Xena: Warrior Princess is an American fantasy television series filmed in New Zealand, which aired in first-run syndication from September 4, 1995, to June 18, 2001.

The series narrative follows Xena (played by Lucy Lawless), an infamous warrior looking to be redeemed for her past sins against the innocent by using her formidable fighting skills to aid those who are defenseless.

[8] Xena's success has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including comics, books, video games and conventions, realized annually since 1998 in Pasadena, California and in London.

[12] On August 13, 2015 NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said a Xena reboot was in development, with Raimi and Tapert returning as executive producers, with the show's debut sometime in 2016.

[16] The Ancient Greece depicted in the show is largely derived from historical locations and customs, modifying known places and events – battles, trading routes, towns, and so on – to generate an attractive fictional world.

The inhabitants of such places – gods, mythological beings and forces – are for the most part manifested as human characters who can move at will between their domains and the real world.

The flexible fantasy framework of the show accommodates a considerable range of theatrical styles, from high melodrama to slapstick comedy, from whimsical and musical[24] to all-out action and adventure.

While the show is typically set in ancient times, its themes are essentially modern and it investigates the ideas of taking responsibility for past misdeeds, the value of human life, personal liberty and sacrifice, and friendship.

Xena freely borrows names and themes from various mythologies around the world, primarily the Greek, anachronistically adapting them to suit the demands of the storyline.

Other notables included Karl Urban in a variety of roles such as Cupid and Caesar, Hudson Leick as Xena's nemesis Callisto (Leick also played a body-switched Xena in the episode "Intimate Stranger"[28]), Claire Stansfield as the evil shamaness Alti, and a number of trusted friends – Jennifer Sky as feisty sidekick Amarice, Danielle Cormack as Amazon regent Ephiny, Bruce Campbell as Autolycus King of Thieves, Robert Trebor as dodgy entrepreneur Salmoneus, William Gregory Lee as the warrior-poet Virgil and Tim Omundson as the spiritual healer Eli.

As the show progresses she undergoes significant changes in costume and style, evolving from a simple farm girl to a talented bard, and eventually to a formidable warrior.

In the first season, Xena and Gabrielle meet two of their greatest enemies: Callisto (Hudson Leick),[19] a vengeful warrior woman, and Ares (Kevin Tod Smith), the Greek God of War.

Ares - suave, charming, witty, yet ruthless and amoral - often represents, especially in the early seasons, the seductive power of war and the dark side.

This ultimately leads to her capture and crucifixion at his hands,[38] and he orders his men to break her legs - an extremely painful memory that is often revisited during the series.

While aiding Xena and Boudica to defend Britannia against Caesar, Gabrielle comes into contact with an evil cult that tricks her into killing one of its priestesses, Meridian.

[45] To escape the gods' persecution, Xena and Gabrielle fake their deaths, but their plan goes awry when Ares buries them in an ice cave where they sleep for 25 years;[46] during that time, Eve is adopted by the Roman nobleman Octavius and grows up to become Livia, the Champion of Rome, and a ruthless persecutor of Eli's followers.

However, a few locations in the plot are centered on real Ancient Greek towns, including: Xena – the main character of the show – was born in the city of Amphipolis in northern Greece.

In the backstory of the show, ten years ago Xena had set out to become a warrior to protect Amphipolis from attacks by a warlord called Cortese.

Xena and Gabrielle rarely pass through it, but it was the main setting for the clip show "Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards", and was nearly visited in "One Against an Army" and "Blind Faith".

The film features the voices of actors from both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess – including Lucy Lawless, Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst and Renee O'Connor.

"[51] Following the continued online popularity of the show, a global campaign to directly bombard Universal Pictures with requests for a Xena movie was launched in April 2013.

After receiving acknowledgement from Universal Studios' offices in Australia, Finland, and Spain, campaign efforts were rewarded in May 2013 when Lucy Lawless stated on her Twitter account that she had been contacted by a "chap who wants to re-invigorate the #Xena brand", while warning fans that "there's a lot of red tape around #XWP so don't get your knickers in a twist.

In 1998, XENA: All I Need to Know I Learned From the Warrior Princess,[57] was published, allegedly written by Gabrielle, Bard of Potidaea and "translated" by Josepha Sherman.

There have been a number of novelizations by authors such as Martin H. Greenberg, and fiction such as The Empty Throne, The Huntress and The Sphinx, The Thief of Hermes, and Prophecy of Darkness.

The series has also figured in many doctoral theses, including a thesis by French/American scholar, Dr. Anne Sweet, Girl Power Interrogated in Xena Warrior Princess and Charmed, Social and Economic Issues at Play in the Politics of Gender.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Lucy Lawless exudes steely charisma in Xena: Warrior Princess, a swashbuckling actioner that transcends its origin as a spinoff and becomes a fully realized saga in its own right.

"[69] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly, giving the season a B+: "Xena is Wonder Woman on steroids, and Lawless — with her dark bangs, moon face, light blue eyes, and small, grim smiles — plays the warrior princess with barely concealed delight.

[77] Many fans felt that the sexual nature of Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was cemented by an interview given by Lucy Lawless to Lesbian News magazine in 2003.

[83] On July 20, 2015, it was reported that NBC was developing a Xena reboot series, with Raimi and Tapert returning as executive producers, with the show's debut sometime in 2016.

"[88] These articles resulted in frustration from fans regarding the erasure of Xena's apparent bisexuality; Grillo-Marxuach said "it feels like - from a few sentences - everyone has already made up their mind about what it is I am doing.