‘Murder, She Wrote’ Reboot Idea Dropped by NBC

Pilot would have starred Octavia Spencer

Angela Lansbury has gotten her wish.

NBC has decided not to go forward with its proposed reboot of Lansbury’s series “Murder, She Wrote,” an individual with knowledge of the decision told TheWrap on Tuesday.

Also read: Angela Lansbury: ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Reboot ‘a Mistake’

The reboot, which received a put-pilot commitment from the network, would have starred Octavia Spencer as a writer who solved mysteries and was described as a “light, contemporary procedural, in the vein of ‘Bones’ or ‘Fargo.’”

David Janollari (“Six Feet Under”) was executive producer.

Also read: Cory Hardrict to Star in ‘Car Dogs’ With George Lopez, Octavia Spencer (Exclusive)

The project was met with criticism by Lansbury, who starred in the original CBS series for 12 seasons. In an interview late last year, Lansbury said that she respected Spencer’s work but called the project a “mistake.”

“I think it’s a mistake to call it ‘Murder, She Wrote,’” Lansbury said, “because ‘Murder, She Wrote’ will always be about a Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person.”

Deadline first reported the news that NBC had abandoned the project.

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