MURDER, SHE WROTE Festival Takes Over Mendocino Coast Each Year

A segment from THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW shines a light on an annual fan festival in Mendocino, California, dedicated to MURDER, SHE WROTE, the long-running mystery series that used the Mendocino Coast as its primary filming backdrop. Kelly speaks with Anne, the director of the Kelley House Museum, a historical nonprofit based in Mendocino, who dialed in to describe how the event pays tribute to the classic television series each year.

Anne detailed several of the festival's traditions, including a race in which participants dress in grey tracksuits to mimic Jessica Fletcher, the amateur sleuth at the center of the original series. The Kelley House Museum, which organizes the event, uses the festival to connect the region's history with its pop-culture legacy as the stand-in for the fictional town of Cabot Cove.

MURDER, SHE WROTE has seen renewed attention in recent years beyond the Mendocino festival circuit. As previously reported by BroadwayWorld, Universal is set to release a feature film adaptation in December 2027, with Jamie Lee Curtis starring as Jessica Fletcher. The project has been in development at Universal for several years, with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo writing the screenplay.