Cabot Cove's local mayor Sam Booth is running for re-election as others seek to claim his job in hopes of pushing for change within town, including new property developments. When a young woman, Annie Mae Chapman, arrives in town with claims he is the father of her children, Sam refutes the claims as the news hits his reputation badly. Jessica suspects there is more to the matter when she begins doubting the woman's story and the reason for her appearance in town. When Chapman is later found murdered in her motel room, Metzger is forced to investigate, especially when Jessica soon discovers the victim was a set-up and that one of Sam's opponents may have been trying to influence the election. A carnival comes to Cabot Cove in the midst of several burglaries, but doesn't seem to make very much money. Things only get worse when a married couple employed by the carnival are accused of murdering the troupe leader ( Bradford Dillman), and the woman turns out to be Sheriff Metzger's ex-girlfriend. While in Texas on a book tour, Jessica is horrified when news reports claim she was arrested in the town of Bremerton. Seeking to clear up the matter with the local sheriff, she soon discovers that a local woman, Marge Allen, posed as her to investigate kennel owner Simon McCauley. Meeting with Allen's friends, who run a fan club for Jessica's work, she soon becomes embroiled in a new murder mystery when Allen is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Discovering she was last seen heading to confront McCauley, who has also died in a suspected shooting accident, the mystery writer calls on the club to help her out. She soon suspects Allen may have stumbled onto a murder and had to be silenced. One of Jessica's writing students is framed for murdering a crime boss, whom the police had just found evidence proving he killed the student's father - after he was tried and acquitted.

Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher (1984–1996; 264 episodes), a retired English teacher who, after being widowed in her early 50s, becomes a very successful mystery writer. The only cast member to appear in every episode as the series is centred around her.Harmetz, Aljean (October 27, 1985). "Angela Lansbury's unlikely sleuth has staying power". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013 . Retrieved August 20, 2010. Jessica's friend ( Loretta Swit) makes a statue for an art exhibition that is subsequently used to kill the gallery owner. Note: While this episode takes place in Cabot Cove and features Doctor Seth Hazlet, Sheriff Metzger, and Deputy Sheriff Floyd, Jessica Fletcher only appears briefly in a phone conversation. A newcomer ( Mary Crosby) to Cabot Cove gets the lead role in the community play, as a woman accused of witchcraft in the 1600s. But the aspiring actress is subsequently suspected of being the real thing, and is eventually framed for murdering a judge, who was also the magistrate in the play. Jessica attends the revival of a play she performed in with her late husband, in which she became friends with the two leading stars, Julian Lord and Maggie Tarrow, who are due to perform in it once again. When Tarrow is frightened out of her part, her understudy Barbara Bennington takes over her role. Bennington is much delighted for this, even though others are not, but soon her debut performance ends in tragedy when she dies on stage during the next performance, after unknowingly ingesting cyanide. Jessica is forced help the local chief of police, who is performing in the play, to investigate the matter, and soon discovers the motive is linked to a dark secret connected with one of the cast.

An occultist/author is in Cabot Cove to research an infamous house and its history for a book. He also believes the house's current inhabitant, a mysterious man, is a vampire, which works against him when the home owner is later murdered with a stake in his heart. However, the murder may be related to a local woman who has been missing for months.

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In December 2009, casual game developer and publisher Legacy Interactive, under license with Universal Pictures Digital Platforms Group (UPDPG), announced the release a PC and Macintosh video game, Murder, She Wrote, based on the television series. In the game, players help Jessica Fletcher to solve five unusual murders. [48] [49] A sequel, Murder She Wrote 2, was launched by Legacy Interactive in November 2012. [50] Murder, She Wrote". Television Academy. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022 . Retrieved October 31, 2021. Blistein, Jon (October 11, 2022). "Angela Lansbury, Tony Winner and 'Murder, She Wrote' Star, Dead at 96". Rolling Stone . Retrieved March 3, 2023. In the deaths of a wealthy Southern eccentric and his daughter, the man's dog is the prime suspect.

