Murder, She Wrote
Encyclopedia
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury
as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher
. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS
network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series, The Law & Harry McGraw
. It is one of the most successful and longest-running television shows in history, with close to 23 million viewers in its prime, and was a staple of its Sunday night lineup for a decade. The series is also successful around the world.
Lansbury was nominated for a total of ten Golden Globes
and 12 Emmy Award
s for her work on Murder, She Wrote. She holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a television drama series and the most Emmy nominations for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for Murder, She Wrote, with those nominations netting her four Golden Globe awards. The series received three nominations but no wins in the Outstanding Drama Series category at the Emmys. It was nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category six times and won twice.
Since the series ended in 1996, a series of four TV movies were released between 1997 and 2003, a game created by Legacy Interactive
was released for the PC platform in 2009, and a spin-off book series, written by Donald Bain
, continues to the present.
and William Link
succeeded with their TV series Ellery Queen
. That series folded after a single season, but Levinson and Link were still committed to the concept of a bestselling murder-mystery novelist who solved real murders when not at the typewriter. In collaboration with writer-producer Peter S. Fischer
, with whom they had previously worked on Columbo. Link, Levinson and Fischer changed the gender of their protagonist from male to female and transformed the character from a good-looking, absent-minded young pedant to a middle-aged, down-to-earth widow.
Murder, She Wrote was never pitched as an American version of the Agatha Christie
character Miss Marple
,contrary to rumors. The show was initially offered to actress Jean Stapleton, who turned it down stating that, after nine years of playing the ditsy but well-meaning Edith Bunker
on All In The Family
and Archie Bunker's Place
, respectively, she did not want to be tied down to another television series. Fischer, Levinson and Link thought Angela Lansbury would be perfect in the part but had not dreamed that she would be interested in a television series. When she made it known she would available if the right project came along, the trio of creators sent her the script and almost immediately,
Angela felt she could do something with the role of Jessica Fletcher. With Murder She Wrote debuting on Sunday, September 30, 1984, the producers were able to parlay their "mystery writer/amateur detective" premise into a 12-year hit for CBS. It also made Angela Lansbury a household name for millions of television viewers.
The title comes from Murder, She Said
, which was the title of a 1961 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel 4:50 from Paddington. The character of Jessica Fletcher could be thought to be based on a combination of Miss Marple, and Agatha Christie herself.
, and maintains her links with all of her old friends, never letting her success go to her head. Exterior shots of Cabot Cove were filmed in Mendocino, California
.
Murder rears its ugly head with great regularity in her vicinity (so improbably often that the mystery term "Cabot Cove syndrome" was eventually coined to describe the constant appearance of dead bodies in remote locations). Jessica invariably proves more perceptive than the official investigators, who are almost always willing to arrest the most likely suspect. By carefully piecing the clues together and asking astute questions, she always manages to trap the real murderer, who, given the series' "special guest star" policy, was often played by a famous film or TV personality.
Jessica's relationship with law enforcement officials varies from place to place. Both sheriffs of Cabot Cove resign themselves to having her meddle in their cases. However, most detectives and police officers do not want her anywhere near their crime scenes, until her accurate deductions convince them to listen to her. Some are happy to have her assistance from the start, often because they are fans of her books. With time, she makes friends in many police departments across the U.S., as well as with a British police officer attached to Scotland Yard
.
In 1991, newly appointed executive producer David Moessinger and producer J. Michael Straczynski
were brought aboard in an effort to shore up ratings. They moved Jessica to New York, and revitalized the show, bringing it back into the top ten in the yearly ratings. It was Straczynski who made her an instructor in writing and criminology, and is widely held to have most emphasized her role as a working writer, with all the deadlines and problems involved in that profession.
Following the 1991–92 season, Angela Lansbury became the series' executive producer after she and her husband's production company, Corymore Productions
, purchased a majority interest in Murder, She Wrote from Universal Television, which remained as a producer and distributor. As the series entered the middle of the decade, it remained a Sunday night staple and eventually became the longest-running mystery series in television history. While the ratings for Murder, She Wrote had slipped slightly following its resurgence in 1991, it still maintained a loyal viewing audience. In fact, the first season that Lansbury served as executive producer saw another rise in the ratings, as Murder, She Wrote ended the season in the top five for the first time since 1988.
For individual episodes synopses please refer to this subpage.
