Xena: Warrior Princess is a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, where Xena originated as a recurring villain character who was originally scheduled to die in her third appearance before producers noticed her sudden popularity.

British actress Vanessa Angel was the first choice to play Xena, but an illness prevented her from traveling, and the role was subsequently offered to four other actresses before relatively unknown Lucy Lawless was cast.

Sunny Doench was originally cast as Gabrielle but turned down the role because she did not want to leave her boyfriend in the United States, leading to Renee O'Connor, who had already appeared in Hercules in another role, being chosen instead.

Hudson Leick, who played Xena's nemesis Callisto, also portrayed a body-switched Xena in the episode 'Intimate Stranger'.

The show's theme music was developed from the traditional Bulgarian folk song 'Kaval sviri,' sung by the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir, and the original song can be heard in the Hercules episode 'Unchained Heart.'

Composer Joseph LoDuca received seven Emmy nominations for his work on the series and won an Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) for the Season 5 episode 'Fallen Angel' in 2000.

The episode 'The Way,' which loosely interpreted elements of Hinduism as major plot points, generated controversy and required producers to add a disclaimer at the start of the episode and an explanatory tag at its end.

In 2006, Lucy Lawless donated her personal Xena costume to the National Museum of American History, and mentioned in a Smithsonian interview that the corset's boning initially made her feel like she was having panic attacks until it became like a second skin.