First Kerry Washington, then Halle Berry, and now Octavia Spencer is the latest A-list Black actress to land a high profile TV gig.
According to Deadline, Spencer has agreed to star in a rebooted and updated version of the mega successful series Murder, She Wrote, which originally starred Angela Lansbury.
As of right now, it’s only been assigned a pilot and it’s being described as an hourlong procedural drama. Spencer will play a hospital administrator and writer who self-publishes her first mystery novel. But her affinity for crime leads her to solve real-life murders.
“I’ve always considered myself an armchair detective and in a recent meeting with Bob Greenblatt (NBC’s Chairman), he asked me what type of character would be able to lure me to TV,” said the Oscar winner. “Naturally I said ‘J.B. Fletcher’ meets ‘Colombo’ and here we are.”
Murder, She Wrote grew into an incredibly successful TV series. Lansbury received a whopping 12 Emmy nominations for her role. The show went on for 12 seasons before wrapping up in 1996. (You know you watched those marathons.) It also spawned four TV movies.
Let’s hope this reboot doesn’t get The Ironside treatment.