Other than hiding her medication, there aren’t too many things you can do to piss off Grandma. Well lo and behold, Netflix found a way: removing Murder, She Wrote from its streaming library. The family-friendly whodunit show disappeared last Wednesday without warning, leaving many viewers frustrated, puzzled, or at the very least, mildly concerned about the state of Cabot Cove without Jessica Fletcher around to solve the town’s weekly homicides.
Of course programs disappear all the time from Netflix’ streaming, but they usually come with a warning — seen in the ‘My List’ view — that lets the viewer know their time with their show or movie is ticking down.
And since the loss of a TV series means losing many more hours of content than with one 2-hour movie (MSW logged 12 seasons and more than 12,725 minutes), you can see why some people are upset. While there’s been no official word from Netflix on the show’s disappearance, some fans report making customer service calls and hearing that yes, it was a licensing issue and it may come back at some point, while others say they were told it was a technical issue and that the show would be back within days.
And if you think Murder, She Wrote is a relic that no one watches anymore, the ‘Member Reviews’ section on Netflix will force you to think again:
“What happened to streaming. I watch these all the time. I’ll just buy the box set and cancel netflix.”
“My heart is literally broken. No more streaming Murder She Wrote? My boyfriend and I are at a loss! This was my favorite show to stream on Netflix, and i was only 110 episodes in!! So so sad. Bring it back please!”
“Bring it back! I was in the middle of the series! Surely you’re listening to all these complaints.”
“I just got off of chat with Elroy at Netflix, He said that the reason Murder,She wrote is no longer on Netflix is because the contract has expired with the studios. Elroy is not sure when or if a renewal is going to be done. I let him know that the only reason why i have a memebership to Netflix is to watch Murder, She wrote. I will give it another month if they don’t renew the contract i am terminating my membership with Netflix.”
“I don’t even know what to do with myself now that “Murder She Wrote” has been taken off of Netflix steaming! It was the perfect show to watch if you wanted to relax and decompress. Please bring it back! I urge you to renew the contract with this series…this show has a lot of loyal fans that would pay to see it back on Netflix!”
So it’s a sad time for fans of the show, but at least there’s a newly-released DVD boxed set of the entire series to fall back on.
Murder She Wrote was one of my favorite Netflix shows!! I can’t believe they took it off!! I wanted to watch all episodes.
Hey Jasmin,
Thanks for chiming in on this. Despite my gender/demographic/etc., I’m a huge Murder, She Wrote fan. I did not see any “Until 10/16/13” postings at all in the weeks leading up to its disappearance. And that’s good news about a possible return, but where did you hear that from?
On the bright side, the complete series DVD set has had a nice quick price drop. I saw it in Costco for $100 and on Amazon for $101 this week.
I’m canceling my membership and I encourage everyone to do the same. Hit them where it hurts and you may get results. I agree with the comment regarding the boxed set which I’m sure costs a small fortune. This is a studio issue but Netflix can intercede if they really want to. Just pay the studio more money.
FYI – I spoke with Netflix support…
“We are working with the production studio to get this contract updated and as soon as that is complete we will be able to get this back up!”
Very helpful guy on support chat. He said they are aware people are mad are doing everything possible to bring it back. He said it’s def coming back, just a question of when. They hated pulling it.
Just an update if anyone is interested :)
“but at least there’s a newly-released DVD boxed set of the entire series to fall back on.”
Which is EXACTLY why it’s not available on Netflix anymore. The studios know exactly what they’re doing.
Why should I have to buy DVDs when I already pay for Netflix to see this show?
Because we don’t pay Netflix for certain things. We pay for what they provide. The studios/production companies have control over their property. When the contract ends for a title on Netflix, they legally have to remove it. There was warning, unlike the article suggests, but GREAT news folks! Jessica Fletcher is returning to Netflix on January 1.