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Angela Lansbury “Terribly Pleased and Relieved” That Murder, She Wrote Reboot With Octavia Spencer Was Scrapped

Angela Lansbury and Octavia Spencer
Angela Lansbury says she's "terribly pleased and relieved" that NBC has pulled the plug on its proposed reboot of Murder, She Wrote with Octavia Spencer

Good riddance! Dame Angela Lansbury wasn't at all sad to see that NBC had pulled the plug on its proposed reboot of her beloved series Murder, She Wrote. In fact, the 88-year-old actress told the BBC she was "terribly pleased and relieved" by the news. 

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"I knew it was a terrible mistake," she said of the series, which would have starred Octavia Spencer in a version of Lansbury's Jessica Fletcher role. "I didn't want to sully the memory."

Nor did she want the show to sully Oscar winner Spencer's resume. "Octavia Spencer is a superb actress," Lansbury added. "She had no business being put into a situation that she couldn't win."

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Of course, this isn't the first time the theater veteran has expressed her less-than-favorable opinion of the reboot. She also voiced her objections in an interview with the Associated Press when the show was first announced back in November.

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"I think it's a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote, 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," the British star said at the time.

Lansbury played the role of Jessica Fletcher for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996. During that time, she was nominated for 10 Golden Globe Awards and 12 Emmys for the role.

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