' s eleventh, Lansbury began to consider ending the series, as her advancing age became a concern (she had just turned seventy). However, CBS effectively made the decision for her that fall. After spending eleven years on Sunday, the network's longest-running weekly series (at that time) was moved to Thursday nights at 8 PM. This put the series in direct competition with the first hour of NBC's Must See TV
lineup, which had been drawing the highest ratings of the week for any network for years. More specifically, Murder, She Wrote would be facing off against NBC's comedy Friends
, which was entering its second season on the network and was given the 8 PM timeslot for the fall, and The Single Guy
, a brand-new sitcom that NBC gave the coveted 8:30 timeslot between Friends and Seinfeld
. CBS cited that Murder, She Wrote was "skewing too old" in the ratings demographics, as—while the series was still successful, having just finished the eleventh season as the eighth-most watched program on television—they were not gaining the valued 18–49 ratings demographic that is most desired among networks.
Despite protests of many of the show's fans, CBS refused to budge on the new timeslot. Friends had finished its first season (1994–95) in ninth place in the final Nielsen ratings. This situation was exacerbated further by the success of The Single Guy (which many attributed to piggybacking
off of Friends), as well as another freshman sitcom, Boston Common
, which debuted in March 1996 against the second half of Murder, She Wrote. As a result of these combined factors, Murder, She Wrote plummeted from eighth to sixty-fifth in the yearly ratings; the series lost nearly six million viewers as the audience was not willing to follow it to Thursday, which left CBS with little choice but to end Murder, She Wrote after twelve seasons in August 1996. To soften the blow, the network agreed to air several Murder, She Wrote movies over the next few years; the first was broadcast in 1997, with three more following in 2000, 2001, and 2003.
Angela Lansbury
has recently stated that she wishes to make a comeback appearance as Jessica Fletcher.
, under license with Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group (UPDPG), announced the release a PC/MAC video game based on the television series. In the game, players help Jessica Fletcher to solve five unusual murders.
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher
Jessica Fletcher
Jessica Fletcher is a fictional character portrayed by veteran Tony-winning actress Angela Lansbury on the American television series Murder, She Wrote...
. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series, The Law & Harry McGraw
The Law & Harry McGraw
The Law & Harry McGraw is an American TV series that ran on CBS from September 27, 1987 to February 10, 1988. It is a spin-off from the mystery series Murder, She Wrote....
. It is one of the most successful and longest-running television shows in history, with close to 23 million viewers in its prime, and was a staple of its Sunday night lineup for a decade. The series is also successful around the world.
Lansbury was nominated for a total of ten Golden Globes
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
and 12 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for her work on Murder, She Wrote. She holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a television drama series and the most Emmy nominations for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for Murder, She Wrote, with those nominations netting her four Golden Globe awards. The series received three nominations but no wins in the Outstanding Drama Series category at the Emmys. It was nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category six times and won twice.
Since the series ended in 1996, a series of four TV movies were released between 1997 and 2003, a game created by Legacy Interactive
Legacy Interactive
Legacy Interactive is a video game developer and media company based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1998 by Ariella Lehrer, Legacy initially developed medical simulations such as Emergency Room and Pet Pals: Animal Doctor. Since 2004 Legacy has focused almost entirely on creating casual...
was released for the PC platform in 2009, and a spin-off book series, written by Donald Bain
Donald Bain (writer)
Donald Bain is a United States author and ghostwriter, having written over 80 books in his 40-year career. A graduate of Purdue University, he is the recipient of many writing awards. Bain is a professional jazz musician as well as a writer. He is married to Renée Paley-Bain, who is also a writer...
, continues to the present.
Origin
Murder, She Wrote might never have come about had producers Richard LevinsonRichard Levinson
Richard Levinson was an American writer and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Economics in 1956. He served in the United States Army from...
and William Link
William Link
William Theodore Link is an American film and television writer and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.-Life and career:...
succeeded with their TV series Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen (TV series)
Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen...
. That series folded after a single season, but Levinson and Link were still committed to the concept of a bestselling murder-mystery novelist who solved real murders when not at the typewriter. In collaboration with writer-producer Peter S. Fischer
Peter S. Fischer
Peter S. Fischer is an American writer and TV producer, most notable for his work on Murder, She Wrote.- External links :* at Hollywood.com...
, with whom they had previously worked on Columbo. Link, Levinson and Fischer changed the gender of their protagonist from male to female and transformed the character from a good-looking, absent-minded young pedant to a middle-aged, down-to-earth widow.
Murder, She Wrote was never pitched as an American version of the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
character Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
,contrary to rumors. The show was initially offered to actress Jean Stapleton, who turned it down stating that, after nine years of playing the ditsy but well-meaning Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker is a fictional 1970s sitcom character on All in the Family , played by Jean Stapleton. She was the wife of Archie Bunker , mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and, after 1975, grandmother of Joey Stivic...
on All In The Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
and Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place
Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
, respectively, she did not want to be tied down to another television series. Fischer, Levinson and Link thought Angela Lansbury would be perfect in the part but had not dreamed that she would be interested in a television series. When she made it known she would available if the right project came along, the trio of creators sent her the script and almost immediately,
Angela felt she could do something with the role of Jessica Fletcher. With Murder She Wrote debuting on Sunday, September 30, 1984, the producers were able to parlay their "mystery writer/amateur detective" premise into a 12-year hit for CBS. It also made Angela Lansbury a household name for millions of television viewers.
