"Murder, She Wrote" ran for more than a decade. Even after the television series' conclusion, it has continued air regularly. It has continued to maintain and attract viewers and has gained a 'cult' status.

The show was originally broadcast on CBS, but it had been distributed and produced by Universal Television. And now it seems that the Universal brand is re-visiting the franchise. But this time, it's Universal Pictures.

A cinematic version is in early development

A cinematic take on "Murder, She Wrote" has started being worked on, Collider and Yahoo report.

Progress has begun on it, but has been stalled for quite some time. This is evidently due to the ongoing strikes in the film and television industry.

Work on the project has gotten as far as finding a producer and a screenwriting duo. But most likely not much, if any, more than that. Amy Pascal has been tapped to serve as producer for the film. Her previous projects include 2019's "Little Women", "The Post" and several "Spider-Man" films. Meanwhile, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo have been tasked with formulating the script.

"Murder, She Wrote" starred Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, a teacher who became a successful mystery novelist. Jessica hails from tiny Cabot Cove in southern Maine.

Whether there, at her second home in New York City or elsewhere, she has a knack for encountering murders. As well as for solving the cases at a much more proficient rate than the respective law enforcement officers involved.

Likely at least in part due to Lansbury, many established cinematic icons made guest appearances on the series.

And many then up-and-coming actors and actresses who became superstars themselves also appeared. While there were a number of recurring names, Lansbury was the only actual regular cast member of the show.

The series' title is a nod to the 1961 movie "Murder, She Said". Which was an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel originally known as "4.50 from Paddington".

Lansbury had previously starred in two adaptations of Christie novels. One of which, 1978's "Death on the Nile", she received a BAFTA nomination for.

"Murder, She Wrote" was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. It twice won the Golden Globe for Best TV Series - Drama and was nominated another four times. Lansbury also received a slew of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her performances. She would win in the latter category on four occasions. She also notched a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination along the way.

Not the first attempt a reboot

"Murder, She Wrote" spawned a short-lived spin-off entitled "The Law & Harry McGraw" which starred Jerry Orbach.

It also featured a crossover with "Magnum, P.I." that became rather famous. After "Murder, She Wrote" concluded, the franchise continued with Lansbury returning in four television Movies. But there was also another attempt at creating another tv show with the same title.

At one point, Octavia Spencer was attached to star in a new version of the series. Spencer was to have played a nurse-turned-mystery-writer who frequently solves homicides. Development on the project sputtered out soon after it was announced. Even Angela Lansbury, while expressing admiration for Spencer, was openly skeptical of the potential series.

A voluminous amount of tie-in novels have been released over the years. As well as a board game and multiple video games.
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