MAYBE ANGELA LANSBURY jinxed it when she called it a “mistake” – but the planned reboot of classic crime show Murder, She Wrote is not going ahead. Phew.
Last October it was revealed that NBC had begun developing a new version of the show, with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer taking the lead role.
The new show wouldn’t focus on Jessica Fletcher, but on a hospital administrator who moonlights as an amateur detective.
According to Deadline even though NBC had originally committed to airing the pilot episode, the network decided to completely shelve the reboot.
Angela Lansbury, who played sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the original series, said she was a fan of Spencer’s work but wasn’t pleased about the new version:
I think it’s a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote, because [the show] will always be about a Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person.
She really didn’t spare any punches:
So I’m sorry that they have to use the title Murder, She Wrote, even though they have access to it and it’s their right.
Oof.
Although NBC has given up on this re-imagining, they believe Murder, She Wrote is such a beloved series that the developers should try again with a completely new concept.
Well, if at first you don’t succeed…
