Evidently undeterred by the swift, public demise of Ironside, NBC has decided to double down on its “Hey, let’s reboot a beloved show about an old person solving crime!” strategy and push ahead with a reimagining of Murder, She Wrote starring Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer. Yup. HAPPENING.
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. [Deadline]
Spencer says she got the role after a meeting with NBC president Bob Greenblatt in which he asked her what kind of role could bring her to TV and she replied, “J.B. Fletcher meets Columbo,” which brings up an important point: if NBC is really, really committed to this rebooting/remimaging-old-murder-dramas strategy, there is no reason — NOT A SINGLE ONE — why we can’t have a updated version of Matlock starring Terrence Howard on television by Fall 2015. Make the call, Greenblatt.
