Current answer
No official sequel announcement located
Netflix’s official title page, film guide and newsroom material currently document the first film. They do not announce a second film, production start or release date.
Book to screen · verified companion
The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix
Cast, creators, accessibility and a carefully gated comparison with Richard Osman’s first novel.
Follow-up film tracker
Is a sequel confirmed?
Checked
- Story available to adapt
- YesThe book series continues after the first novel.
- Second film commissioned
- Not officially confirmedNo Netflix or Amblin announcement is cited.
- Cast and filming
- Not announcedReturning actors, locations and dates remain unknown.
- Release date or trailer
- Not announcedAny date circulating without a production source is speculation.
Reported · series development
We Solve Murders: reported Netflix series
Deadline reported in September 2026 that Richard Osman has said a We Solve Murders series is in development with Netflix. This is reported development, not an official Netflix announcement; no cast, production date or release date has been announced. Read Deadline’s September 2026 report ↗
Film overview
The essentials
- Released
- Runtime
- 118 minutes (UK streaming classification)
- Genre
- Comedy, mystery, thriller
- Director
- Chris Columbus
- Screenplay
- Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote
- Production
- Netflix and Amblin Entertainment
- Based on
- The Thursday Murder Club (2020)
Spoiler-free official premise
Cold cases become a live case
Four retirement-home friends who investigate old murders for fun find themselves facing a real mystery on their own doorstep.
Playback and access
Ratings, languages and accessibility
Age classification
Netflix currently displays PG-13 on its general title page. The UK BBFC record gives a 118-minute streaming version and content advice for strong language, moderate violence and injury detail.
Check the UK classification and content advice ↗Audio and audio description
Netflix currently lists original English plus German, Spanish, French and Italian audio, with audio description in those languages on the general listing. Options vary by account and country.
Subtitles
The general listing currently shows English, Latin American Spanish, French, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese subtitles. Regional Netflix pages show different sets, so use the audio-and-subtitles menu during playback.
Streaming by country
The film is a Netflix title, but catalogue access, rating labels, dubbed audio and subtitles are region-dependent. The watch link is the reliable country-aware check.
Open the live Netflix title page ↗Spoiler-free verdict
Faithful in spirit, condensed in structure
The central quartet, their friendship and the balance of humour and emotion remain the film’s anchor. A roughly two-hour adaptation necessarily simplifies a much longer novel’s mysteries and red herrings.
New readers can watch without studying the book first; existing readers should expect compression rather than a scene-for-scene transcription.
Read the book that inspired the film
The Thursday Murder Club is read by Lesley Manville in the UK Audible edition.
What to read next: The Man Who Died Twice.
Level one · no culprit or ending spoilersThe adaptation choicesSafe before watching
The meeting room opens up
Novel: the club meets in an enclosed room within Coopers Chase.
Film: production designer James Merifield turns it into a bright orangery overlooking the estate, letting retirement-community life continue in the background.
The mystery is streamlined
Novel: a longer web of mysteries, histories and red herrings has room to unfold.
Film: producer Jennifer Todd confirms that the complicated, decades-spanning mysteries were simplified; Chris Columbus says the murder, plot and some red herrings take new routes.
The quartet remains the centre
Both: Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron—and the importance of their friendship—remain the story’s emotional anchor even where plot mechanics change.
Level two · story-shape spoilersHow the cases were rearrangedOpen after the book or film
Several cases are pulled into one screen arc
The film links the threat to Coopers Chase, Tony Curran’s death and a 1970s cold case more tightly than the novel’s roomier investigation. Some identities, motives and routes between clues are rewritten rather than simply shortened.
Bogdan’s screen confession is reframed
In the film, Bogdan says Tony’s death happened in self-defence during a confrontation about his passport. The recorded chess-game confession provides the evidence. This is a film-specific route through material that unfolds differently on the page.
Joanna has a larger part in the estate’s future
The film uses Joyce’s daughter in its answer to the proposed sale of Coopers Chase, bringing a family relationship into the property storyline and its resolution.
Level three · complete ending spoilersCulprits, deaths and the final resolutionOpen only after finishing
Final warning: this section names the film’s killers and explains its ending.
