The 40th Anniversary of Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote is possibly the most successful American mystery television series of all time. It ran for twelves. Four TV movies aired after its run. While at the time of the show's debut Angela Lansbury was known for movies from Gaslight (1944) to The Manchurian Candidate (1962), she may now be best known as mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher. It was forty years ago today, on Sunday, September 30 1984, that Murder, She Wrote  debuted on CBS.

For those unfamiliar with Murder, She Wrote, the series starred Angela Lansbury as a widowed mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher, who has a talent for solving crimes. She lived in the small town of Cabot Cove, Maine, although she travelled extensively. Only a few episodes of Murder, She Wrote actually take place in their entirety in Cabot Cove.

It was in late 1983 that CBS looked to Universal Television for a new mystery series that they wanted to be produced by Peter S. Fincher, Richard Levinson, and William Link. Messrs. Levinson and Link were already old hands when it came to television mysteries. Not only had they written several episodes of various mystery shows, but they also created both Mannix and Columbo. Peter S. Fincher had been a story editor on Columbo, and with Richard Levinson and William Link had developed the TV series Ellery Queen. Although it had only run one season, Ellery Queen had developed a cult following and had received positive reviews.

Messrs. Fincher, Levinson, and Link pitched a concept to CBS that they had tried pitching to NBC. It was a series about a retired magician who over 50 years of age who solved mysteries. NBC did not like the idea of a protagonist over 50 and asked that the magician be in his thirties. Unlike NBC, CBS did not mind a lead character who was over 50, but they preferred a female lead. It was on October 22 1983 that CBS aired the made-for-TV movie A Caribbean Mystery, starring Helen Hayes as Agatha Christie's character Miss Marple. The TV movie did respectably well in the ratings, leading Peter s. Fletcher, Richard Levinson, and William Link to come up with the idea of a TV show about a crime solving, female mystery novelist over 50, essentially an Americanized Miss Marple with a bit of Ellery Queen thrown in for good measure. Like Ellery Queen, the show would feature big-name guest stars.

Fortunately, Harvey Shepherd, head programmer at CBS, liked the idea and gave the go-ahead for what would become Murder, She Wrote. As to who would play the all important role of Jessica Fletcher, Jean Stapleton, most famous as Edith Bunker on All in the Family, was initially considered. Miss Stapleton was initially interested in the project, but eventually decided against it. Fortunately, screen legend Angela Lansbury had expressed interest in starring in a television series. Messrs. Fincher, Levinson, and Link met with Miss Lansbury, and she was cast as Jessica Fletcher.

While Jessica Fletcher was the only regular character on the show, Murder, She Wrote featured several recurring characters. For the first four seasons, Tom Bosley played Sheriff Amos Tupper. He was replaced by Ron Masak, who played Sheriff Mort Metzger from the fifth season to its end. Starting in the second season, William Windom played Dr. Seth Hazitt. There were many other recurring characters, including Jessica's nephew Grady Fletcher (Michael Horton), Cabot Cove realtor Eve Simpson (Julie Adams),private eye Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach), and may others.

Of course, over the years Murder, She Wrote featured many famous guest stars, among them John Astin, Gene Barry, Earl Holliman, Kevin McCarthy, Martin Milner, John Saxon,and  George Segal. The show featured several stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, including June Allyson, Ann Blyth, Cyd Charisse, Mel Ferrer, Marsha Hunt, Van Johnson, Mildred Natwick, Jean Peters, Mickey Rooney, and Mary Wickes, among others. Indeed, the episode "The Days Dwindle Down" was actually some of a sequel to the classic film noir Strange Bargain (1942). It guest starred Jeffrey Lynn, Martha Scott, and Harry Morgan, who reprised their roles from. Clips form Strange Bargain served as flashbacks during the episode.

It was during the third season of Murder, She Wrote that the show had a crossover with another hit CBS show, Magnum P.I., then in its seventh season. The crossover began on Magnum P.I. with the episode "Novel Connection" and ended with the Murder, She Wrote episode "Magnum on Ice."