The title comes from Murder, She Said
Murder, She Said
Murder, She Said is a murder mystery film directed by George Pollock, loosely based on the novel 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie...
, which was the title of a 1961 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel 4:50 from Paddington. The character of Jessica Fletcher could be thought to be based on a combination of Miss Marple, and Agatha Christie herself.
Premise
The show revolved around the day-to-day life of a retired English teacher who, after being widowed in her early fifties, becomes a very successful mystery writer. Despite fame and fortune, Jessica remains a resident of Cabot Cove, a cozy coastal town in MaineMaine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, and maintains her links with all of her old friends, never letting her success go to her head. Exterior shots of Cabot Cove were filmed in Mendocino, California
Mendocino, California
Mendocino is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocino is located south of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of 154 feet...
.
Murder rears its ugly head with great regularity in her vicinity (so improbably often that the mystery term "Cabot Cove syndrome" was eventually coined to describe the constant appearance of dead bodies in remote locations). Jessica invariably proves more perceptive than the official investigators, who are almost always willing to arrest the most likely suspect. By carefully piecing the clues together and asking astute questions, she always manages to trap the real murderer, who, given the series' "special guest star" policy, was often played by a famous film or TV personality.
Jessica's relationship with law enforcement officials varies from place to place. Both sheriffs of Cabot Cove resign themselves to having her meddle in their cases. However, most detectives and police officers do not want her anywhere near their crime scenes, until her accurate deductions convince them to listen to her. Some are happy to have her assistance from the start, often because they are fans of her books. With time, she makes friends in many police departments across the U.S., as well as with a British police officer attached to Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
.
In 1991, newly appointed executive producer David Moessinger and producer J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
were brought aboard in an effort to shore up ratings. They moved Jessica to New York, and revitalized the show, bringing it back into the top ten in the yearly ratings. It was Straczynski who made her an instructor in writing and criminology, and is widely held to have most emphasized her role as a working writer, with all the deadlines and problems involved in that profession.
Following the 1991–92 season, Angela Lansbury became the series' executive producer after she and her husband's production company, Corymore Productions
Corymore Productions
Corymore Productions is a television production company that was founded in 1987 by Peter Shaw, the late husband of Angela Lansbury.-TV productions:*Murder, She Wrote...
, purchased a majority interest in Murder, She Wrote from Universal Television, which remained as a producer and distributor. As the series entered the middle of the decade, it remained a Sunday night staple and eventually became the longest-running mystery series in television history. While the ratings for Murder, She Wrote had slipped slightly following its resurgence in 1991, it still maintained a loyal viewing audience. In fact, the first season that Lansbury served as executive producer saw another rise in the ratings, as Murder, She Wrote ended the season in the top five for the first time since 1988.
For individual episodes synopses please refer to this subpage.
Ending
By the end of the 1994–95 season, Murder, She WroteMust See TV
"Must See TV" is an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its prime time blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured such popular sitcoms as The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, A Different...
lineup, which had been drawing the highest ratings of the week for any network for years. More specifically, Murder, She Wrote would be facing off against NBC's comedy Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, which was entering its second season on the network and was given the 8 PM timeslot for the fall, and The Single Guy
The Single Guy
The Single Guy is an American television sitcom that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 1995 to April 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot, and followed several of his close friends The series also starred Joey Slotnick as Eliot's best...
, a brand-new sitcom that NBC gave the coveted 8:30 timeslot between Friends and Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. CBS cited that Murder, She Wrote was "skewing too old" in the ratings demographics, as—while the series was still successful, having just finished the eleventh season as the eighth-most watched program on television—they were not gaining the valued 18–49 ratings demographic that is most desired among networks.
Despite protests of many of the show's fans, CBS refused to budge on the new timeslot. Friends had finished its first season (1994–95) in ninth place in the final Nielsen ratings. This situation was exacerbated further by the success of The Single Guy (which many attributed to piggybacking
Piggybacking
Piggybacking may refer to:*Piggy-back , something that is riding on the back of something else*Piggybacking , when an authorized person allows others to pass through a secure door...
off of Friends), as well as another freshman sitcom, Boston Common
Boston Common (TV series)
Boston Common is a television sitcom that ran on NBC from 1996–1997. It starred Anthony Clark and took place in the city of Boston. It was one of the 10 highest rated shows in its first season as it ranked 8th in the yearly ratings and was viewed by an average of 14.96 million households per episode...
