TOKYO -- The "X Files" ended its three-year run as the only U.S. TV series to be shown by a commercial network in Japan on Wednesday night when TV Asahi broadcast another U.S. network series as a replacement -- "Chicago Hope."
The sci-fi thriller was an anomaly for U.S. programming in Japan in that it had strong ratings and a loyal following during its run. It was the first major U.S. series to succeed in Japan in almost a decade, while other notable series such as "The Cosby Show" and "Dallas" never caught on with Japanese viewers.
" 'The X-Files' has done well for us in terms of ratings, but we felt it was difficult to schedule the show for the 8 p.m. time slot," a TV Asahi official said.
The network could not find a new time slot that would be more appropriate for the "X-Files" so they decided to drop the series and run "Chicago Hope." Both series are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox.
When the "X Files" first hit Japan, it was the No. 1 rated show in its time slot and had an average rating of 14.9% for its first season.
Ratings for the show started to tail off after that, and the Twentieth Century Fox series had ratings of about 10% in its final season.
The "X Files" had already been a solid performer at video stores in Japan, with sales of over 300,000 by the time TV Asahi started broadcasts.
TV Asahi launched a promotion blitz that cost about $5 million when the show hit the air in Japan, and the network struck gold.
TV Asahi has said it would like to keep its Wednesday 8 p.m. primetime slot reserved for foreign broadcasting. Less than 1% of all programming on Japan's four main networks is foreign.
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