The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club is director Chris Columbus's star-studded adaptation of Richard Osman's record-breaking 2020 cozy-crime novel, the first in a wildly popular book series. Scripted by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote and produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment for Netflix, the film gathers an almost absurdly distinguished cast to tell a warm, witty whodunit about four retirees who refuse to let old age slow them down.

Set in the genteel surroundings of Coopers Chase, an upscale English retirement village, the story follows a quartet of friends who meet every Thursday to pick over unsolved murders for fun. Helen Mirren plays Elizabeth, a steely former intelligence officer; Pierce Brosnan is Ron, a firebrand ex-union man; Ben Kingsley is Ibrahim, a precise retired psychiatrist; and Celia Imrie is Joyce, a sharp-eyed former nurse. When a real killing lands on their doorstep, the amateurs team up with two local police officers, played by Naomi Ackie and Daniel Mays, and race ahead of the official investigation. David Tennant and Jonathan Pryce round out the ensemble.

Released in a brief UK cinema run before arriving on Netflix in August 2025, the film drew a mostly warm response, with critics praising the sparkling chemistry of its veteran cast even when they found the mystery itself gentle and undemanding. It became one of the streamer's most-watched films of the season and quickly fuelled plans for sequels drawn from the rest of Osman's novels. Cosy, funny and affectionate, it is comfort-watch filmmaking elevated by a once-in-a-generation cast. It streams on Netflix.