Murder, She Wrote: Could Jessica Fletcher Return?

Though she has had an incredible career in movies and Broadway theatre, Angela Lansbury is best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. Through her curiosity, wits and disarming personality, the novelist and amateur detective was able to solve a myriad of crimes in her travels across the globe.

Murder, She Wrote debuted on CBS on September 30, 1984 as a two-hour movie and went on to become the longest-running mystery series in television history. The series ended on May 19, 1996 after 12 seasons and 264 hour-long episodes. Jessica has returned to television for four movies but hasn’t been heard from since 2003. Now, four years later, fans wonder if they’ll ever see a new Jessica Fletcher mystery. Is the 81-year-old Lansbury healthy enough to take on a new adventure?

Happily, Lansbury is still in excellent health and continues to perform. In fact, she is scheduled to open in Terrence McNally’s new Broadway play called Deuce in May. It will be her first stage play in over 23 years.

On a recent visit to The View to promote the play, Lansbury spoke warmly about her career and the endurance of the Murder, She Wrote series. When asked if she would ever play Jessica Fletcher again, Lansbury said, “I never say never. I hope that one of these days, my son Anthony (Shaw), who’s a wonderful director, will find a story that we can make a good two-hour Jessica Fletcher movie.”

Though Lansbury was nominated for Emmys for a record number of 12 times for Murder, She Wrote, she never won (also a record). Would that losing streak be stopped if Jessica returned to solve one more case? For now, that’s still a mystery. Stay tuned!