, which debuted in March 1996 against the second half of Murder, She Wrote. As a result of these combined factors, Murder, She Wrote plummeted from eighth to sixty-fifth in the yearly ratings; the series lost nearly six million viewers as the audience was not willing to follow it to Thursday, which left CBS with little choice but to end Murder, She Wrote after twelve seasons in August 1996. To soften the blow, the network agreed to air several Murder, She Wrote movies over the next few years; the first was broadcast in 1997, with three more following in 2000, 2001, and 2003.
Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
has recently stated that she wishes to make a comeback appearance as Jessica Fletcher.
Regular cast
- Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Jessica Fletcher (1984–1996). The show was originally conceived as a vehicle for Jean Stapleton, who had just finished a nine-year run on All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
; when Stapleton decided she didn't want to commit to another television series, the role was offered to Lansbury. Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
was offered the part afterwards, and also declined. - William WindomWilliam Windom (actor)William Windom is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work on television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone; playing the character of Glen Morley, a congressman from Minnesota like his own great-grandfather and namesake in The Farmer's Daughter; the character of John...
as Dr. Seth Hazlitt (1985–1996), the local doctor of Cabot Cove and one of Jessica's best friends. In one episode before he played Dr. Hazlitt, Windom played a killer. - Tom BosleyTom BosleyThomas Edward "Tom" Bosley was an American actor. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the long-running ABC sitcom Happy Days. He also was featured in recurring roles on Murder, She Wrote, and Father Dowling Mysteries...
as Sheriff Amos Tupper (1984–1988), Cabot Cove's sheriff at the start of the series. Tupper later retires and goes to live with his sister. - Ron MasakRon MasakRon Masak is an American actor. He began on stage and much of his work is in theater. His first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960...
as Sheriff Mort Metzger (1988–1996), a former NYPD officer who takes Tupper's place as sheriff in the mistaken belief that he would be living in a more peaceful place. In one episode, the actor played a cheap store owner in New York City who was in trouble with the law and was trying to get out of trouble by selling his business.
Recurring cast
- Michael HortonMichael Horton (actor)Michael "Mike" Horton is an American character actor and voice over artist most remembered for his long-running role as Jessica Fletcher's nephew, Grady Fletcher, on the television series Murder, She Wrote...
as Grady Fletcher (1984–1995), Jessica's not-so-lucky favorite nephew, who (through no fault of his own) always seems to get in trouble with the law. After many romantic disasters, he gets married later in the series. In real life, Horton is married to actress Debbie Zipp, who played Grady's eventual wife, Donna Mayberry. The two had been married for many years before working together on Murder, She Wrote. - Jerry OrbachJerry OrbachJerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
as Harry McGraw (1985–1991), an old-school private investigatorPrivate investigatorA private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
who becomes friends with Jessica. Orbach was popular enough to garner his own, short-lived spinoff series in 1987, The Law & Harry McGrawThe Law & Harry McGrawThe Law & Harry McGraw is an American TV series that ran on CBS from September 27, 1987 to February 10, 1988. It is a spin-off from the mystery series Murder, She Wrote....
. - Len CariouLen CariouLeonard Joseph “Len” Cariou is a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
as Michael Hagarty (1985–1992), a British MI6 agent who would appear when Jessica least expected him to drag her into a dangerous case. Cariou had previously starred with Lansbury on Broadway in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetSweeney Todd (musical)Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....
as the titular character. - Richard PaulRichard PaulRichard Paul was an American actor.He was born in Los Angeles, California. He was able to imitate most American and many foreign dialects. He had a tenor voice and trained with Lee Sweetland....
as Sam Booth (1986–1991), the genial, ineffectual mayor of Cabot Cove whose main campaign promise is that he will do nothing. - Julie AdamsJulie AdamsJulie Adams is an American film and television actress, sometimes credited as Julia Adams or Betty Adams.-Life and career:...
as Eve Simpson (1987–1993), the Cabot Cove real estate agent with a great love for men, both single and married, and the hobby of gossiping. She is a good friend of Jessica. - Keith MichellKeith MichellKeith Michell is an Australian actor, particularly noted for his television and film performances as King Henry VIII of England.- Early life :He was born in Adelaide and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie...
as Dennis Stanton (1988–1993), a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator, who always solves his cases using unusual methods, and sends a copy of the story to his friend Jessica afterwards. Many episodes starring Michell do not involve Jessica Fletcher or any other main or recurring character, and usually begin with Jessica introducing the story to the audience invoking the fourth wallFourth wallThe fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. - Wayne RogersWayne RogersWilliam Wayne McMillan Rogers III is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of 'Trapper John' McIntyre in the U.S...
as Charlie Garrett (1993–1995), a disreputable private investigator who usually gets into trouble and needs Jessica's help.
