Octavia Spencer to Star in NBC Reboot of MURDER, SHE WROTE

Deadline reports that Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer will star in a reboot of the long-running mystery series MURDER, SHE WROTE for NBC. Alexandra Cunningham will pen the pilot script while David Janollari produces.

The hour-long project, which currently has a pilot commitment from the peacock network, will be a re-imagining of the long-running CBS series which starred Angela Lansbury. The series is described as, "a light, contemporary procedural in the vein of Bones or Fargo, it follows a hospital administrator and amateur sleuth (Spencer) who self-publishes her first mystery novel. Set in a day where sensational headlines inundate the news, this woman's avid fascination with true crime leads her to become an active participant in the investigations"

The project marks the first series regular role for 'The Help' star who just this week, guest starred on the new CBS comedy Mom opposite her film co-star Alison Janney. Her other TV credits include the 2001 Sci Fi Channel series The Chronicle.

Commented Spencer, "I've always considered myself an armchair detective and in a recent meeting with 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," she said. "I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with Dave Janollari again, and Alex Cunningham a brilliant writer who shares my love for all things mysterious and Angela Lansbury."

Cunningham added, "Octavia and I are both huge true crime buffs, amateur criminologists, and fans of Angela Lansbury," she said. "To get the chance to reimagine Murder, She Wrote for a dynamic and multi-faceted actress like Octavia is a thrill and a pleasure."

The original Murder, She Wrote garnered 12 Emmy nominations for Lansbury. The series premiered in 1984 and aired for 12 seasons, spawning four follow-up TV movies as well as a spinoff series, The Law & Harry McGraw. According to the report, the original theme music will likely remain in this latest incarnation.

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