Was there an official reason why the show ended after S6?
Posted by cestlavie_69@reddit | xena | View on Reddit | 48 comments
I’ve read that the leads were tired, it was a grueling filming schedule, etc. but I’ve never read an official reason for the show’s end. Did the producers or actors ever give a reason? Was it the studio’s decision?
Overall-Ask-8305@reddit
Renee and Lucy were both starting their families toward the end of Xena and they had told all of the stories they could at that point. I think a big reason too was ending the show on a high before the ratings fell into the toilet. I remember hearing that as well.
While I still LOVE XWP to this day. I don’t know what more they could have done other than take Gabrielle and Xena’s relationship further (although the depth was implied numerous times). The show ending while still in the top of its ratings is why the show is still held in high regard today. It garners new fans still because it’s so good. There is very little out there to damage the show, and that’s in large part because they knew when to walk away.
Even if they ever did a reboot, it would not be as well received as the original. There truly was something really great about that time.
hermit198388@reddit
You could feel they were running out of ideas, yes. Like bringing back the Horde (though they never refer to them as such, at one point you can hear them screaming "Kaltaka!") and then dropping every pretence of showing their humanity even; they just became straight up villain, unlike in The Price and Daughter of Pomira.
Meushell@reddit
When were they brought back?
hermit198388@reddit
In the episode The Abyss.
Meushell@reddit
I didn’t get the impression that they were the Horde. I’m going through a rewatch though. I’ll be seeing the episode again soon.
hermit198388@reddit
They're presented differently, much less favourably I would argue, and since the episode sort of undid the previous episodes representing them, I wanted to write it off as this just being a totally different group of people. If you do watch it again, though, take note when Xena releases the dam she's created and the water floods in on them, you can distinctly hear them screaming "kaltaka!"
Meushell@reddit
I’ll listen for that.
FirebirdWriter@reddit
Ironically this is tied to the writing quality drop. Sort of an oroborous of reasons. Tired, less quality, less views. It's not a seperate thing really
Jahon_Dony@reddit
It is true that Lucy had just had her second kid, and Renee was pregnant the last six months of season six (incredibly never obvious!). But the bigger issue is actually economic! Syndicated shows ALL collapsed and ended in 2001, with the last few survivors ending in 2002. Also Hercules and Young Hercules were off the air, animated never took off, and they had already made two movies (seven counting early Herc) with no plans for more, so there wasn't as much support for those era of shows as the focus for the studio had shifted to Jack of All Trades and Cleopatra 2525. All of these headwinds led to the end.
BorderWander@reddit
Lord of the Rings took a lot of the cast and crew
yaoigay@reddit
It was because they were both pregnant. The show was supposed to return in a movie. Gabrielle was supposed to go to Egypt in the movie and revive Xena, but after they both had children both of them declined to return. Lucy and Renee both said they were exhausted as the show was very physically taxing.
Looking back Lucy has said she wishes now that she had done the movie, but now she doesn't want to return to Xena because she doesn't want to wear Xena's outfit. She doesn't rule out any cameos in reboots, but she for now isn't interested in reprising the role unless it's written in a way where she wouldn't have to wear the outfit and she can eventually pass the torch after the first season.
carz4us@reddit
Why can’t she wear the outfit?
Agent8699@reddit
Lawless (erroneously) believes she’s too old / not in suitable “shape” to wear it.
And also, it was uncomfortable. Not as bad as other superhero costumes, but not exactly the same as elasticated waist pants and shirts.
On both points, I think it would be very easy to update Xena’s iconic costume to something that Lawless feels more comfortable wearing.
But, the reality is that Hollywood is ageist and sexist, so the idea of a 50+ year old action heroine is difficult for them to accept let alone embrace (and the fact that sequels / continuations of beloved franchises with Linda Hamilton, etc weren’t roaring successes doesn’t help, even if they had more to do with the script, direction and other factors).
carz4us@reddit
Thanks for your answer. All good points
Agent8699@reddit
ROC got pregnant because the TV show was ending. I’m not 100% sure of the timing of Lawless’ miscarriage, but if it was around that time, she would have only been pregnant because they knew the show was ending.