Awards and nominations
Over its twelve year run Murder, She Wrote received numerous award nominations. Angela Lansbury herself holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for outstanding lead actress in a drama series with twelve, one for each season. She never won, which is also a record.| Group | Award | Year(s) | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming... |
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Angela Lansbury) | 1985–1996 | No |
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (John Addison) | 1985 | Yes | |
| Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Bruce Babcock) | 1993, 1995 | No | |
| Outstanding Costume Design for a Series (Alfred E. Lehman) | 1986 | Yes | |
| Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... s |
Best TV Series – Drama | 1985, 1986 | Yes |
| Best TV Series – Drama | 1987–1990 | No | |
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series – Drama (Angela Lansbury) | 1985, 1987, 1990 & 1992 | Yes | |
| Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series – Drama (Angela Lansbury) | 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993 & 1995 | No | |
| Edgar Award Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America... s |
Best Episode of a TV Series ("Deadly Lady") | 1985 | Yes |
| Best Episode of a TV Series ("The Dead File") | 1993 | No | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"... |
Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series – Drama (Angela Lansbury) | 1995 | No |
U.S. television ratings
Murder She Wrote maintained extremely high ratings finishing in the top 15 of shows for eleven of its twelve seasons (8 of its 12 seasons it was in the top ten), even well into its late seasons. At the beginning of its twelfth season in 1995, CBS moved the show from its extremely popular Sunday night time slot to Thursday night forcing it to compete with NBC's Must See TV line up, and as a result the ratings plummeted. The show rated as the following:| Season | Episodes | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | September 30, 1984 | April 21, 1985 | 1984–1985 | #8 | 17.06 |
| 2 | 22 | September 29, 1985 | May 18, 1986 | 1985–1986 | #3 | 21.73 |
| 3 | 22 | September 28, 1986 | May 10, 1987 | 1986–1987 | #4 | 22.19 |
| 4 | 22 | September 20, 1987 | May 8, 1988 | 1987–1988 | #9 | 17.89 |
| 5 | 22 | October 23, 1988 | May 21, 1989 | 1988–1989 | #8 | 17.98 |
| 6 | 22 | September 24, 1989 | May 20, 1990 | 1989–1990 | #13 | 16.30 |
| 7 | 22 | September 16, 1990 | May 12, 1991 | 1990–1991 | #12 | 15.26 |
| 8 | 22 | September 15, 1991 | May 17, 1992 | 1991–1992 | #8 | 15.56 |
| 9 | 22 | September 20, 1992 | May 16, 1993 | 1992–1993 | #5 | 16.47 |
| 10 | 21 | September 12, 1993 | May 22, 1994 | 1993–1994 | #11 | 15.07 |
| 11 | 21 | September 25, 1994 | May 14, 1995 | 1994–1995 | #8 | 14.88 |
| 12 | 24 | September 21, 1995 | May 19, 1996 | 1995–1996 | #65 | 9.50 |
International syndication
Since its original run on CBS, Murder, She Wrote has been syndicated in many countries around the world.| Country | Channel(s) | Title | Literal translation | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia AustraliaAustralia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
Network Ten Network Ten Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country... , TV1 TV1 (Australia) TV1 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms.-History:TV1 launched as part of the original Galaxy lineup. The channel is jointly owned by Sony International Television, Universal Studios and Paramount. The channel shows... , Channel Seven Seven Network The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach... , GEM GEM (Australian TV channel) GEM is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 26 September 2010 at 6am... |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 Austria AustriaAustria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
ORF ORF (broadcaster) Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media... |
Mord ist ihr Hobby | Murder Is Her Hobby | German dubbed |
 Belgium BelgiumBelgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
VTM Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij vtm or Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij is the main commercial television station in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking north of Belgium.It went live in 1989 and quickly became the Flemish market leader... , VIJFtv VIJFtv VIJFtv started in October 2004 as SBS Belgium's second channel and a sister channel to VT4. Although the channel's target audience are females, the first thing VIJFtv broadcast was a soccer game. By doing that the station made sure men would set their TV up to view VIJFtv.2005 was a strong year for... |
Murder, She Wrote | English, Dutch subtitles |
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 Brazil BrazilBrazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
Universal Channel Universal Channel Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal and available on satellite and cable platforms... |
Assassinato por Escrito | Written Murder | Portuguese dubbed |
 Kingdom of Bulgaria BulgariaBulgaria Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east... |
Fox Crime Fox Crime Fox Crime is a television network, launched by the Fox International Channels, which airs across several countries of Europe and Asia, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Bulgaria... , Diema Diema Diema is part of the Nova Television Group Bulgaria, a subsidiary of MTG.The channel airs mainly films, action series. Along with Nova Sport airs sports, including matches from the English FA Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA European Football Championship qualifications, as well as the... |
