MysteryCrimeDrama1984–1996CBS

The Best Episodes of Murder, She Wrote

Every episode of Murder, She Wrote ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Murder, She Wrote!

Best episode
S1E18 Footnote to Murder
8.61,172 votes
Worst episode
S7E18 Where Have You Gone, Billy Boy?
6.5386 votes
Top season
Season 5
7.7avg
Binge time
8d 6h
264 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons12

All123456789101112

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Click to reveal
    Murder, She Wrote Season 1 Episode 18 - Footnote to Murder
    8.6/10(1172 votes)

    S1:E18

    An unpublished manuscript is stolen and its author murdered during an awards convention.

    Director:Peter Crane
    Writer:Robert E. Swanson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Murder, She Wrote Season 2 Episode 13 - Trial by Error
    8.5/10(842 votes)

    S2:E13

    It's a bad day for the jurors when Jessica is the foreperson of the jury hearing the case of a man claiming self-defense in the death of an enraged husband.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:Paul Savage

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Murder, She Wrote Season 3 Episode 12 - The Corpse Flew First Class
    8.5/10(767 votes)

    S3:E12

    Theft and murder of the courier occur on board a jet bound for London.

    Director:Walter Grauman
    Writer:Donald Ross

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Murder, She Wrote Season 5 Episode 21 - Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (1)
    8.5/10(626 votes)

    S5:E21

    Eudora McVeigh, a rival mystery writer, arrives at Jessica's door with seemingly friendly intentions, but the discovery of a corpse and a web of deceit follows her to Cabot Cove leading Jessica to suspect the woman of ulterior and sinister motives.

    Director:Vincent McEveety
    Writer:Peter S. Fischer

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Murder, She Wrote Season 5 Episode 22 - Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall (2)
    8.5/10(571 votes)

    S5:E22

    After Seth is hospitalized and diagnosed as poisoned, with an apple Eudora gave Jessica, she still believes in her colleague's innocence. Sheriff Metzger discovers the murdered P.I. was following her husband, Hank Shipton, and found him adulterous with rich Victor Casper's wife, Lisa. Hank's son, Bobby, is beaten up by local Arnie on account of pool bet debts. Jessica ties up all the loose ends.

    Director:Vincent McEveety
    Writer:Peter S. Fischer

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Murder, She Wrote Season 4 Episode 7 - If It's Thursday, It Must Be Beverly
    8.4/10(783 votes)

    S4:E7

    When Deputy Martin becomes a widower by murder, the investigation turns up some surprising activity.

    Director:Peter Crane
    Writer:Wendy Graf

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Murder, She Wrote

    READ
  7. Murder, She Wrote Season 7 Episode 14 - Who Killed J.B. Fletcher?
    8.4/10(614 votes)

    S7:E14

    A snoopy fan in Texas impersonates Jessica when she starts investigating a potential dog show scandal and Jessica is reported dead.

    Director:Walter Grauman
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Murder, She Wrote Season 3 Episode 21 - The Days Dwindle Down
    8.3/10(813 votes)

    S3:E21

    Thirty years ago, Sam Wilson was sent to prison for murdering his boss, Malcolm Jarvis. After finally being released, Sam goes home to his wife and now-grown son who is expecting his first child with his wife, Terry. At Georgia Jarvis' request, Jessica looks into the crime, and through flashbacks, Sam remembers when Jarvis had offered him $10,000 to make his suicide look like murder. While Jessica believes that Sam is innocent, she doesn't believe it was suicide, and asks Sam's son Rod, a police officer, to lend a hand.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Murder, She Wrote Season 5 Episode 3 - Mr. Penroy's Vacation
    8.3/10(691 votes)

    S5:E3

    The sisters used a new type of fertilizer to make their chrysanthemums best of show.

    Director:Anthony Pullen Shaw
    Writer:Robert E. Swanson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Murder, She Wrote Season 5 Episode 17 - The Sins of Castle Cove
    8.3/10(634 votes)

    S5:E17

    A red hot novel, written by a former Fletcher student, seems to expose the small town's secrets and inspires murder. Julie Adams, Gloria DeHaven, Kathryn Grayson and Ruth Roman appear again as the local gossips.

    Director:John Llewellyn Moxey
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Murder, She Wrote Season 2 Episode 14 - Keep the Home Fries Burning
    8.2/10(775 votes)

    S2:E14

    Jessica, Seth and Amos try out a new tourist-oriented restaurant, and murder interrupts their meal.

