On this day 40 years ago—September 30, 1984—television viewers took their first trip to the cozy seaside town of Cabot Cove, Maine when Murder, She Wrote premiered on CBS.
Starring the late, great Dame Angela Lansbury as author-turned-sleuth Jessica Fletcher, the mystery procedural series has been a favorite for generations of LGBTQ+ audiences
From its quirky amateur detective, to its frequently campy case-of-the-week format, it’s not hard to see why Murder, She Wrote is such comfort television for queer viewers, who still regularly revisit classic episodes to watch Jessica figure out whodunit and why-dunit in now decades-old cases.
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But the funny thing is: The show was never really all that gay! At least, not textually speaking.
Over the course of 12 seasons and 264 episodes from 1984 to 1996, there weren’t any characters who were openly identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community (though you could certainly argue a handful were hinted as such)—Murder, She Wrote was actually pretty darn heteronormative.
That’s especially surprising when you consider that, in the third episode ever, Jessica solves a murder mystery set in a San Francisco drag bar. But, somehow, even that was straight!
The episode in question was called “Birds Of A Feather” (original air date: October 14, 1984), inspired by the popularity of the play-turned-film-turned-musical La Cage Aux Folles, which occasionally also went by the name Birds Of A Feather—and would later be adapted into the hit American film The Birdcage.
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The story follows Jessica on a trip to San Francisco, where she makes a local television appearance, but is mainly in town for the wedding of her niece Victoria (General Hospital‘s Genie Francis) and working actor Howard (Jeff Conaway, perhaps best known as the hunky Kenickie from Grease).
After Howard mysteriously skips out on dinner plans, Victoria tells her dear Aunt Jessica she has concerns that her fiancé may be unfaithful—his work frequently keeps him out at night, yet he comes home smelling like perfume and has matches from a nightclub called Les Champignons.
Is there another woman? Well, yes… but also no.
The two head to the club for some answers and find a garishly decorated venue with gaudy chandeliers, red velvet curtains, and plastic flamingoes on stage. Jessica notes that something feels off about the place, but not because Les Champignons is some seedy, shady spot—it’s a drag bar, she just doesn’t realize it yet!
Actually, neither of them put the pieces together until a gunshot is heard backstage and a “woman” in a sparkly gown runs through the dining area, crashes into a table and loses her wig in the process, revealing herself to be… Howard! Yes, Victoria’s husband-to-be is a drag queen—and the number one suspect in the murder of his boss, Al (played by Ed Wood‘s Martin Landau).
You almost expect Murder, She Wrote to give us a storyline about the couple coming to terms with Howard’s queerness, but not so: He’s just an actor who took a gig to make ends meet. And he’s very much straight, as demonstrated by the rather gratuitous make-out scene between the two.
But to Victoria—and the show’s credit—there’s very little judgment on Howard’s behalf. It’s not treated as weird or suspicious that he performs in drag, it’s just accepted as fact. The “reveal” doesn’t even deter them from their wedding plans or anything—so long as Jessica can solve who was really behind the murder and clear Howard’s name.
It’s just funny that not once throughout the entire episode is the word “drag” used to describe what Howard does, nor the venue he works at. And though we see glimpses of other performers, employees, and patrons of Les Champignons, no one we meet is anything other than straight (unless you count the leather daddy sitting in the background of the first scenes at the club).
So, how is it even possible that Murder, She Wrote gave us the straightest gay episode ever? Well, it was a product of the time—a deeply conservative era of American culture, when Ronald Reagan was president and there was a marked decrease in LGBTQ+ stories in mainstream media (for a deeper dive into this phenomenon, check out queer TV historian Matt Baume’s excellent video on “gay bar mysteries.”)
With that in mind, you can perhaps understand why there was very little actual queer representation throughout Murder, She Wrote‘s run—and also why so many gay viewers flocked to the show regardless: We weren’t really seeing ourselves elsewhere on TV, so of course we found ourselves drawn to the ongoing adventures of a fabulous older woman! Jessica Fletcher was and will always be an icon.
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And, in a sense, isn’t it kind of progressive—or, at least, open-minded—to center an episode on a straight queen? Howard’s drag persona basically paved the way for Maddy Morphosis on RuPaul’s Drag Race! (we’re only sort of joking).
Forty years on, we see the fact that Murder, She Wrote set one of its earliest episodes in a San Francisco drag club as a subtle nod to let LGBTQ+ viewers know that this was a safe space for us. It may not have been able to acknowledge us directly, but Jessica Fletcher wanted us to know that we were always welcome in Cabot Cove—or wherever the mysteries would take her.
All seasons of Murder, She Wrote are available to stream on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
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