Murder, She Wrote would also inspire one spinoff. The TV series The Law & Harry McGraw centred on private eye Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach), who had been a recurring character on Murder, She Wrote, as he worked for attorney Ellie Maginnis (Barbara Babcock). The should would not prove to be a success. Debuting on September 27 1987, the series ended its run after only 16 episodes. That would not be the end of Harry McGraw, as he would appear in more episodes of Murder, She Wrote.

The success of Murder, She Wrote generated some merchandise. Numerous Murder, She Wrote novels have been published over the years, the first 1989. The latest Murder, She Wrote novels are set to come out October 8 2024 and March 18 2025. It was in 1985 that Warren Company published a Murder, She Wrote board game. In 2009 Legacy Interactive released the computer game Murder, She Wrote. It was followed by a sequel, Murder, She Wrote in 2012. Funko even released a Jessica Fletcher POP! figure in 2020.

Murder, She Wrote proved to be a hit from the beginning. In its first season it ranked no. 8 for the year in the Nielsen ratings. It consistently ranked in the top twenty, more often than not in the top ten, for its first eleven seasons. Murder, She Wrote was moved from its usual 8:00 PM Eastern, Sunday time slot for its 12th season to 8:00 PM Easter, Thursday for its 12th season. The show promptly dropped in the ratings. It was moved back to Sunday for its last few episodes, but unfortunately it was too little too late. For its 12th and final season, Murder, She Wrote ranked only 58th in the Nielsen ratings for the year. CBS cancelled the series.

While Murder, She Wrote was cancelled, it was hardly over, as CBS agreed to four Murder, She Wrote TV movies to air in the following years. The first was South by South West, which aired in 1997. It was followed by A Story to Die For in 2000, The Last Free Man in 2001, and The Celtic Riddle in 2003.

Murder, She Wrote would prove to be a hit in syndication, where it is still running. From the late Nineties well into the Naughts, A&E showed Murder, She Wrote so often that many jokingly called it "The Murder, She Wrote Channel." Currently it airs on  Murder, She Wrote airs on Cozi TV, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Great American Family, and Start TV. Murder, She Wrote can be found on several different streaming services, including Prime Video, Fubo, Peacock, Philo, and Sling TV. The entire series, as well as the TV movies, have been released on DVD.

Murder, She Wrote has certainly permeated pop culture. Jessica Fletcher is one of the most recognizable characters in television history, alongside Lucy Ricardo, Barney Fife, and Mr. Spock. There is also something of a running joke that Cabot Cove is the murder capitol of television, although this is not quite true. Jessica Fletcher travelled extensively and the majority of her cases were in such places as Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and even other countries. Out of the 264 episodes of Murder, She Wrote, only 54 took place in Cabot Cove. While that is still an extraordinarily high murder rate for a town of 3560 people, it's probably lower than the murder rate of Badger's Drift on Midsomer Murders. The village, which has 300 people according to  the original novel The Killings in Badger's Drift, saw over 20 murders in the course of six episodes. Regardless of whether Cabot Cover is the murder capital of the world, everyone can agree that Jessica Fletcher is murder magnet. She could not go any place without someone being murdered.

Of course, if Jessica didn't encounter murder everywhere she goes, there would not have been a show. And Murder, She Wrote was one of the finest mystery series of all time. It compares favourably with such shows  as Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, and Columbo, and can quite rightfully be considered a classic in and of itself. In fact, an argument can be made that the Cabot Cove episodes of Murder, She Wrote in particular pioneered the cozy mystery genre. In the cozy mystery genre, the protagonist is generally an amateur detective (like Jessica), the protagonists usually has a contact on the police department (in Jessica's case, Sheriffs Tupper and Metzger), the murders generally take place off-stage, and the setting is usually a small town or village (in Jessica's case, Cabot Cove.). While the cozy mystery genre takes a good deal of inspiration from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, the Cabot Cove episodes of Murder, She Wrote would certainly seem to have provided the template for the genre.

Murder, She Wrote continues to be popular, as evidenced by the number of television outlets and streaming channels on which it can still be found. Novels based on the series are still being published. One has to suspect that people will still be watching Murder, She Wrote forty years from now.