The Lone Gunmen is an American conspiracy fiction thriller drama television series created by Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz. The program originally aired from , to , on Fox. It is a spin-off of Carter's science fiction television series The X-Files and a part of The X-Files franchise, starring several of the show's characters. Despite positive reviews, its ratings dropped. The show was canceled after thirteen episodes. The last episode ended on a cliffhanger which was partially resolved in a ninth season episode of The X-Files entitled "Jump the Shark".