Unacknowledged Crossover of "Murder, She Wrote" and "Friends"

In the 16th episode of the 12th season of the series “Murder, She Wrote,” (1984 - 1996) Jessica Fletcher (portrayed by Angela Lansbury) investigates a murder on the set of the show “Buds,” strongly reminiscent of the series “Friends” (1994 - 2004).

The famous author in this episode (which is directly titled “Murder Among Friends”) investigates who killed the producer of the “Buds” series, who, as part of cost-cutting measures, wanted to eliminate one of the characters. Just like in “Friends,” there are six of them, living in New York, gathering in a coffeehouse, and one of the characters, Dyan (Barbara Alyn Woods), closely resembles Rachel (played by Jennifer Aniston).

The filming of this episode of “Murder, She Wrote” in 1996 was apparently inspired by the growing popularity of the newly aired “Friends” at that time. The creator of “Murder, She Wrote” was also upset by the decision of CBS management to air the older series at the same time as “Friends” on NBC, leading to a decline in the viewership of the detective series.