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Xena Is Gay in ‘Warrior Princess’ Reboot

X_G_KissLongtime fans have speculated for years, but a producer of the upcoming Xena: Warrior Princess reboot has confirmed: Xena is gay in the new series.  In a post on Tumblr, the reboot’s screenwriter and executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach confirmed that Xena (played in the ’90s by Lucy Lawless) would finally fully explore the not-so-subtle lesbian relationship she had with her sidekick Gabrielle (played in the original series by Renee O’Connor). [1]  For many of us, Xena and Gabrielle – her poet sidekick, best friend and soulmate – represented the first time we saw a same sex relationship played out on TV. Although the show veered away from labels and both characters had relationships and children with men, even the writers admitted that Xena and Gabrielle were the love of each other’s life. Over the course of six seasons, many lesbian viewers finally found themselves with role models and the show gained a massive LGBT fan base.  Twenty years after it aired, representation has improved and just like every other 90s hit show, Xena is getting a reboot – but this time the lesbian relationship is official. [2]  According to Javier, there will be no question if Xena and Gabrielle are fucking.

I am a very different person with a very different world view than my employer on The 100 – and my work on The 100 was to use my skills to bring that vision to life. Xena will be a very different show made for very different reasons. 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 subtextually in first-run syndication in the 1990s. [4]

The relationship to which he is alluding is the leather-studded “companionship” between Xena (played, much to the delight of New Zealanders everywhere, by Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (played by Renee O’Connor). It might have taken over 20 years to get there, but the girls are finally ready to make it official. This, explained Grillo-Marxauch, is because the show “will also express my view of the world – which is only further informed by what is happening right now – and is not too difficult to know what that is if you do some digging”. Unlike in 1995, gay marriage is now on the statute books or at least high on the news agenda in most countries where Xena will be syndicated. [3]  The original series, which ran for six seasons between 1995 and 2001, featured plenty of tender moments between its two female co-leads.  [1] That being said, NBC’s Xena reboot won’t just be an excuse for some girl warrior-on-girl warrior action. This afternoon Javier Tweeted that his Xena will also be about “courage, redemption, ass-kicking, ancient Greece, scrolls, quarterstaffs, and the greater good.” [4]

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[1] Daniel Nussbaum, Producer: Xena Is Gay in ‘Warrior Princess’ Reboot, Breitbart, 15 Mar 2016
[2] Kaite Welsh, Xena Lesbian Warrior Princess is back – and she’s gayer than ever, The Telegraph, 15 March 2016 • 5:19pm
[3] Nell Frizzell, Xena: Lesbian Warrior Princess – have the rules of TV just been rewritten?, The Guardian, Tuesday 15 March 2016 13.08 GMT
[4] Xena And Gabrielle Are Definitely Lesbians In NBC’s Reboot Of “Xena: Warrior Princess”, DListed, March 14, 2016
[5] Xena reboot to make original’s gay undertones explicit, News.com.au, March 15, 2016 12:24pm
[6] Dr Rosalind Hanmer, What an out lesbian Xena: Warrior Princess would mean to the LGBTQI community, International Business Times,  March 18, 2016 13:49 GMT
[7] Jessica Mason, Twenty Years Later, a Look at How Xena: Warrior Princess Changed Television, The Mary Sue,  2:12 pm, October 6th, 2015
[8] Xena and Gabrielle: Lesbian Icons, AfterEllen, August 13, 2003
[9] Katharine Trendacosta, How a Studio’s Fear of Lesbians Dictated Xena’s Opening Credits, Io9, Friday 10:25am
[10] Tufayel Ahmed, ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ Finally Comes Out, But Why Did it Take So Long?, Newsweek, 3/17/16 at 3:00 AM
[11] Rohan Nadkarni, The Xena Reboot Will Feature an Actual Lesbian Relationship, GQ, March 14, 2016
[12] Ebony Bowden, Xena: Warrior Princess reboot will finally address Xena’s sexuality, says writer, The Sudney Morning Herald, March 14, 2016
[13] Xena the Warrior Princess Was “Definitely” Gay, Fact Fiend, March 14, 2014
[14] Why Xena’s Lesbian Love Matters, Pacific Standard, Mar 17 2016
[15] ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ reboot will ‘fully explore’ lesbian relationship, LGBTQ Nation, Monday, March 14, 2016
[16] Xena: Warrior Princess reboot set to address romance between main characters as writer says their ‘relationship will be fully explored’, DailyMail, 23:59 GMT, 14 March 2016
[17] Joe Williams, Xena: The Warrior Princess to be out and proud in new reboot, Pink News, 14th March 2016, 10:39 AM
[18] Cassie Murdoch, Yes, ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ Is Definitely a Lesbian, Vocativ, Mar 15, 2016 at 10:32 AM ET
[19] Nick Romano, Will the ‘Xena’ Reboot Drop the “Sub-” From That Lesbian Subtext?, Collider, March 14, 2016
[20] Curtis M. Wong, Rejoice! It Seems ‘Xena’ Will Finally Tackle Lesbian Relationship, The Huffington Post, 03/14/2016 04:55 pm ET
[21] Reid Nakamura, Xena Won’t Be Straight in NBC Reboot, Writer Says, The Wrap, March 15, 2016 @ 3:23 pm
[22] John Riley, Xena: Warrior Princess reboot will make lead character lesbian, Metro Weekly, March 15, 2016
[23] Dan Avery, Xena And Gabrielle Will Definitely Be Lovers In “Xena” Reboot, New Now Next, 3/14/2016
[24] Dr Rosalind Hanmer, What an out lesbian Xena: Warrior Princess would mean to the LGBTQI community, Yahoo News, 18 March 2016
[25] Cec Busby, Xena’s back and she’s a lesbian, Gay News Network, Tuesday, 15 March 2016 11:56
[26] Joe Morgan, The Xena reboot plans to ‘fully explore’ explicit lesbian relationship, says writer, Gay Star News, 14 March 2016
[27] Alyssa Pereira, ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ will explore character’s sexuality in 2016 reboot, SF Gate, 12:06 pm, Tuesday, March 15, 2016
[28] Daniela Costa, “Xena” Reboot To Embrace Its Lesbian Love Story, Gaily Grind, 03/15/2016
[29] Molly Horan, Xena Will Be Gay In The Reboot, Refinery29,  Mar 14, 2016 6:00 PM

 

About Bill Wallace

Bill Wallace is a self-fashioned writter, a computer programmer and cybermarketer from Quebec City, Canada who decided to enter the political arena after his disillusionment with the socialist system under which he was living in the French Canadian province of Quebec.

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