Убийство по сценарий | Murder by Script | Bulgarian dubbed |
 Canada CanadaCanada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Vision TV Vision TV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic.... |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 Quebec Canada: QuebecQuebec Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.... |
TQS Tqs V is a Canadian privately-owned French-language television network. The network has owned-and-operated and affiliated stations existing throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-air in some bordering markets in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick... |
Elle écrit au meurtre | She Writes "Murder!" | French dubbed |
 Chile ChileChile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... |
Canal 13 Canal 13 (Chile) Canal 13 , is the second oldest television station in Chile. It is owned by Luksic Group associated with the Papal Catholic University of Chile. Its inaugural transmission took place on August 21, 1959... |
Reportera del crimen | Crime Reporter | Spanish dubbed |
 Independent State of Croatia CroatiaCroatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... |
HRT Croatian Radiotelevision Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite... |
Ubojstvo, napisala je | Murder, She Wrote | English, Croatian subtitles |
 Czech Republic Czech RepublicCzech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
Nova, Prima TV Prima TV Prima is a Czech private television station. Its channel is broadcast from Prague. Its current owner is FTV Prima, spol. s r. o., general manager Marek Singer.... |
To je vražda, napsala | That Is Murder, She Wrote | Czech dubbed |
 Denmark DenmarkDenmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
DR 2 | Hun så et mord | She Saw a Murder | English, Danish subtitles |
 Estonia EstoniaEstonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... |
TV3 TV3 (Estonia) TV3 is a commercial television channel targeted at an Estonian language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded in 1996 after two recent television stations, EVTV and RTV joined.... |
Mõrv sai teoks | Murder Became True | English, Estonian subtitles |
 Finland FinlandFinland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
YLE TV1 YLE TV1 YLE TV1 is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by Finnish public broadcaster Yleisradio. It is the first and oldest Television channel in Finland. More than 70% of channel's programs are documentaries, news or educative programmes... |
Murhasta tuli totta | Murder Became True | English, Finnish subtitles |
 Early Modern France FranceFrance The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
La Cinq, TF1 TF1 TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network... , TV Breizh |
Arabesque | Arabesque | French dubbed |
 Germany GermanyGermany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
ARD ARD (broadcaster) ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters... , RTL RTL Television Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres... , Super RTL Super RTL Super RTL is a Cologne-based German television network operated by RTL Disney Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. It was the second German television channel aimed mostly at children... , TNT Serie, kabel eins |
Immer, wenn sie Krimis schrieb, Mord ist ihr Hobby |
Whenever She Wrote a Crime Novel, Murder is Her Hobby |
German dubbed |
 Greece GreeceGreece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
Star Channel Star Channel Star Channel is a Greek television network that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It launched in December 1993 and is owned by Nea Tileorasi A.E.. The main news bulletin is called Star Eidiseis, which is currently hosted by Aimilios Liatsos... |
Η συγγραφέας ντετέκτιβ | The Detective Writer | English, Greek subtitles |
 Hungary HungaryHungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
Viasat 3 Viasat 3 Viasat 3 is a Hungarian TV channel. It was originally named Alfa TV, but when in 2000 the station was bought by Swedish MTG its name was changed. It began broadcasting as Viasat 3 in October 2000.... |
Gyilkos sorok | Murderous Lines | Hungarian dubbed |
 Republic of Ireland IrelandIreland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
RTÉ One RTÉ One RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ... |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 Israel IsraelIsrael The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... |
HOT Hot (Israel) HOT Telecommunication Systems Ltd. is a company that provides cable television, last-mile Internet access, broadband and telecommunication services in Israel. It also provides various data transmission services and network services at different rates, services to the business sector and other... Israel 10 Israel 10 Channel 10 , formerly known as Israel 10 is a commercial broadcasting television channel licensed in Israel. It operates under the auspices of the Second Israeli Broadcasting Authority .-History:... |
רצח במשיכת קולמוס | Murder With a Stroke of Her Pen | English, Hebrew subtitles |
 Italy ItalyItaly Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
Rai Uno Rai Uno Rai 1 is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. It was born as Rai Tv from 1954 to 1961, called Programma Nazionale from 1961 to 1979, after called Rete 1 from 1979 to 1982, then called Rai Uno from 1982 to... , Fox Crime Fox Crime Fox Crime is a television network, launched by the Fox International Channels, which airs across several countries of Europe and Asia, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Bulgaria... ; Rai Due Rai Due Rai 2 is one of the three main television channels broadcast by Italian public television company RAI alongside with Rai 1 and Rai 3. Rai 2 first started transmissions on November 4, 1961... ; Rete 4 Rete 4 Rete 4 is an Italian television station belonging to the Mediaset network. It is an Italian private commercial TV channel. Rete 4's main news programme is TG4, whose editor-in-chief is Emilio Fede since 1992.-TV Series:... |