There's no business like show business, as Jessica learns when she travels to Hollywood to discuss a screen adaptation, but ends up on a case involving the deaths both of a movie memorabilia fanatic ( John Astin) and a legendary director. While helping a friend launch a new TV show in Aspen, Jessica and investigator Charlie Garrett look into a mysterious death with a multi-million dollar payout.Jessica meets with her former student Carol McDermott, an assistant at a local tennis grounds who is helping with the arrangements for a charity tennis tournament. Despite problematic players, Carol is looking forward to marrying her fiancé Brian East, another player in the tournament. However, the night after Brian wins an important match, Carol's car is destroyed in an explosion, killing him when he attempts to drive it. Carol soon begins to suffer from her loss, and police begin to question her sanity when the lead detective on the case is later murdered in her home. Concerned for Carol's safety, Jessica investigates and begins to uncover the truth behind both murders. Jessica helps a neighbor in her New York building who has a phobia about leaving her apartment since she saw her mother murdered five years ago. Murder, She Wrote was mostly filmed on sound stages at Universal Studios in Universal City, California (near Los Angeles). [14] The series also filmed exterior shots and some episodes on location in the Northern California town of Mendocino, which stood in for the fictional Maine town of Cabot Cove. [14] Lansbury considers retirement in 1988 [ edit ] Angela Lansbury in September 1989 A local radio station gets a new, state-of-the-art transmission tower, with the owner's ( Lyman Ward) corpse as a last-minute accessory. John Astin as Harry Pierce (3 episodes, 1984–1985), a local real estate agent. In his final appearance, Pierce briefly becomes Sheriff when Amos Tupper retires but turns out to be unsuitable for the job. Astin had previously appeared in the season 1 episode "Hooray for Homicide", and later appeared in the season 11 episode "Film Flam", portraying different characters.

Jessica invites viewers to hear the tale of Jake Ballinger, a police lieutenant assigned to teach a criminology class at a local university. Attempting to have no students for his class, his efforts only lead to him finding two students willing to remain. Intrigued, he decides to put them to work on reinvestigating a murder case he has doubts about. Several months ago, Ballinger was investigating the death of Janet Carr, a young woman who was found dead by a drifter that was later charged with the crime. Believing there was more behind the case, especially as his teaching assignment was punishment for not letting the case be closed, Ballinger and his two students discover a connection between the victim and state senator who forced the investigation's closure. In August 1988, Lansbury expressed weariness of her commitment to the series as she was not sure, at 63, that she could continue at the pace now required of her; she specifically cited the change from seven to eight days to shoot each episode. Thus, Murder, She Wrote went into its fifth season that autumn with the distinct possibility that it would cease production at the end of it and the series finale would air in May 1989. David Everett, a former boyfriend of Jessica, arrives in Cabot Cove to work with a group seeking out 18th century treasure that was lost off the coast. Jessica learns that the group are involved in a tontine regarding the treasure, which allows each member to have a bigger share of the reward if one of them dies. She soon becomes concerned behind the arrangements when one of the group is nearly killed in a serious accident, but then the matter turns grim when another member is murdered in what appears to be a hit-and-run. As Everett faces suspicion, after he is found to be deep in debt, Seth soon discovers the victim died via a different method. Jessica eventually becomes convinced that treasure may not be the motive behind the murder. Jessica's latest novel causes uproar when it resembles a case where a video store owner ( George Segal) was accused of murdering his wife 5 years earlier. As a result, the man sues Jessica, only to end up murdered as well.Jessica's night out at a concert in Washington D.C. takes a drastic turn when Michael Haggerty involves her and her escort in helping with the defection of two East German musicians. Taken to the British embassy, Michael reveals that one of the musicians is in serious danger after the Stazi discovered he was helping western intelligence. Before both of them can do anything else a fellow British spy helping Haggarty with the defection is found dead in the embassy's garden. A physician within the embassy grounds confirms the victim was stabbed with a needle that had been coated with poison. Jessica and Haggarty question everyone who was active at the time, but as the planned defection looks set to fall apart, Jessica begins to have an answer behind the motive for the crime. A documentary film about a Cabot Cove Legend becomes more of a suspense-thriller when the director is killed and Jessica is forced to seek clues frame by frame. Jessica's niece Victoria Griffin is now working as a realtor agent after her husband's TV series is cancelled, and her first commission resides with the sale of an estate in Beverly Hills. The owner, Deborah Tarkington, is unwilling to sell to a buyer who seeks the property for a major development, leaving Victoria in a difficult position. But when Tarkington is found dead in her home, the police arrest Jessica's niece for the crime as the murder weapon bore her fingerprints. The mystery writer is convinced the police are mistaken, and works to prove Victoria's innocence, believing the real killer is among the parties who were interested in the victim's mansion. Tom Bosley as Sheriff Amos Tupper (1984–1988; 19 episodes), Cabot Cove's sheriff at the start of the series. Tupper later retires and goes to live with his sister.