Why was Xena cancelled?

Why was Xena cancelled?
Xena: The Warrior Princess” is an American supernatural adventure fantasy series which started airing on the 4th of September 1995 through a syndication, and ended 18th of June 2001. The show starred Lucy Lawless as Xena”, a warrior princess who is in pursuit of her redemption for the past sins she had made as a cruel warlord. Armed with impressive fighting skills, Xena helped people in distress while in a journey with her assistant Gabrielle” which was played by Renee O’Connor.The show is a side sequel from a television series entitled Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” wherein the character of Xena was first seen and not just in a one-time episode, but three. Xena gained popularity among the viewers and the rest was history. Xena became a successful show and won various TV series awards. The show was aired in 108 countries, sold out various merchandises like books, comics, video games, DVD copies, and an annual convention was even held for the legions of fans of the heroine.

On season 5 of Xena however, Lucy Lawless become pregnant and the show need to adjust to the actress’s condition which resulted to less action and stunts for the heroine. After six seasons of airing, with a complete series of 134, the show was cancelled.  Xena was greatly affected by the expansion that was done by two TV networks during that time namely WB and UPN. And because Xena was never aired on network television, the producers were compelled to make separate deals with other independent TV stations. However, the independent TV stations eventually affiliated with the two networks that mostly occupied their prime time programs. Because of this, Xena was slowly forced out from its regular TV slot which resulted to decrease in ratings. Although Xena had been fighting aggressively for the show’s survival, eventually it has been defeated by its biggest opponent, money.

In 2006, the actress Lucy Lawless donated her personal Xena costume to the Museum of American History.