- Bogdan admits that he killed Tony Curran accidentally in self-defence; Stephen’s recording of their chess game captures the confession.
- The film’s older cold case concerns Angela Hughes. Peter Mercer killed her; Penny Gray later killed Mercer and concealed his body in the Coopers Chase cemetery.
- John Gray kills Ian Ventham with fentanyl to stop the unearthed remains exposing Penny. Elizabeth allows John a final private moment with Penny, knowing what he intends.
- Bobby Tanner transfers Coopers Chase to a buyer chosen by Elizabeth: Joyce’s daughter Joanna. The film therefore resolves the development threat through the Meadowcroft family.
- Joyce inherits Penny’s club necklace, marking her full acceptance into the group.
These are the film’s resolutions. The novel’s longer clue chain, character emphasis and route to its answers should be experienced on the page rather than treated as a checklist of scenes the film omitted.
Source boundary: production changes are drawn from Netflix’s creator feature; film-ending details are checked against Netflix’s official explainer. The comparisons are original editorial summaries, not reproduced screenplay or novel text.
Behind the case
Production file
Creators
- Director / producer
- Chris Columbus
- Screenwriters
- Katy Brand; Suzanne Heathcote
- Producers
- Jennifer Todd; Chris Columbus
- Executive producers
- Jo Burn; Richard Osman; Eleanor Columbus; Holly Bario; Jeb Brody
Filming location
Netflix identifies Englefield House in Berkshire as the screen home of Coopers Chase, with the nearby church and cemetery helping match the novel’s geography.
Open the location guide →Timeline
- Netflix announces date and first look.
- UK cinema version classified.
- Film releases on Netflix.
- Netflix’s cast-and-trailer guide updated.
Trailer and stills
Official trailers and credited stills are available on Netflix’s guide. They are linked rather than copied, preserving creator credits and avoiding unlicensed republication.
Open trailer and official stills ↗Cast and creator interviews
Netflix’s behind-the-scenes video includes Chris Columbus, Richard Osman and cast members discussing the adaptation, with a text transcript on the page.
Watch or read the transcript ↗Frequently asked
Film questions
Is it a series or a film?
It is a feature film based on the first Thursday Murder Club novel.
Where can I watch it?
Netflix. Availability is checked through the country-aware title page.
Do I need to read the book first?
No. The film introduces its own version of the characters and case.
Is there a sequel?
No follow-up release date or complete production announcement is currently confirmed in this guide.
Where was Coopers Chase filmed?
Englefield House in Berkshire, according to Netflix.
Facts last checked 9 September 2026 from Netflix, About Netflix and the BBFC.
Expanded reference file
Full film details
Release and distribution
- Production year
- 2025
- Worldwide streaming release
- Distributor
- Netflix International B.V. (UK classification record)
- Original language
- English
- UK classified runtime
- 117 minutes 55 seconds (cinema); 118 minutes (streaming)
The four investigators
- Elizabeth Best — Helen Mirren: the club’s strategic leader, guarding both an intelligence past and her husband.
- Ron Ritchie — Pierce Brosnan: the combative former union organiser known as Red Ron.
- Ibrahim Arif — Ben Kingsley: a precise, empathetic retired psychiatrist.
- Joyce Meadowcroft — Celia Imrie: the observant former nurse and newcomer through whose eyes the group is introduced.
Classification guide
The BBFC content advice covers infrequent strong language, moderate violence and injury detail. Its fuller notes also identify mild threat, sexual references, drugs, references implying suicide, rude humour, illness and bereavement, plus occasional alcohol use.
This is a concise viewing guide, not a substitute for the complete classification record.
