What Happened on the Last Episode of ‘Murder, She Wrote’ & How Did It End?
With news circulating about a reboot film starring Jamie Lee Curtis, there’s never been a better time to brush up on Murder, She Wrote — and to remember how Angela Lansbury‘s blockbuster series ended. After 12 seasons, Jessica Fletcher solved her final crime on May 19, 1996. And its plot had some subtle parallels to the actual circumstances behind Murder, She Wrote‘s cancellation.
Why Was Murder, She Wrote Cancelled?
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In 1995, CBS moved the series from the Sunday night slot it had occupied for the previous 11 years, to an 8pm slot on Thursdays, to compete with NBC’s youth-oriented “Must-See TV” sitcom block. This move proved utterly disastrous for Murder, She Wrote. After over a decade in the top 10, Murder, She Wrote finished its 12th season as the 58th most popular show in the U.S. CBS then opted not to renew it for a 13th season.
In its final season, Murder, She Wrote aired multiple episodes that reflected the struggles the show was experiencing in its new time slot. The episode “Murder Among Friends” had Jessica investigating a murder on the set of a Friends-like sitcom called Buds — rather sharp commentary, considering that Friends was one of the shows that was beating Murder, She Wrote in the ratings.
The final episode also reflected the show’s struggles, with a plot about an older, experienced professional who is being replaced by a brash, tasteless newcomer. Its title? “Death by Demographics.”
What Happened in the Episode?
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Jessica Fletcher journeys to San Francisco to appear on a local radio show. But classical music DJ Howard Deems (played by M*A*S*H‘s David Ogden Stiers), who Jessica has known for years, is being pushed out of his job. The radio station wants to start appealing to a younger audience, and have decided to change formats to focus on rock music — and replace Howard with a brash, trashy younger DJ named T.T. Baines.
Howard is despondent about his future as an older, unemployed radio DJ. And when an anonymous assassin shoots at T.T. Baines, Howard is the prime suspect.
As Jessica works to clear Howard’s name, the episode weighs in on the topic of generational warfare, with suspects who are all either older people whose lives are being disrupted by cultural change, or younger people who want to unseat their elders.
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The station’s older owner is shown being manipulated by his much-younger new girlfriend, Lauren. And the radio station’s change is being masterminded by Russ, a ruthless young businessman who travels from town to town, overhauling radio stations to make them appeal to younger people. When an older executive at the station exclaims that with the format change, “we’re going to lose our entire audience,” Russ counters that the station will “replace it with 12 to 18-year-olds. The ones who spend serious money on new products and new ideas.”
Russ then decides that Howard will be allowed back on the air — but only if he agrees to an on-air debate with T.T. about which generation’s values are superior. Howard participates but is appalled. And when Russ shows up dead soon after, Howard’s arrested and charged with the crime.
Universal Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Jessica discovers that Lauren and Russ are actually a pair of con artists — in each new city, Lauren would become romantically involved with older male radio station owners and persuade them to allow Russ to remake their stations. In San Francisco, Russ realized that a station employee was embezzling funds, and used that information to blackmail the employee into shooting at T.T. — it was never meant to hit him, and was intended only as a publicity stunt.
Russ’s brutal antics have clearly gotten him killed. But who did him in? In a brilliant scheme, Jessica goes live on the air and announces that Lauren is the killer … which causes real killer T.T. to admit that he murdered Russ to protect Lauren from Russ’s cruel schemes.
At the episode’s end, Howard — and older people in general — are totally vindicated, as the station switches back to classical, and Howard and his senior-aged producer return. And the station’s advertising rates are better than ever — “the advertisers,” Howard declares, “seem to have finally discovered the idea that people like us are an invaluable segment of the market.”
Did Jessica Fletcher Decide to Stop Solving Mysteries?
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The episode doesn’t end with any wrap-up for the series, or look at Jessica’s future. This might be because Jessica actually didn’t stop solving mysteries; four Murder, She Wrote made-for-TV movies aired between 1997 and 2003. Though that wasn’t quite as big a win as Howard being allowed back on air, it did prove that there was still interest in the show and in TV featuring older actors — interest that continues today, over 20 years since the last special hit the airwaves.
If you want a little more Jessica Fletcher in your life, you can check out Roku’s Murder, She Wrote channel, which airs episodes of the series all day, every day.
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