David Duchovny, who starred as special agent Fox Mulder in “The X-Files,” will return to television in a new Showtime comedy about a self-destructive writer. The 46-year-old actor will play Hank, a novelist whose “obsession with truth-telling and self-destructive behavior - drinks, drugs and relationships - are both destroying and enriching his career,” the cable network announced Thursday.

Hank’s issues complicate his relationships with his 13-year-old daughter (played by Madeleine Martin) and an ex-girlfriend (Natascha McElhone).

The series will premiere in August, ...