Is J.B. Fletcher about to make a return to prime-time television?
Deadline is reporting that a Murder, She Wrote reboot starring Octavia Spencer (30 Rock) has landed at NBC with a put pilot commitment. The project, which is being written by Alexandria Cunningham, will follow a hospital administrator (Octavia Spencer) and amateur sleuth who self published her first novel. It is set in a day where sensational headlines inundate the news, this woman’s avid fascination with true crime leads her to become an active participant in the investigations. Universal Television, who also produced the original series, are the studio behind this new project with former MTV exec David Janollari on board to produce. Angela Lansbury has also reportedly been approached to be a part of this reboot, but it is unclear if she will come on board at this stage.
Murder, She Wrote was created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson & William Link and aired for twelve seasons on CBS between 1984 and 1996. The series revolved around mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher who had an uncanny knack for getting drawn into murder investigations wherever she went. Produced by Universal Television, Angela Lansbury was the sole series regular, though the recurring cast included the likes of Tom Bosley, William Windom, Ron Masak and Jerry Orbach. Following the demise of the weekly series, Universal Television and CBS teamed for a series of four Murder, She Wrote TV movies. Angela Lansbury had expressed interest in doing one more such movie, but following CBS’ decision to move away from the form and now this reboot at NBC, that seems unlikely to happen.
