History Trivia / MurderSheWrote

** [[Creator/LevinsonAndLink Richard Levison and William Link]] originally conceived the series as a starring vehicle for {{Creator/Jean Stapleton}} of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' fame. When she turned the project down, they sent the pilot script to Angela Lansbury because of her work in two previous film adaptations of {{Creator/Agatha Christie}} novels.[[note]]1978's ''[[Film/DeathOnTheNile1978 Death on the Nile]]'' and 1980's ''The Mirror Crack'd''[[/note]] Luckily, Lansbury saw great potential in the Jessica Fletcher character, and the rest is history.

** [[Creator/LevinsonAndLink Richard Levison and William Link]] originally conceived the series as a starring vehicle for {{Creator/Jean Stapleton}} of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' fame. When she turned the project down, they sent the pilot script to Angela Langsbury because of her work in two previous film adaptations of {{Creator/Agatha Christie}} novels.[[note]]1978's ''[[Film/DeathOnTheNile1978 Death on the Nile]]'' and 1980's ''The Mirror Crack'd''[[/note]] Luckily, Lansbury saw great potential in the Jessica Fletcher character, and the rest is history.

** [[Creator/LevinsonAndLink Richard Levison and William Link]] originally conceived the series as a starring vehicle for {{Creator/Jean Stapleton}} of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' fame. When she turned the project down, they sent the pilot script to Angela Lansbury because of her work in two previous film adaptations of {{Creator/Agatha Christie}} novels.[[note]]Specifically, 1978's ''[[Film/DeathOnTheNile1978 Death on the Nile]]'' and 1980's ''The Mirror Crack'd''[[/note]] Luckily, Lansbury saw great potential in the Jessica Fletcher character, and the rest is history.

** [[Creator/LevinsonAndLink Richard Levison and William Link]] originally conceived the series as a starring vehicle for {{Creator/Jean Stapleton}} of ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' fame. When she turned the project down, they sent the pilot script to Angela Langsbury because of her work in two previous film adaptations of {{Creator/Agatha Christie}} novels.[[note]]Specifically, 1978's ''[[Film/DeathOnTheNile1978 Death on the Nile]]'' and 1980's ''The Mirror Crack'd''[[/note]] Luckily, Lansbury saw great potential in the Jessica Fletcher character, and the rest is history.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Levinson & Link would have continued to helm the series on their own if not for Richard Levinson's death during the first season. William Link opted to leave the series production as a result, only writing a few scripts.

* NamesTheSame: "Old Habits Die Hard" has a seemingly-JerkAss boyfriend character named Michael Phelps.
** In "Murder at a Discount", Creator/GeorgeSegal's character is named [[Music/JanesAddiction Dave Navarro]].

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Happened during the 12th and final season. The show had spent most of its run on Sunday nights and had gotten excellent ratings in the process. However, after Leslie Moonves became president of CBS Entertainment in 1995 before the 12th season began, he moved it to Thursday nights opposite ''Series/{{Friends}}'' - a show that, ironically, he had previously helped to produce back when he was president of Creator/WarnerBros Television. Many longtime fans of ''Series/MurderSheWrote'' angrily protested the scheduling change, and openly suspected Moonves of deliberately making the move in order to kill the show and, therefore, make room for new programs which he had greenlit.
** Needless to say the move to Thursday was a disaster for the show as the ratings dropped from the top 10 all the way to 58 and led to the show ending its run.
** This is why they made the episode "Murder Among Friends".

** In one episode Sheriff Metzger gets a new deputy called Olsen who says he reminds her of her father, which makes since as she's played by Ron Masak's daughter Kathryn Masak.

*** Beyond that, the number of actors that came back for three or more appearances as separate characters is quite lengthy, though some notable ones include [[Franchise/StarTrek Kate Mulgrew]], [[Series/ArrestedDevelopment Jessica]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} Walter]], Bradford Dillman, Creator/JohnRhysDavies, Martin Milner, Monte Markham, Gregg Henry, Creator/BryanCranston, Creator/CluGulager, Kevin [=McCarthy=] and Eugene Roche.

* ImageSource:
** MysteryMagnet
** LittleOldLadyInvestigates

** The pilot episode, "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes," becomes an UnintentionalPeriodPiece thanks to this trope. When Jessica encounters the two young thugs in the alley, she threatens to call the police, but one of the thugs points out that it would be impossible for her to do so because ''she couldn't possibly have a phone in her purse''.

* {{Tuckerization}}: A minor example. Jessica's maiden name is Macgill, which was the stage name of Angela Lansbury's mother, Irish actress Moyra Macgill.

* ActingForTwo: Creator/AngelaLansbury played both main character Jessica Fletcher and her cousin Emma [=McGill=] in the episodes "It Runs in the Family" and "Sing a Song of Murder". She also plays her [[IdenticalGrandson Antebellum South era ancestor]], Sarah [=McCollough=], in the TV Movie ''The Last Free Man''.

** "Witness for the Defense" is supposedly set in [[UsefulNotes/{{Quebec}} Quebec]], but some interior scenes are shown to have ''green''-lettered exit signs (the norm in California). Virtually all Canadian exit signs in that style are red.

