High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The fourth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on October 4, 1996, concluding on the same channel on May 18, 1997, and contained 24 episodes. Following the filming and airing of the season, production began on The X-Files feature film, which was scheduled to be released in 1998 following the show`s fifth season.