Kia Ora and G’day whānau! Join two queer overexcitable fangirls, Lou (Kiwi, new-ish fan) and Shell (Aussie, OG Xenite), as they deep-dive into Xena: Warrior Princess with charmingly mediocre wit, loads of nostalgia, and at times impenetrable accents.
As Xena: Warrior Princess celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025, we’re highlighting its legacy by attempting to interview 30 cast and crew who made it legendary, the Kiwis and Aussies responsible for the leather outfits, the sword fights, and let’s be real, making us all a little bit gayer. From behind-the-scenes stories to on-set moments, we’re going to bring you the voices behind the show which changed the world.
🎧 Listen in and embrace the Nutball life! ⚔️🌈
Visit us at: https://xenawarriornutballs.com/ (https://xenawarriornutballs.com/)
Interview #25: Diana Rowan! Casting Director - The woman who cast Xena! 💜⚔️
This week Lou and Shell go deep behind the scenes as we kōrero with legendary Aotearoa casting director Diana Rowan, who tells us exactly what she saw in Lucy Lawless which made her push for her to become Xena: Warrior Princess. 👀⚔️ AKA that “don’t fuck with me” energy she owns. 💜💪🌶️
Xenites, you might recognise Diana for another reason… she played The Shepherd in Xena: Warrior Princess Season 5, Episode 22, Motherhood! 🐑🏜️
But, Diana’s casting legacy goes WAY beyond Xena - She has been shaping New Zealand's screen industry for decades! Casting countless Kiwi performers, including Michael Hurst as Iolaus in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and is the only casting director in the world to have cast multiple child actors who went on to receive Oscar nominations: Anna Paquin for The Piano (winning at just 11!) and Keisha Castle-Hughes for Whale Rider.
We talk about the building blocks of casting the right person for the role, and what it takes to spot a future star before everyone else does. ✨
Whānau, this interview is an absolute one-off, one-of-a-kind. Diana doesn’t do these, so we are bloody thrilled she chose to kōrero with us. 💜
Follow Xena: Warrior Nutballs:🌐 xenawarriornutballs.com📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xenawarriornutballs/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578930248317
Come join our whānau! ⚔️💜
16 Sept 2026
Interview #24: Eric Gruendemann! ✈️🌿⚔️Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, and founder and Managing Director of Pacific Renaissance Pictures!😮💨
This week Lou and Shell are welcoming into the whānau Eric Gruendemann - Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, and founder and Managing Director of Pacific Renaissance Pictures!🎬🌿⚔️😮💨
Some people think the story of Xena: Warrior Princess begins with Hercules: The Legendary Journeys... but they'd be wrong. The real origin story starts years earlier, when Eric boarded a plane and headed to Aotearoa New Zealand to see if this small country at the bottom of the world could become home to an ambitious new television series.✈️
Eric didn't just help make a television show - he helped build an entire industry. 🎬💪 His vision and belief in Aotearoa put New Zealand on the map as a world-class television production destination, paving the way for countless international productions that followed.
Join Shell & Lou as we travel right back to the VERY beginning and hear the incredible story of how one scouting trip changed Aotearoa New Zealand’s television history forever. 🌿✨
Follow us:
🌐 Website: https://xenawarriornutballs.com📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xenawarriornutballs/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578930248317
2 Sept 2026
Interview #23: Timothy Omundson! Eli 🧔🏻♀️💚🕊️
This week, Lou and Shell have grown out their beards and donned their muumuus as we welcome into the whānau Timothy Omundson AKA Eli!🧔🏻♀️💚🕊️
Yes! That devilishly handsome, charismatic man with the sparkling blue eyes who arrived in Xena and Gabrielle’s lives as a street magician, before becoming one of the most important spiritual figures in the series.🎩🪄🙏
In this episode, Tim talks about connecting with Lucy Lawless, Renée O’Connor, and Kevin Smith, how much he loved working with the Kiwi cast and crew, and getting up to some proper Kiwi antics when the cameras weren't rolling.⛳
And yes… he stole his muumuu.
HE STOLE HIS MUUMUU, YOU GUYS. 😂🤣
We absolutely ADORE this man. Tim is funny, warm, generous and genuinely phenomenal, and we loved hearing his memories of his time in Aotearoa and the people who made Xena so special.
Show notes:
Find Tim on Instagram
📸 Instagram: @omundson
If you'd like to hear about Tim's recovery from his stroke, check out “Tim's 9th Stroke-iversary” on The Psychologists Are In with Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson, released 7 May 2026.
🎧 Listen to “Tim's 9th Stroke-iversary” on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/episode/31jzGjgNzD6XsLGlz9NvvC
Find Xena: Warrior Nutballs
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xenawarriornutballs/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578930248317 🌐 www.xenawarriornutballs.com
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51 ratings
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