NBC has given a put pilot commitment to a re-imagining of “Murder, She Wrote” with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer taking over for Angela Lansbury as a writer who solves mysteries.
Written by “Desperate Housewives” executive producer Alexandra Cunningham, it’s described by NBC as a “light, contemporary procedural, in the vein of ‘Bones’ or ‘Fargo.’”
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Spencer, who won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for “The Help,” will play a hospital administrator who self-publishes her first mystery novel. Her fascination with true crime leads to her solving murders herself.
David Janollari (“Six Feet Under”) will executive-produce the series. The put pilot commitment means NBC will have to pay a penalty if the pilot does not air.
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The original “Murder, She Wrote” ran for 12 seasons on CBS.