Where Was Murder She Wrote Filmed? An Intriguing Crime Series Of 1984!!

Do you like watching legendary shows from the past? Well, if you do then I’m sure you must’ve watched the famous crime series, Murder She Wrote. But do you know, where was Murder She Wrote filmed? No worries, if you don’t know, because today I will give you an overview of, Murder She Wrote. And also discuss its filming location with you!

The American crime drama series, Murder She Wrote released in 1984 was one of the top successful shows to air on CBS network, ever! Creator of the show, Richard Levinson, presents the intriguing story of a writer, who solves complex murder cases like it’s a doddle! The ingenious central character of Jessica Fletcher, was venerated by audiences for years.

Murder She Wrote has a total of 12 seasons, and 264 episodes in total. The series kept growing on its audience, since its inception. And generated high viewership throughout its run! The old school mystery series was equally adored by critics as well. It received 55 nominations in total and went on to win 34 prestigious awards, including 2 Primetime Emmys!

But, before I let you in on where was Murder She Wrote filmed. Let’s briefly discuss the plot of the series! So that you can get a better understanding of the actual storyline.

Plot Of Murder She Wrote | What’s It About

At the very beginning of the series, Murder She Wrote, we are introduced to the central character of Jessica Fletcher, a widowed English teacher, living in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, in Maine.

Later in the show, Jessica takes on the literary path to become a successful and famed mystery writer. But the female lead doesn’t stop there, instead she employs her intellect and intuition to solve real crime cases. 

Midway through the series, after establishing herself as an amateur detective, who uses her intuition to aid the police force in apprehending the real criminals. Jessica is also shown to conduct criminology classes for the new recruits, to acquaint them with the mindset of delirious delinquents or even the endemic criminals. 

Towards the end of the series, Jessica’s esteemed reputation presents her with an opportunity to visit England and Ireland. She even presents her counsel to the Scotland Yard detectives, in order to solve a complex homicide scene, abroad.

The series finally ends, as Jessica retires from actively aiding the police in investigations. But, masterfully jots down, all the adventurous and thrilling cases that she solved over the years, in the book, “Murder, She Wrote”.

Alright, dear friends, it’s time for us to find out where was Murder She Wrote filmed. So that you can enjoy the idyllic filming locations of this crime thriller series!

Where Was Murder She Wrote Filmed? Let’s Know This Crime Drama Show Closely!!

Creators of the show, Murder She Wrote, initally convinced the production unit head to choose Maine, as its main filming location! (pun intended) However, upon further discussion the production head selected California as the major filming location of the show. Now most of the episodes were filmed in various cities of California. But to shoot a particular season which showed an International crime case, the production unit had to travel overseas to Ireland.

The principal photography of season 1 began in May 1983 and was completed in just 3 months. Every other season also followed the same pattern of filming during the summers, and took more or less 3-4 months to complete! Meanwhile, you can also check out these mind bending shows, such as Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The Wire which were also filmed in a relatively short span of time.

So, without any further ado, let’s discuss where was Murder She Wrote filmed, in depth. And find out more about the exact shooting spots!

Mendocino, California

The coastal community of Mendocino, located in the northern part of California, was the first location that the production unit reached. Blair House Inn, a medium sized house was selected to portray Jessica’s home in the series. Located at 45110 Little Lake St. this property had to be turned around by the production unit, to make it look like a cozy Victorian style house of Cabot Cove. The exterior shots of the house were taken to depict Fletcher’s home.

Other sequences which featured the surroundings of the fictional town of Cabot Cove, were filmed in and around the community of Mendocino. The production unit kept the same filming location till season 8.  Here’s a couple of movies that you can watch such as Inception and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which were also filmed in California

Los Angeles, California

Then the production crew moved to Los Angeles, to capture the sequences of important episodes. Bronson Canyon located at 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Parker Center and Hollywood Methodist Church were all used for filming different episodes that portrayed several crime scenes in the show. Finally the crew moved to Universal Studios, located at 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City to film the interior scenes. 

Sequences which depicted the Lake of Singapore, the Train Station of London, Square of Warriors, and Tower of London were filmed in the backlot of the studio. A separate set was built to shoot each sequence for the respective episodes that these monuments and places featured in.

Republic of Ireland

The production crew traveled to the Republic of Ireland to shoot the sequences of a particular season. The exterior shot of a house in Galway was taken, which depicted the habitat of an Internationally infamous criminal in the series. The filming at this location was completed in a week’s time. The production unit then moved back to America and shot the remaining episodes of the seasons that followed in Los Angeles. The interior shots of the murderer’s house was also filmed in the studio in California.

Here’s a couple places in the Republic of Ireland that you can look into such as Dublin, Cork, Killarney, Limerick and Kerry which are famous amongst tourists.

Final Words

Ok guys, now that you’ve gone through the basic premise of the show. And know where was Murder She Wrote filmed. I hope you enjoyed the read! Do mention your thoughts in the comment section below! And don’t forget to check out other exciting articles on Viebly. See you soon.