At the time the series ended, there was no movie planned - TV or big screen. Everyone believed that it was the definitive ending. In the mid to late 00s - Tapert got the license from NBC Universal to make a big screen movie, with Lawless and ROC to start, but NBC Universal refused to fund it. Tapert tried to obtain funding and almost succeeded. But, there was a writers strike (?) and the entertainment industry was in upheaval so it all fell apart.
Katherine Fugate, writer of When Fates Collide, crafted a very basic outline for the movie for Tapert to use when pitching to investors - the basic premise was Gabrielle travelling to Egypt to resurrect Xena and battle some baddie.
Technical_Activity78@reddit
Do you have a source for this?
yaoigay@reddit
No I was a kid back then, but I remember a channel news segment with Lucy and Renee talking about their pregnancies.
As far as the movie goes there was an old magazine posted on this sub that talked about the movie that was actually pitched to wrap up the show and give Xena a proper send off since fans were rightly upset about the ending we got.
In terms of Lucy and her aversion to Xena's outfit she's mentioned it multiple times in multiple interviews as well as the physical demands of working on Xena. It was right after the reboot was revealed that Lucy said she would only return if she didn't have to wear Xena's armor because she didn't feel comfortable wearing it at her age. I disagree and think she would look as fabulous as she always has.
Wicked68@reddit
They were tired. Also, the network was kind of moving away from those type of shows. They had Xena at a weird time slot, on Saturday I think over the last like 2 seasons
MorningPapers@reddit
It was syndicated -- local stations could air it whenever they wanted.
Wicked68@reddit
Ok. Well out here, it was on at a really weird timeslot
queeeeeni@reddit
I think it was a host of things, the actors wanted to do other things, Rob wanted to do other things and the way the network was treating them sort of felt like the writing on the wall was the show was going to fizzle out rather than go out on top if they continued.
Lucy and Rob pretty much said time to call it quits, the studio was saying the show was too expensive but they want to make more. And you can't really do a show like Xena without a decent budget.
The compromise the network pitched was ending the show with a few tv movies but Lucy said no to those - she later said she really regrets saying no to them because of how badly AFIN hurt the fans.
Plus I think due to LOTR taking all their best crew in season 5, that it probably stopped feeling like a family experience.
Seed0fDiscord@reddit
A lot of the costuming and special effects crew were also given offers to work on Lord of The Rings which was starting to film at that time
queeeeeni@reddit
this exodus of crew happened in season 5.
Agent8699@reddit
That happened at the end of season 4 / start of filming season 5.
Sssprout360@reddit
That makes a lot of sense then-the costumes, props etc in LOTR are so good...
crazycatqueer5@reddit
Ngila Dickson is the same costume designer from a large portion of XWP and LOTR
pleasegawd@reddit
FYI. There were still syndicated shows on after Xena ended. Androneda, Mutant X, Earth: Final Conflict, Beastmaster, and The Lost World.
There were offers to do some Xena TV movies post finale, but they were declined by the star.
Icy-Sir-8414@reddit
You just listed all my favorite TV series I grew up watching don't forget Hercules the legendary journeys but the reason his show ended was because he expressed how he grew tired of playing the half man half God character that made him very famous and a house hold name they were prepared to extend his contract for 3 years more but he declined he wanted to do his own thing personally I think that was a stupid move but he made up for it during the Andromeda
meroboh@reddit
I can’t stand Kevin Sorbo as a person but he made the right call. He was having serious health issues and needed to rest. Hercules was very physical role. Season six was awful too
carz4us@reddit
Tbf Herc was never as good as Xena
meroboh@reddit
It had some episodes that were on par but I largely agree. I loved the fourth and fifth seasons
Icy-Sir-8414@reddit
With all due respect I don't think it was awful I think it was pretty awesome and I get his Hercules role was very physical but they offered him more money and it was just as physical role playing captain dyln hunt of the Andromeda so I don't see any differences plus now he owns his own movie studio company and making even more money than before
Agent8699@reddit
It’s hard to say. Ratings and … reviews / pop cultural reporting had been declining, especially during season 5. And the world of syndicated TV was rapidly changing.
