The Colonists are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the science fiction television show, The X-Files, and also in the first feature film. The mystery revolving around who they are and what they are planning is revealed across the course of the series. In the series' plot, the Colonists are collaborating with a group of United States government officials known as the Syndicate in a plan to take over the Earth and "colonize" it, hence their name.