If this isn't genius casting, we don't know what is.

Joel McHale, longtime host of The Soup and topline star of the sitcom Community, has signed on to guest star on Fox's upcoming revival of The X-Files. McHale's role? A character named Tad O'Malley who's the anchor of a conservative internet news network that's extremely popular. Believe it or not, O'Malley is going to function as an ally to David Duchovny's Fox Mulder.

So, wait. Does this mean Joel McHale is serving as Mulder's paranoid, ears-to-the-ground source, in place of the dearly departed Lone Gunmen? Words cannot express how much we love this idea if so.

According to Deadline, McHale was looking for something more dramatic to do after six years on Community (maybe seven, if Yahoo renews it), and word about this reached the ears of X-Files creator/producer Chris Carter. Carter, it turns out, is a fan of the actor, and gave him the recurring role.

The six-episode revival of The X-Files stars Duchovny, Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully and Mitch Pileggi as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner. It's unknown if Mulder and Scully will find themselves back at work at the FBI, but Skinner's involvement is encouraging in that regard. Internet rumors have suggested that other major characters from the original series may turn up as well, such as William B. Davis' Cigarette Smoking Man and Robert Patrick's Agent John Doggett.

The new X-Files is scheduled to debut in January 2016.

Photo: Gage Skidmore

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