"At this moment," she says, "I'm having my hair done in Beverly Hills for the show." She means the WB's Tarzan (Sundays, 9 pm/ET), where she plays Travis Fimmel's newspaper mogul aunt, Kathleen Clayton. Is this rich lady role easier than living in Xena's tough skin?

"It's very lovely," Lawless coos. "I'm luxuriating in comfort. Nobody's telling me to 'Lie down in that pool of blood.' I could not be happier."

Still, the 35-year-old mom of three isn't committed to Tarzan beyond this season. That's because she's signed a development deal with the WB to find her own series to star in. Another action show? "No!" she scoffs.

"Possibly a combination of comedy and drama. I've turned down a slew of action television ideas. I've kinda done that. I will always be grateful for the chance to play Xena, but how am I going to find a better action role than that?"

Speaking of her old show, Lawless and Kevin Sorbo are currently suing Universal Studios — the company behind Xena and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys — for breach-of-contract. As previously reported, the stars claim they've been denied their fair share of the popular action series' profits. "What we're talking about is our percentage of the merchandising," she says. "It's just anything that came out of the Xena franchise. I guess we haven't yet participated in any of the profits, if there are any profits to be had. So that's what we're looking into. We're just having a proper look at the books."

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