* RealLifeRelative: In later seasons, Grady is HappilyMarried to his longtime sweetheart Donna. Grady and Donna are played by Michael Horton and Debbie Zipp, who are also married in RealLife and have been since before the show began.

* {{Tuckerization}}: A minor example. Jessica's maiden name is Macgill, which was the maiden name of Angela Lansbury's mother, Irish actress Moyra Macgill.

* ActingForTwo: Creator/AngelaLansbury played both main character Jessica Fletcher and her cousin Emma [=McGill=] in the episodes "It Runs in the Family" and "Sing a Song of Murder". She also plays her [[IdenticalGrandson Antebellum South era ancestor]], Sarah [=McCollough=], in "The Last Free Man" TV movie.

* {{Defictionalization}}: An official series of ''Murder, She Wrote'' novels claiming to be written by Jessica Fletcher "with Donald Bain" started in 1989 and continues to this day. They're done in the style of the episodes though, rather than being based on the novels she's written in-series.

** Creator/LeslieNielsen is another special case in that he appears in the first season as the captain of a cruise ship when Jessica gets involved with a murder aboard the ship. The episode ends indicating they'll have a dinner date. He turns up again in season three as an old admirer of Jessica's who spots her on the street, plants a huge kiss on her lips, then shortly after gets accused of murder.
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** Needless to say the move to Thursday was a disaster for the show as the ratings dropped from the top 10 all the way to 58 in Season 12.

* ActingForTwo: Lansbury played both main character Jessica Fletcher and her cousin Emma [=McGill=] in the episodes "It Runs in the Family" and "Sing a Song of Murder". She also plays her [[IdenticalGrandson Antebellum South era ancestor]], Sarah [=McCollough=], in "The Last Free Man" TV movie.

* FakeNationality: Recurring character Dennis Stanton was never ''said'' to be British, but had a rather elegant British accent - Keith Michell was Australian.

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine:
** Creator/AngelaLansbury and Creator/JerryOrbach (Harry [=McGraw=]) were old friends from their days on Broadway. They also worked together in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' as the voices of Mrs. Potts and Lumiere, respectively. In addition, occasional guest star Creator/DavidOgdenStiers also co-starred in ''Beauty and the Beast'' as well, voicing Cogsworth.
** Tom Bosley as Amos Tupper is also notable, since he played Angela Lansbury's husband in ''Film/TheWorldOfHenryOrient''.
** Angela's costars from "Sweeney Todd" Len Cariou and George Hearn both show up as regular guest stars: Len as Michael Hagarty, the MI5 agent, and George as various characters.
** Hurd Hatfield, her costar from "Dorian Gray," also shows up in a few episodes.

* SongAssociation: If you listen to the opening scene of "No Accounting for Murder", you'll hear an instrumental version of "New York, New York" playing.
** Episodes set in Great Britain are always accompanied by an instrumental version of "Rule, Britannia" during the establishing scene.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Jean Stapleton, better known as [[Series/AllInTheFamily Edith Bunker]], was first offered the role of Jessica Fletcher. Stapleton passed - ironically, given that she's on record as being unhappy with her TypeCasting as Edith, and this show likely would have rescued her from that fate. In any event, the producers then offered the role to their second choice, Angela Lansbury, who gratefully accepted.

** Before John Astin began a three-episode run as recurring shady real estate agent Harry Pierce in Season 2, he played a film director in Season 1's "Hooray for Homicide" and returned much later in Season 11's "Flim Flam" once again playing a completely new character, Fritz Randall.

*** Beyond that, the number of actors that came back for three or more appearances as separate characters is quite lengthy, though some notable ones include [[Franchise/StarTrek Kate Mulgrew]], [[Series/ArrestedDevelopment Jessica]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}} Walter]], Bradford Dillman, [[Franchise/IndianaJones Jonathan Rhys-Davies]], Martin Milner, Monte Markham, Gregg Henry, Creator/BryanCranston, Creator/CluGulager, Kevin [=McCarthy=] and Eugene Roche.

** Leslie Nielsen is another special case in that he appears in the first season as the captain of a cruise ship when Jessica gets involved with a murder aboard the ship. The episode ends indicating they'll have a dinner date. He turns up again in season three as an old admirer of Jessica's who spots her on the street, plants a huge kiss on her lips, then shortly after gets accused of murder.

* Unlike [[Series/{{Columbo}} Levinson & Link's other famous creation]], Jessica Fletcher's London visit took place on Universal Studios' backlot.

** Creator/AngelaLansbury and Creator/JerryOrbach (Harry [=McGraw=]) were old friends from their days on Broadway. They also worked together in ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' as the voices of Mrs. Potts and Lumiere, respectively. In addition, occasional guest star Creator/DavidOgdenStiers also co-starred in ''Beauty and the Beast'' as well, voicing Cogsworth.

* {{Defictionalization}}: An official series of ''Murder, She Wrote'' novels claiming to be written by Jessica Fletcher "with Donald Bain" started in 1989 and continues to this day.

* Unlike [[Series/{{Columbo}}} Levinson & Link's other famous creation]], Jessica Fletcher's London visit took place on Universal Studios' backlot.