Xena: Warrior Princess turns 25

The Mary Sue

Lucy Lawless' six-season syndicated fantasy series debuted on Sept. 4, 1995 as a spinoff of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Xena is best remembered for its influence on the lesbian community. "Countless queer folk can look to Xena as part of their blueprint and have built upon its subtextual foundation into more explicit exploration in comics and other media," says Princess Weekes. "Xena is not a perfect show when it comes to mythology, history, and continuity, but that’s fine. I came to Xena for the way it posed complex moral questions, for the amazing female villains, the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, and most importantly, to be in awe of a Warrior Princess who taught me that strength, beauty, darkness, light, queerness, and kindness could exist within one person." Weekes adds: "Lucy Lawless as Xena is just one of those roles only one person could have done. A lot was asked of Lawless in playing Xena, a former warlord with the blood of countless people on her hands, who was a mother, a friend, a hero to many, but a villain to others. Comedy and drama went hand in hand, and Lawless did it seamlessly. It helped that, with fantastic eye-acting, Xena could easily switch between intimidating, seductive, playful, and full-blown comedy." ALSO: 25 little-known facts about Xena: Warrior Princess.