‘Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Series’ Blu-ray (review)

Universal Studios

Simply, Murder, She Wrote is the TV equivalent of a warm cup of tea on a rainy day—or maybe more like a cup of poisoned tea, given the body count.

For 12 seasons, Murder, She Wrote was a cozy crime-solving comfort blanket that somehow turned the quiet fishing village of Cabot Cove, Maine into the deadliest place on Earth.

Now,with the Blu-ray release of the complete series fans can watch Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher crack cases with little more than her typewriter, razor-sharp intuition, and that knowing glimmer in her eye.

Jessica Fletcher isn’t just the heart of the show—she is the show. Think of her as your favorite aunt: sweet, smart, always baking something (probably a clue-filled pie), and just happens to have a trail of suspicious corpses in her wake.

Angela Lansbury, who racked up 12 Emmy nominations and four Golden Globes, plays Jessica as a retired English teacher turned bestselling mystery writer who can sniff out a lie faster than you can say “red herring.”

She’s a charming contradiction: gentle but sharp, grandmotherly but gutsy, and always a step ahead of the local authorities who keep letting her do their jobs for them.

Jessica’s circle includes a cozy bunch of recurring characters who give Cabot Cove its sleepy, if suspicious, charm.

There’s Dr. Seth Hazlitt (William Windom), the town’s grumpy-but-loveable physician with a dry wit and a suspicious immunity to murder. Sheriff Amos Tupper (Tom Bosley) is the original well-meaning dunce who wisely lets Jessica take the lead, later replaced by Sheriff Mort Metzger (Ron Masak)—a former NYPD cop who brings a little more edge but still knows who’s really in charge. And then there’s her poor nephew Grady (Michael Horton), who might as well be wearing a “Please Frame Me” sign, as he somehow finds himself caught up in multiple crimes across his 12 appearances.

Beyond the Cove, there are MI6 agents, private eyes, nosy mayors, gossipy hairdressers, and flirty real estate agents—all part of the ever-expanding “Jessiverse.”

And then there’s Cabot Cove itself—America’s deadliest coastal town with a murder rate that could make a war zone blush. Officially home to about 3,500 people, Cabot Cove somehow racks up more bodies per year than most countries. At this point, it’s less of a town and more of a murder-themed escape room.

Of course, the show never points this out. The lobster traps are always full, the sunsets are always golden, and no one ever seems to question why buying a house there comes with life insurance. It’s pure, unintentional comedy gold—and fans love it.

The series kicked off with the series pilot, The Murder of Sherlock Holmes in 1984, instantly laying down the winning formula: someone dies, everyone’s a suspect, Jessica quietly notices something odd, and by the end, she’s politely cornering the killer in a library or garden party.

Early seasons stayed mostly in Cabot Cove, but soon Jessica was jet-setting around the world—solving murders in big cities, cruise ships, and suspiciously themed dinner parties. Seasons 4 through 8 are the sweet spot, where the mysteries were tight, the guest stars were plentiful, and Jessica was in peak sleuth mode. Later seasons tried to shake things up with her teaching criminology in New York or narrating stories where she barely appeared, but the show always worked best when Jessica was front and center, interrogating suspects with a smile.

Speaking of guest stars—Murder, She Wrote is a buffet of familiar faces.

George Takei plays a shady London businessman. Bryan Cranston shows up as a jittery groom before he broke bad. Courteney Cox joins a circus. Leslie Nielsen, Jerry Orbach, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Neil Patrick Harris—you name the era, and someone from it probably turned up as a red herring. The series featured dozens of recognizable actors including George Clooney, Shirley Jones,  Joaquin Phoenix, Andy Garcia,Mickey Rooney, George Segal, Kevin McCarthy, Earl Holliman, Pat Morita, Tom Wopat, John Astin, Loretta Swit, John Saxon, Ken Howard, Daphne Maxwell Reid, Harvey Fierstein, Bill Maher, Roxie Roker, Cynthia Nixon, Jenny Lewis, Jo Ann Worley, Kate Mulgrew, Vicki Lawrence, Claude Akins, Claude Akins, Robert Pine, Wayne Rogers, Jeff Conaway, Wings Hauser, Chad Everett, Pat Harrington Jr, Geoffrey Lewis, Jessica Walter, William Atherton, Grant Goodeve, Cliff DeYoung, Norman Lloyd, Paul Gleason, Lee Meriwether, John Rhys-Davies, Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Gregory Sierra, Gregg Henry, Charles Napier, Lyle Waggoner, and Julie Adams. Watching an episode became a game of “Where do I know that guy from?” and added an extra layer of fun for the viewer.

What really keeps Murder, She Wrote alive is how ridiculously watchable it is.

The formula is as soothing as a lullaby. There’s a murder, a mystery, a satisfying resolution—and no gore, no grim nihilism, just good old-fashioned clue-chasing with moral clarity and a wink. Jessica’s a rare TV unicorn: an older, independent woman who gets to be the smartest person in the room without ever breaking a sweat. S

he’s not solving crimes for attention or revenge—she just wants the truth, and maybe a quiet afternoon with her typewriter.

Despite critics who sometimes rolled their eyes at the show’s formula or the ridiculous murder rate, but fans embraced those quirks as part of the charm. It’s why Murder, She Wrote still runs in reruns, thrives on streaming, and now, looking and sounding better than ever in this Blu-ray collection.

Containing all 264 episodes, and four TV movies, the set also includes featurettes, archival interviews, the Magnum P.I. crossover episode, The Sleuth Channel’s America’s Top Sleuths special, and The Great 80’s Flashback.

Bottom line: Murder, She Wrote is timeless.

It’s a love letter to armchair detectives, a cozy mystery with brains, heart, and just enough absurdity to keep things spicy. Whether you’re rewatching for the hundredth time or solving your first Cabot Cove case, Jessica Fletcher is ready—magnifying glass in hand, suspects in her sights, and one eyebrow forever arched in quiet suspicion.