TV itself was changing. Xena was groundbreaking in many ways, but there were imitations, both in terms of female lead action and adventure shows, but also in terms of season long storylines, episodes which paid homage to numerous genres, etc.
The studio, NBC Universal, wanted more Xena: Warrior Princess. For some unknown reasons, possibly ratings, possibly because they knew Lawless and ROC were exhausted, possibly because full seasons of syndicated TV shows weren’t as appealing, NBC Universal made an offer to do 3/4 TV movies instead of a full season 7.
Lawless and ROC declined. They were both exhausted. ROC wanted to start a family. Lawless wanted to concentrate on hers.
So, season 6 became the final season. Tapert subsequently said that he regretted not trying harder to get Lawless and ROC onboard for the TV movies. And it’s not hard to see how they potentially could have been appeased - more practical costumes, more indoor / set based filming, greater use of stunt doubles for Lawless, more directing opportunities for ROC, etc.
cestlavie_69@reddit (OP)
Thanks, this is the explanation I was looking for. Makes sense.
Agent8699@reddit
ETA: They also could have done what they originally planned to do for season 5 - add a third character to shoulder some of the responsibility, especially in fighting scenes.
PrettySailor@reddit
I believe Renee O'Connor was pregnant as well.
TheEntreprenerd@reddit
Plus, after filming the, I believe, last episode, Lucy had a miscarriage. She was also offered the role of Galadrielle on LotR but declined due to her 3rd pregnancy. She said it would stall production too much.
Agent8699@reddit
Lawless was offered the opportunity to audition for Galadriel. Not offered the part. No disrespect to Lawless, but even if she had auditioned, Blanchett may have still been cast as Galadriel.
TheEntreprenerd@reddit
He had a strong preference for Lucy and wanted her in the role of Galadriel. Of course, someone has to audition because you have to justify your choice to studio executives. I don't know if Cate Blanchett would have been asked to audition at all if Lucy said yes in the first place. If a director has a desire for a certain actor/actress most of the time, they get the role. It's called type-casting.
Agent8699@reddit
Don’t we all have a strong preference for Flawless Lawless? : )
Agent8699@reddit
ROC got pregnant knowing the series was ending.
matt-89@reddit
The only way to keep it going would be to add one or two additional regulars to lessen the workload on Renne and Lucy the way Supernatural did to lessen Jensen and Jared's workload.
Xena shoot primarily outdoor. So it's way more demanding than shows with indoor sets. I see why they wanted to end it.
I wish they did those movies after S6. Oh well.
AvocadoPizzaCat@reddit
think it was a collective reason. like they can bring people back from the dead so many times. plus they had it for a while. odds are they wanted to try something new.
meroboh@reddit
Was this decided after the finale was written? I would have assumed the end of 6 would have been different if there were movies to come
AvocadoPizzaCat@reddit
movies can take place at any point in the timeline or alternate reality.
meroboh@reddit
True. Alternate reality would have been unsatisfying for me personally
IseQween@reddit
In addition to points made by others, I recall Tapert saying how changes in syndication made it harder for an independent production company to take creative risks and that networks had begun focusing on shows they generated themselves It acknowledged he lucked up on a disappearing period of broadcast TV that allowed him to get away with a lot that made XWP so unique, as well as personally fun and satisfying to work on.
It seems there were both internal and external factors determining the show should end. I'm just grateful they wanted to give their all so the fans could have one last season that represented the best of the series, multiple possible endings and the usual controversial "bold choices."
ComputerSong@reddit
The actors were all saying it had become less fun and more work.