This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Our favorite amateur gumshoe is back! We'll be seeing a reincarnation of Angela Landsbury's Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote very soon. Deadline Hollywood revealed that NBC will be reviving the show with a new detective to take her place—Octavia Spencer (from The Help fame).
The original series ran for over a decade from 1984 to 1996 on CBS and followed the mystery-writer-turned-detective through solving murder cases. It was so popular that even a PC video game of it was made. The new, re-imagined version will have Spencer, a hospital administrator and mystery novel writer, chasing dead bodies in a fun, crime procedurals fashion like Bones.
“Octavia and I are both huge true crime buffs, amateur criminologists, and fans of Angela Lansbury,” writer Alexandra Cunningham told Deadline Hollywood. “To get the chance to reimagine Murder, She Wrote for a dynamic and multi-faceted actress like Octavia is a thrill and a pleasure.”
And here's the original Murder, She Wrote intro just for old time's sake:
