Everything we know about The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club is an upcoming Netflix film about...you guessed it—a club about solving murder cases on Thursday.

The show is set in a retirement home, where a group of four retired people usually come together to solve cold cases on Thursdays. It is evident from the first few seconds of the teaser that opens with Elizabeth (played by Helen Mirren) saying,

"Our latest cold case is from May 11th 1973."

However, not everyone was part of the club from the beginning. A confused Joyce (played by Celia Imrie) stumbles upon the group discussing a case on one such Thursday and says,

"Oh my God. Isn't this room usually for Jigsaws?"

Mirren's Elizabeth says,

"Not on a Thursday, no."

Continue reading the article to find out more about The Thursday Murder Club.

What is The Thursday Murder Club about?

The Thursday Murder Club is based on Richard Osman's novel of the same name, which came out in 2020. It is directed by Chris Columbus, who also directed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).

Screen Of 'Home Alone 2: Lost In New York' (Image via Getty)

The film's official logline on Netflix reads as follow:

Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie star as a group of senior sleuths in this adaptation of Richard Osman's murder mystery.

Speaking about the film, Chris Columbus stated:

“There’s a wonderful mystery at its core, so mystery fans will be very happy,”

He continued:

“But thematically it’s interesting that we’ve got four elderly people who are living in a retirement community and who are fascinated by death and murder. They are facing their own demise, yet at the same time they are obsessed with studying cold cases. I fell in love thematically with that. It’s comedic, but it’s also very emotional.”

The group of retired individuals, who usually solve cold cases, suddenly met with a real murder case and got together to solve it. One of the group's members, Joyce, says in the teaser:

There's been a murder. An actual murder. Now we've got a real case to solve. Isn't it wonderful? Obviously, RIP and all that.

Joyce played by Celia Imrie (Image by Netflix)

Jennifer Todd, the producer of the film, had read the book before its release in 2019, and that's where the idea for a film grew. She spoke to Tudum by Netflix about the story, saying,

“I loved the characters, the story, their world”

Todd continued:

“I think the richness of the characters speaks to a larger audience. They are such a delight. You want to be with them — and [the] murders are such fun to solve.”

Todd's love for the story led her to find Chris Columbus, and thus the film was made. Todd notes one quality of Columbus, as she speaks to Tudum by Netflix, saying,

“He was really smart about not letting us change things that weren’t necessary and his professionalism, his ease, and his positivity just made it such a delight to work with him."

Ibrahim played by Ben Kingsley (Image via Netflix)

Who stars in The Thursday Murder Club?

The main cast of The Thursday Murder Club includes Helen Mirren as Elizabeth, a former spy, and Pierce Brosnan as Ron, who used to be a union activist. The two other members of the murder-mystery-solving club are Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim, who used to be a psychiatrist, and Celia Imrie as Joyce, who used to be a nurse.

Columbus spoke about the cast with Tudum by Netflix, saying,

“This is the finest cast I've worked with since Potter. They’re just so incredibly well-prepared, and it’s because they do everything. They do theater, they do television, they do film, and they’ve developed those sorts of muscles.”

The supporting cast includes Naomi Ackie as Donna De Freitas, Daniel Mays as DCI Chris Hudson, Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Bogdan, Tom Ellis as Jason Ritchie, Jonathan Pryce as Stephen Best, David Tennant as Ian Ventham, and Ingrid Oliver as Joanna Meadowcroft. Paul Freeman, Geoff Bell, and Richard E. Grant are also part of the cast, but their roles are yet to be revealed.

The Thursday Murder Club arrives on Netflix on 28th August 2025.