Murder, She Wrote (1984– )

Mystery writer finds herself investigating murders that occur around her.

Creators:

Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link

Stars:

Angela Lansbury, William Windom, Ron Masak

Won 6 Golden Globes. Another 25 wins & 54 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Angela Lansbury	...	Jessica Fletcher (264 episodes, 1984-1996)

Storyline

Former high school English teacher and famed mystery writer Jessica Fletcher has a gift for solving mysteries. You see, it seems murder follows her around, whether it be to the houses of her seemingly endless number of friends, nieces, and nephews or right in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine. Jessica is sometimes assisted by her friend Dr. Seth Hazlitt or the local sheriff, Amos Tupper (later Sheriff Metzger). Sometimes, later in the series, Jessica would only narrate the episode, which would be a dramatization of one of her novels. In later seasons, Jessica moved to New York City to be closer to her publisher and also closer to crime.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | mystery writer | writing | comma in title | three word title | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

La reportera del crimen

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corymore Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Besides Dennis Stanton, other recurring characters that helped Jessica solve the various murders she encountered were private investigators Harry McGraw and Charlie Garrett (played by Jerry Orbach and Wayne Rogers, respectively), British intelligence agent Michael Haggerty (played by Len Cariou) and N.Y.P.D detective Lt. Artie Gelber (played by Herb Edelman). However, the only one of these characters to be spun off onto his own series was Harry McGraw in the short lived series titled, appropriately enough, The Law and Harry McGraw.

---

Connections

Referenced in Castle: Murder He Wrote (2012)

User Reviews

Predictable,and yet highly entertaining.....

Murder, She Wrote ranks #1 in the drama series category, and around #4 in the greatest shows of all time, right behind M*A*S*H*, All in the Family and Maude. I liked Jessica Fletcher, but also the antics of her crusty doctor friend, Seth Hazlitt, and the Sheriff. The sheer greatness of this show explains its long TV life of 12 seasons.

Angela Lansbury and William Windom both play the part to a T. I still enjoy watching seemingly endless reruns daily of the show on A&E.