Chris Carter set out to make a show about the things that really kept him awake at night, and they weren’t mutants, zombies or aliens. Thus was born Millennium, about the real-life human monsters who walk among us.
During all the years we worked together, Chris amazed me time and again with his tireless imagination and work ethic. But no single piece of writing moved me more than the pilot he wrote for Millennium. The yellow house, and Frank Black’s attempts to protect his family from the evil in the world – and in Frank’s own heart - seemed deeply personal and meaningful to me.
Millennium certainly wasn’t for the faint of heart. The executives at Fox recognized the power of that first episode and promoted it heavily, even renting out movie theaters for public screenings before the premiere.
But maintaining that darkness and intensity every week was daunting. And after only a few episodes, those same Fox executives called us in for a meeting, begging us to find ways to lighten the tone of the show.
We tried, but ultimately we couldn’t. That darkness, that intensity, was the very reason Chris had wanted to make Millennium in the first place.
After the first season, Chris and I stepped back from showrunning the series. It would continue for two more seasons, although alas not long enough to actually see the turn of the millennium.
I am immensely proud of the work we did on Millennium, and grateful once again to work with such a great crew in Vancouver, and a wonderful cast headed by Lance Henriksen, Megan Gallagher, Terry O’Quinn and Klea Scott (whom I would later work with on Robbery Homicide Division).
Cast:
Nominated to:
- CSC Awards - Best Cinematography in TV Series - 1997, 1998, 2000
- OFTA Television Awards - Best New Theme Song in a Series - 1997
- People's Choice Awards - Favorite Television New Dramatic Series - 1997
- Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Young Actress - 1998