The harbor of Jessica's home town, Cabot Cove, is actually the Jaws (1975) lake on the Universal Studios tram tour.
Angela Lansbury earned Emmy nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the each of the show's twelve seasons, but failed to win any.
Jessica's middle name is Beatrice, which was a tribute to Angela Lansbury's best friend, actress and singer Bea Arthur.
One of Jessica's interesting traits was that she could not drive (unlike Angela Lansbury, who did drive) and was reliant on bicycles and taxis or rides/lifts from someone in her enormous coterie of friends, relatives, acquaintances, police officers/law enforcement, and, occasionally, suspects.