# Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)

> A former warlord turned wandering warrior roams ancient Greece with her companion Gabrielle, fighting monsters and tyrants to atone for a violent past.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4394

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 134
- Episode runtime: 44 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: action, adventure, fantasy
- Created by: John Schulian, Robert Tapert
- Network: Syndication
- Cast: Lucy Lawless, Renée O'Connor, Kevin Smith, Meg Foster, Musetta Vander, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Christopher Mayer, Andy Anderson
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112230/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: campy, playful, adventurous, earnest, irreverent

## What critics say

Critics regard Xena as a campy, fun action-fantasy with a strong female lead and a warm bond between its two heroines, though its mythology is inconsistent.

## Synopsis

Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001) is a American syndicated fantasy adventure series created by John Schulian and Robert Tapert for Syndication. Lucy Lawless plays Xena, a former warlord seeking atonement for past atrocities, and Renée O'Connor plays her loyal companion Gabrielle, a fellow traveller who shares the road and the fights. Together they wander a mythologized ancient Greece, using swordplay and wit to defend villagers who cannot protect themselves from bandits, tyrants, and mythic creatures. The engine of each episode is a new threat, while the longer arc follows Xena's struggle to outrun her violent history. Kevin Smith appears as the god Ares across much of the run, adding a recurring antagonist with a personal stake. The show spans six seasons and 134 episodes, mostly built around standalone adventures with a serialized thread running through them. Its tone is campy, playful, and openhearted, with winking humor and broad melodrama sitting alongside earnest moments about forgiveness and loyalty. The mix of Greek myth, borrowed legends, and anachronistic jokes gives it a cult-favorite flavor. Fans of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Buffy the Vampire Slayer will find similar resonance in its blend of mythic action and heroine-driven storytelling.

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