Read the full BBFC record ↗Cast ledger
Character and actor index
Fourteen named book characters are verified in Netflix’s cast material and supporting coverage. Character descriptions below avoid revealing the solution.
| Character | Actor | Place in the story |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Best | Helen Mirren | Thursday Murder Club member |
| Ron Ritchie | Pierce Brosnan | Thursday Murder Club member |
| Ibrahim Arif | Ben Kingsley | Thursday Murder Club member |
| Joyce Meadowcroft | Celia Imrie | Thursday Murder Club member |
| PC Donna De Freitas | Naomi Ackie | Police ally |
| DCI Chris Hudson | Daniel Mays | Police ally |
| Bogdan Jankowski | Henry Lloyd-Hughes | Coopers Chase employee and club ally |
| Jason Ritchie | Tom Ellis | Family and friend circle |
| Stephen Best | Jonathan Pryce | Family and friend circle |
| Ian Ventham | David Tennant | Case figure |
| Bobby Tanner | Richard E. Grant | Case figure |
| Joanna Meadowcroft | Ingrid Oliver | Family and friend circle |
| Tony Curran | Geoff Bell | Case figure |
| John Gray | Paul Freeman | Case figure |
Show two additional story-critical roles — contains character spoilers
Susan Kirby plays former police officer and original club member Penny Gray. Paul Freeman’s John Gray is her devoted husband. Netflix’s ending guide discusses why both matter to the older cold case.
Open Netflix’s spoiler-filled ending guide ↗Primary source register
What remains unconfirmed
No complete sequel production announcement, filming schedule, cast list or release date is currently verified. The guide will not convert interviews, hopes or rumours into an announced second film.
See the live announcement-gap ledger →Film file reviewed 9 September 2026. Streaming languages and accessibility options remain region-dependent and should be checked in the Netflix player.
Below the line
Principal technical crew
These are the lead craft credits most useful to readers exploring how the book’s visual and musical world was adapted.
| Department | Lead credit | Evidence note |
|---|---|---|
| Cinematography | Don Burgess | Full film credit record |
| Editing | Dan Zimmerman | Full film credit record |
| Music | Thomas Newman | Full film credit record |
| Production design | James Merifield | Named in Netflix’s book-to-screen feature |
| Costume design | Joanna Johnston | Full film credit record |
| Casting | Kharmel Cochrane | Full film credit record |
Production partnership
Netflix describes the film as a Netflix–Amblin Entertainment co-production and part of the companies’ film partnership. Jennifer Todd and Chris Columbus are the credited producers.
About Netflix production record ↗How the design changed the book
Netflix’s production feature names James Merifield and explains his decision to turn the club’s enclosed meeting room into an orangery overlooking Coopers Chase.
Netflix book-to-screen feature ↗Credit-source boundary
Netflix’s editorial material confirms the production design and company partnership. The remaining lead craft names are cross-checked against the film’s full credit record; they are not presented as biographical profiles.
Full cast and crew record ↗Technical credits checked 9 September 2026. Department assistants and the complete production workforce remain in the linked full credit record.
Critical reception
What reviewers agreed on—and where they differed
This is a selective review map, not a score or a claim that every critic agreed. Each summary is written for this guide and links to the original review.
Warm ensemble, lighter mystery
RogerEbert.com found the film engaging and often amusing, praising its refusal to patronise its older investigators while noting limited character development and a television-pilot quality.
Read Sheila O’Malley’s review ↗Likeable mainstream entertainment
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw saw a funny, accessible and star-powered adaptation, but judged it slightly bland and increasingly daft as the final act accelerated.
Read The Guardian review ↗Charm survives the compression
Time highlighted the dignity and continuing vitality of the central quartet, describing the film’s pleasures as modest but durable.
Read Time’s review ↗A sharper dissent
The Independent argued that the adaptation was too slight and did not make enough of its celebrated cast, offering a useful counterweight to the warmer assessments.
Read The Independent review ↗Official audience record
Netflix viewing figures, with their measurement windows
Opening global chart week
- Window
- –
- English Films rank
- No. 2
- Netflix views
- 24.7 million
- Hours viewed
- 49.3 million
The window includes only the film’s first four days after its 28 August streaming release.
Netflix weekly Top 10 report ↗Second half of 2025
- Window
- July–December 2025
- Netflix views
- 69 million
Netflix’s engagement report lists the film among successful book adaptations. Netflix defines views as total hours viewed divided by runtime, so this is not a count of unique people or completed plays.
About Netflix engagement report ↗From page to stage
Thursday Murder Club stage play: what we know — the West End project is a separate adaptation of the first novel.