Angela Lansbury’s ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Gets The Reboot Treatment
The classic Angela Lansbury television series Murder She Wrote is getting the reboot treatment. However, the acclaimed actress won’t reprise her role in the new show.
Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer (The Help) will tackle the lead role in the network’s re-imagining of the television drama. According to UPI, Spencer will portray a hospital administrator who publishes a successful mystery novel.
Once the world discovers the character’s deductive and investigative abilities, she is often called in to help solve “sensational” crimes. Although some elements of the series are getting changed around, the show isn’t too different from the series Angela Lansbury made popular back in the 80s.
“I’ve always considered myself an armchair detective. In a recent meeting with [NBC Entertainment chair] Bob Greenblatt, he asked me what type of character would be able to lure me to TV. Naturally, I said J.B. Fletcher meets Colombo… And here we are,” Spencer explained in a recent statement.
The Hollywood Reporter explains that the new version of the Angela Lansbury drama is a “light” and “contemporary” re-imagining similar to FX’s Fargo and Fox’s Bones. Desperate Housewives veterans Alexandra Cunningham and David Janollari will serve as producers on the new series.
“Octavia and I are both huge true crime buffs, amateur criminologists, and fans of Angela Lansbury. To get the chance to re-imagine ‘Murder, She Wrote’ for a dynamic and multi-faceted actress like Octavia is a thrill and a pleasure,” Cunningham explained.
Although Angela Lansbury and CBS churned out 12 successful seasons of the original series several years ago, NBC is putting together the new version of Murder, She Wrote. During the height of the program’s success, 23 million viewers tuned in to see Jessica Fletcher solve an array of mysterious murders.
Lansbury received 12 Emmy nominations and 10 Golden Globe nods for her work on the series. The actress won four Golden Globes over the years.
Murder, She Wrote isn’t the only classic television series getting rebooted in the next few years. NBC is also reportedly working on a new version of the Pierce Brosnan program Remmington Steele. Director Ben Stiller’s 1994 film Reality Bites is heading to network television as well. It’s unknown when the shows will premiere.
Angela Lansbury last appeared on the big screen in the 2011 Jim Carrey family flick Mr. Popper’s Penguins. The actress recently landed a role opposite James Earl Jones in a production of Driving Miss Daisy earlier this year.
Are you a fan of the Angela Lansbury series Murder, She Wrote? What do you think about NBC rebooting the show with Octavia Spencer in the lead role?
[Image via CBS Entertainment]