La signora in giallo | The Lady in Yellow | Italian dubbed |
 Japan JapanJapan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
NHK NHK NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.... , Mystery Channel, LaLa TV, Chiba TV Chiba TV , doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent... , Gunma TV |
Jessica obasan no jikenbo | Aunt Jessica's Case Files | Japanese dubbed |
 Kuwait KuwaitKuwait The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the... |
KTV 2 | Murder, She Wrote | English, Arabicsubtitles |
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 Latvia LatviaLatvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... |
LTV Latvijas Televizija Latvijas Televīzija is the state-owned public service broadcasting television company in Latvia.The company is funded by grant-in-aid from the Latvian government , and gaining the rest from showing television commercials . Although moving LTV to licence fee funding has long been debated, this has... |
Noziegumam pa pēdām | On the Trail of the Crime | Latvian dubbed |
 Lithuania LithuaniaLithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... |
TV3 TV3 Lithuania TV3 is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group and targeted at a Lithuanian-speaking audience. It was founded on May 7, 1992 and launched on April 11, 1993 as "Tele-3" before being renamed "TV3" in 1996.... |
Džesika Flečer | Jessica Fletcher | Lithuanian dubbed |
 Republic of Macedonia Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of Macedonia Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991... |
Fox Crime Fox Crime Fox Crime is a television network, launched by the Fox International Channels, which airs across several countries of Europe and Asia, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Bulgaria... |
Убиство, таа напиша | Murder, She Wrote | English, Macedonian subtitles |
 Mexico MexicoMexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
Universal Channel Universal Channel Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal and available on satellite and cable platforms... |
La reportera del crimen | The Crime Reporter | Spanish dubbed |
 Netherlands NetherlandsNetherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
RTL 8 RTL 8 RTL 8 is a commercial television station which launched in the Netherlands on 18 August 2007. The channel apperead by the former Tien, previously known as Talpa, which was launched in August 2005, and other assets of John de Mol's Talpa Media were amalgamated with RTL Nederland... NCRV NCRV NCRV is a public radio and television broadcaster in the Netherlands, mostly transmitting on Nederland 1 and Nederland 2.... |
Murder, She Wrote | English, Dutch subtitles |
|
 Norway NorwayNorway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
TV3 TV3 (Norway) TV3 Norway is a commercial television channel targeting Norway owned by Viasat, which is a part of the Swedish media group Modern Times Group... , NRK1 NRK1 NRK1 is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's main television channel. Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts started on 13 April 1958 and regular broadcasts started in 20 August 1960. It is Norway's oldest and largest television channel... |
Jessica Fletcher | Jessica Fletcher | English, Norwegian subtitles |
 Philippines PhilippinesPhilippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... |
GMA Network GMA Network GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company... , RJTV 29 |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 Poland PolandPoland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
13th Street 13th Street 13th Street Universal is a television channel specialising in action and suspense shows and movies. It is owned by NBCUniversal and was launched in France on November 13, 1997 and in Germany on May 1, 1998... |
Napisała morderstwo | Murder, She Wrote | English, Polish dubbing |
 Portugal PortugalPortugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
RTP 1 RTP 1 RTP1 is the first television network of Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, the Portuguese public broadcasting corporation. The first television network ever launched in Portugal, RTP1 was launched in 1957 as RTP , and also having a brief period while it was known and marketed as Canal 1... , FOX CRIME Fox Crime Fox Crime is a television network, launched by the Fox International Channels, which airs across several countries of Europe and Asia, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Bulgaria... |
Crime, Disse Ela | Crime, She Said | English, Portuguese subtitles |
 Kingdom of Romania RomaniaRomania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
Pro Cinema PRO Cinema PRO Cinema is a Romanian movie channel that is owned by Central European Media Enterprises and launched on April 19, 2004. It was the first Romanian TV channel dedicated exclusively to movies, and as such it attracted a significant audience from its very inception, mainly in the 18-49 urban... , TVR 2 TVR 2 TVR2, Televiziunea Română 2 , is the second channel of the public broadcaster TVR.The channel was created in 1968, but it was suspended from 1985 until after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989... |
Verdict: Crima | Verdict: Murder | English, Romanian subtitles |
 Russia RussiaRussia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
НТВ, Домашний |
Она написала убийство | Murder, She Wrote | Russian dubbed |
