After the end of the eighth season, Duchovny announced that he would leave the show for good.Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 197 In addition, lead actress Anderson's contract also expired at the end of the eighth season. Anderson had expressed her growing disinterest in the series ever since the beginning of the eighth season, saying "For a lot of people, if you don't like your job, you can quit your job, I don't necessarily have that option." Anderson cited the fact that "eight years is a long time" as a contributing factor to her indifference. However, Carter soon changed his position and announced he would remain on the show and continue only if Anderson agreed to do another season. Eventually, Fox offered Anderson a "generous" incentive to stay, resulting in the retention of Carter and Anderson and a final season of the show. With the departure of Duchovny and limited use of Anderson, the show garnered much criticism by fans and critics alike, saying the bond between Mulder and Scully was what actually kept the show together for the first seven seasons of the show.
