — I’m really serious.”

Probably the saddest part of this whole ordeal is that fact that Anderson has apparently had to reiterate various forms of the same statement for the past several months as though nobody actually believes her when she says it the first time. There’s probably a certain degree of people out there hoping that she is magically going to change her mind; beyond that, there’s probably a certain degree of people out there trying to pretend that it’s not happening and are hoping that they heard the stories wrong when the news first came out that she was taking her final bow on the series.

Are you still sad about Anderson leaving The X-Files, and do you think that this season is going to conclude a worthy run for the show? Be sure to share in the comments below!