 Serbia SerbiaSerbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans... |
FOX Crime Fox Crime Fox Crime is a television network, launched by the Fox International Channels, which airs across several countries of Europe and Asia, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Bulgaria... |
Pisac i detektiv | A Writer and a Detective | English, Serbian subtitles |
 Slovakia SlovakiaSlovakia The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... |
Markíza Markíza Markíza is a television station in Slovakia. The station launched on 31 August 1996. The station was owned by the politician Pavol Rusko, and is now part of CME network... |
To je vražda, napísala | Murder, She Wrote | Slovak dubbed |
 Slovenia SloveniaSlovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... |
RTVSLO Kanal A Kanal A Kanal A is the first commercial television station in Slovenia. The television program, which has been operating within PRO PLUS d.o.o., has national coverage. In its primary target group of viewers , Kanal A is the second most watched TV programme in Slovenia... FOX Crime Fox Crime Fox Crime is a television network, launched by the Fox International Channels, which airs across several countries of Europe and Asia, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Bulgaria... TV3 Slovenia TV3 Slovenia TV3 is a television channel in Slovenia owned by Modern Times Group . The channel was also known as Prva TV from 1 November 2004 to 1 October 2006.... |
Umor, je napisala | Murder, She Wrote | English, Slovene subtitles |
 South Africa South AfricaSouth Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
TV1 TV1 TV1 may refer to:* TV1 , Australian cable and satellite television channel* TV One , New Zealand television network* TV1 , defunct Estonian television channel* TV1 , Lithuanian television channel... |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 Spain SpainSpain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
TVE, Calle 13 Calle 13 Calle 13 is a Spanish cable/satellite television channel. Owned by Universal Studios Networks Spain, Calle 13 promotes itself as a channel of suspense and action and its available on Digital+ satellite TV platform and on all Spanish cable TV platforms.... , Antena 3 Antena 3 (Spain) Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado.... |
Se ha escrito un crimen | A Crime Has Been Written | Spanish dubbed |
 Catalonia Spain: CataloniaCatalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an... |
TV3 TV3 (Catalonia) TV3 is the primary television channel of Catalan public broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya, a subsidiary of the CCMA. TV3 broadcasts programs only in Catalan, with an optional dual track in the original language for some foreign-language series and movies... |
S'ha escrit un crim | A Crime Has Been Written | Catalan dubbed |
 Galicia (Iberian peninsula) Spain: Galicia |
TVG TVG Televisión de Galicia , commonly known as A Galega , is the primary television channel of Galician public broadcaster Compañía de Radio Televisión de Galicia .-History:... |
Escribiuse un crime | A Crime Has Been Written | Galician dubbed |
 Sweden SwedenSweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
TV3 TV3 (Sweden) TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3... , TV4 Guld TV4 Guld TV4 Guld is a Swedish television channel devoted to "classic" programmes such as older television dramas.The channel launched on November 3, simultaneously with its sister channel TV4 Komedi, on satellite from Canal Digital and cable from Com Hem... |
Mord och inga visor | Murder and No Melodies | English, Swedish subtitles |
 Turkey TurkeyTurkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... |
TRT 1 TRT 1 TRT 1 is the first Turkish national television station. It launched on January 31 , 1968.-Introduction:TRT 1, the first television channel in Turkey, started their test transmissions on January 31, 1968, and commenced full national broadcasts in December 1971. It was the only channel in Turkey... , Star TV, Kanal D Kanal D Kanal D is a nation-wide television channel in Turkey and part of Doğan Holding which is owned by the Turkish media tycoon Aydın Doğan.Kanal D also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available online.... |
Cinayet Dosyası | Murder File | Turkish dubbed |
 Ukraine UkraineUkraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... |
СТБ | Вона написала вбивство | Murder, She Wrote | Ukrainian dubbed |
 United Kingdom United KingdomUnited Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK... , BBC One BBC One BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution... , BBC Two BBC Two BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio... , Alibi |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 United States United States |
Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family... |
Murder, She Wrote | English | |
 Uruguay UruguayUruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area... |
Monte Carlo Televisión | Reportera del crimen | Crime Reporter | Spanish dubbed |
Merchandise
In December 2009, casual game developer and publisher Legacy InteractiveLegacy Interactive
Legacy Interactive is a video game developer and media company based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1998 by Ariella Lehrer, Legacy initially developed medical simulations such as Emergency Room and Pet Pals: Animal Doctor. Since 2004 Legacy has focused almost entirely on creating casual...
, under license with Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group (UPDPG), announced the release a PC/MAC video game based on the television series. In the game, players help Jessica Fletcher to solve five unusual murders.
Multimedia
- List of Novels
- DVD Releases
- Mystery Theatre