Lawless had recurring roles as Diane Lewis-Swanson on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2012–2015), and as Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg on the WGN America supernatural series Salem (2015). She also starred as Ruby on the Starz horror-comedy series Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018).

Xena is from Robert Tapert's Xena: Warrior Princess franchise. Co-created by Tapert and John Schulian, she first appeared in the 1995–1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, before going on to appear in Xena: Warrior Princess TV show and subsequent comic book of the same name. The Warrior Princess has also appeared in the spin-off animated film The Battle for Mount Olympus, as well as numerous non-canon expanded universe material, such as books and video games. Xena was played by New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless.

Xena is the protagonist of the story, and the series depicts her on a quest to redeem herself from her dark past by using her formidable fighting skills to help people. Xena was raised as the daughter of Cyrene and Atrius in Amphipolis, though the episode "The Furies" raised the possibility that Ares might be Xena's biological father, but it is never pursued further. She had two brothers, the younger of whom is dead; she visits his grave to speak with him in "Sins of the Past". In Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, during her two first episodes, Xena was a villain, but in the third episode she appears in, she joins Hercules to defeat Darphus, who had taken her army. Aware that the character of Xena had been very successful with the public in the three Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episodes, the producers of the series decided to create a spin-off series based on her adventures. Later in Xena: Warrior Princess she is joined by Gabrielle, a small town bard. Together they go up against ruthless warlords and gods in the ancient mythological world.

The character Gabrielle, introduced in the first episode, becomes Xena's greatest ally, best friend, and soulmate. Gabrielle came from a small village in Greece called Potidaea. She craved to escape from the boring and dull village. She latched onto Xena in episode 1 as a way of leaving the village, to travel on adventures. Her initial naïveté for the first 3 seasons and her talkative nature helped to balance Xena's pessimistic mentality. While Xena's character to an extent alters subtly through the series, Gabrielle's character goes through substantial development and change especially in seasons 3 and 4. Through their friendship/relationship Xena recognizes the value of the "greater good" and the sacrifices that must be made to accomplish it.

Xena was developed in 1995 by John Schulian as a secondary character for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, although Lawless had already appeared as the character Lyla on the episode "As Darkness Falls", on 20 February 1995. Xena was originally conceived to die at the end of the third episode, "Unchained Heart", but when the studio decided they wanted to do a spin-off from Hercules, the producer Robert Tapert said that Xena was the best choice, since she was largely well received by television critics and fans and had a full story to be explored.

The original choice to play Xena was the British actress Vanessa Angel, but she fell ill and was unable to make it to the set. Ultimately the role was given to Lawless as she was already a resident of New Zealand. Lawless had several mishaps playing the character due to the stunts (some of which she performed herself), such as getting cut by swords, being struck in the head, and horse-related incidents. In 1996, while rehearsing a sketch for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, she broke her hip when she was thrown clear from her horse. As a result, several episodes of season two had to be edited to accommodate her recovery, and some of them were changed so Lawless could have a very slight appearance, and the crew created some brand new episodes.

Bruce Campbell, Rose McIver, Hudson Leick, and Ted Raimi also portrayed Xena in various episodes of the series as a result of "body-swap" plotlines.