The X-Files

In the early years of the series, Mulder is a firm believer in extraterrestrials and Scully is skeptical. In real life this is the opposite, being Duchovny the skeptical and Anderson the believer.

The character Senator Richard Matheson is named after Richard Matheson, whose writing inspired Kolchak (1974), the show that inspired Chris Carter to create The X-Files.

Dana Scully was named after the famous sports journalist Vin Scully. Mulder is the maiden name of Chris Carter's mother.