    Director:Peter Crane
    Writer:Philip Garson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Murder, She Wrote Season 2 Episode 10 - Sticks and Stones
    8.2/10(757 votes)

    S2:E10

    When a woman is electrocuted in her bathroom, Amos chuckles that even Jessica can't make a murder out of it. Michael Dugby: Parker Stevenson. Harry Pierce: John Astin. Frederich Hoffman: Paul Benedict. Adam Frobisher: Christopher Stone. Edna: Evelyn Keyes.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writers:Linda Shank, Mark Giles

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Murder, She Wrote Season 8 Episode 1 - Bite the Big Apple
    8.2/10(481 votes)

    S8:E1

    Jessica heads off to New York to begin teaching and has difficulty finding an apartment. She finally gets one that she likes, only to learn that a murder recently took place in the apartment complex and that someone desperately wants something that is inside her apartment. She's relieved when Seth comes to New York to check up on her, and enlists his help in cracking the case.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:David Moessinger

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Murder, She Wrote Season 8 Episode 12 - The Witch's Curse
    8.2/10(479 votes)

    S8:E12

    The thespians of Cabot Cove put on a play about a 17th century woman who cursed the town before she was executed as a witch.

    Director:Jerry Jameson
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Murder, She Wrote Season 6 Episode 11 - Town Father
    8.1/10(550 votes)

    S6:E11

    The town gets a shock when bachelor Mayor Sam is confronted on the speaker's platform by a young woman claiming he is the father of her five children.

    Director:John Llewellyn Moxey
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Murder, She Wrote Season 8 Episode 13 - Incident in Lot 7
    8.1/10(521 votes)

    S8:E13

    The Bates House of the movie, Psycho, is to be the setting of Jessica's book in the film made at Universal Studios.

    Director:Anthony Pullen Shaw
    Writer:J. Michael Straczynski

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Murder, She Wrote Season 7 Episode 13 - Moving Violation
    8.1/10(470 votes)

    S7:E13

    An influential father cuts no ice with Sheriff Metzger.

    Director:Anthony Pullen Shaw
    Writer:Robert E. Swanson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Murder, She Wrote Season 8 Episode 4 - Thicker Than Water
    8.1/10(440 votes)

    S8:E4

    When his younger brother Wayne, the family's black sheep, becomes chief suspect in the murder of his employer, Sherrif Metzger relies on Jessica to help him keep his perspective about the case.

    Director:Anthony Pullen Shaw
    Writer:Larry DiTillio

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Murder, She Wrote Season 2 Episode 6 - Reflections of the Mind
    8.0/10(751 votes)

    S2:E6

    Jessica decides to pay a visit to her long-time friend Francesca, only to learn that Francesca, who is now married to a much younger man, is convinced that she is being haunted by the ghost of her first husband, Ross. When her new husband, Scott, turns up dead, the investigation reveals that he had been poisoned, and suspicion turns to Francesca. Jessica, however, is determined to prove that her friend did not commit the crime, and begins looking into the mysterious re-appearances of her dead husband.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:Robert E. Swanson

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Murder, She Wrote Season 3 Episode 13 - Crossed Up
    8.0/10(729 votes)

    S3:E13

    The phone wires get crossed during a storm and Jessica can't convince anyone that what she heard was real.

    Director:David Hemmings
    Writer:Craig W. Van Sickle

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Murder, She Wrote Season 5 Episode 9 - Something Borrowed, Someone Blue
    8.0/10(645 votes)

    S5:E9

    Grady's wedding seems doomed when someone does in the persnickety housekeeper.

    Director:John Llewellyn Moxey
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Murder, She Wrote Season 4 Episode 12 - Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher's Chowder?
    8.0/10(641 votes)

    S4:E12

    Somebody laced Mrs. Fletcher's chowder and Amos' brutish brother-in-law was in for the long sleep.

    Director:John Llewellyn Moxey
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Murder, She Wrote Season 5 Episode 7 - The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel
    8.0/10(602 votes)

    S5:E7

    The airplane her late husband bailed out of in 1952 has finally been found -- with a body inside.

    Director:Vincent McEveety
    Writer:Peter S. Fischer

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Murder, She Wrote Season 9 Episode 9 - A Christmas Secret
    8.0/10(500 votes)

    S9:E9

    The return of a Gulf War veteran and his reunion with his fiancée is marred by his big secret.

    Director:Anthony Pullen Shaw
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Murder, She Wrote Season 7 Episode 6 - A Body to Die For
    8.0/10(486 votes)

    S7:E6

    Eve is appalled to find the body of a friend of the local gym owner in her bedroom, but at a loss to explain it.

    Director:Anthony Pullen Shaw
    Writer:Donald Ross

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Best Episodes Summary

"Footnote to Murder" is the best rated episode of Murder, She Wrote. It scored 8.6/10 from 1,172 votes. Directed by Peter Crane and written by Robert E. Swanson, it aired on March 10, 1985. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Trial by Error".

Keep going

Browse Murder, She Wrote by season

If you like Murder, She Wrote