Back in the day (yes, the ‘90s now basically qualifies), “Xena: Warrior Princess” – the fantasy series whose namesake character made Lucy Lawless a household name – set many a gay gal’s heart atwitter. Lawless’ fierce portrayal of a beautiful, battle-scarred Greek warrior earned her lesbian icon status, and Xena’s fiery, subtext-laden relationship with her “best friend” (cough cough), Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor), was possibly the closest thing on TV to girl-on-girl romance.
Lesbian fan fiction ran rampant. “Xena” conventions sold out. A cult classic was born, and of course, eventually ended. However, “Xena” lovers can rejoice once again – this time, out and proud.
The series is slated to reboot on NBC, and, according to a Tumblr post by writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Xena will return as an openly lesbian character.
“Xena will be a very different show made for very different reasons,” said Grillo-Marxuach. “There is no reason to bring back Xena if it is not there for the purpose of fully exploring a relationship that could only be shown sub-textually in first-run syndication in the 1990s.”
“Xena” fans know all too well what this means: The agonizing wait for Xena and Gabrielle to finally explore their obvious romantic love for one another has finally ended, albeit in a revamped series that may or may not see Lawless return as Xena (No confirmation on who will play the princess this time around, although Lawless recently tweeted ambiguously in response to a fan regarding the rekindled series and Xena’s coming out, and NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt indicated that the network would gladly invite Lawless to reprise her role “if her presence didn’t overshadow the direction [they] take with [the show]).”
It’s hard to imagine anyone but Lawless donning the nomadic Xena’s imposing armor or exclaiming the character’s notorious battle cry, but no matter who takes on the role, we’re psyched to see Xena continue her most significant journey of all: Her red-hot romance with Gabrielle.
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