Bad news for those who were looking forward to NBC's upcoming Murder, She Wrote reboot (that is, everyone except for original Murder, She Wrote star Angela Lansbury): According to Vulture, NBC has scrapped their Murder, She Wrote reboot plans, though they do say that they may go ahead with it at another time "with a new concept." Whatever the plans, though, the bottom line is: We will not be seeing Octavia Spencer in Lansbury's legendary role after all. Sad face.
If you weren't aware of NBC's plans for this Murder, She Wrote remake, allow me to inform you so this news can hurt all the more: It was described as a "light, contemporary procedural in the vein of Bones or Fargo," that follows "a hospital administrator and amateur sleuth (Spencer) who self-publishes her first mystery novel...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." In other words, awesome. Spencer would have headlined the series, which is even more awesome, and Desperate Housewives executive producer Alexandra Cunningham was to write and executive produce. And now, it's no longer happening. Ugh.
Lansbury, who starred in the first Murder, She Wrote series, was very vocal about her distaste for NBC's plans, and she publicly said it was "a mistake" to call the new series Murder, She Wrote as well. "Murder, She Wrote 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 said, to be specific. Guess NBC listened?
