Richard Osman Breaks Silence on Thursday Murder Club Film Disappointment

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Richard Osman Breaks Silence on Thursday Murder Club Film Disappointment

28.08.2026 28 August 2026
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Richard Osman Breaks Silence on Thursday Murder Club Film Disappointment

Osman Eyes Creative Control

Richard Osman has hinted that future screen versions of his Thursday Murder Club novels could involve him far more closely after Netflix’s first adaptation received a mixed response.

Speaking to The Times, the former Pointless host avoided giving a detailed verdict on the 2025 movie, although he made his plans for the remaining books clear: “It was only one book. The other books I would like to adapt myself.”

Chris Columbus, best known for directing the first two Harry Potter films, oversaw the adaptation. Dame Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie headed the cast as four retirees drawn into solving crimes.

Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote wrote the screenplay. Heathcote’s previous work includes Killing Eve, originally developed for television by Phoebe Waller-Bridge from Luke Jennings’ stories, as well as Fear the Walking Dead.

Netflix’s version departed from Osman’s novel in several areas. Bogdan, portrayed by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, was given a different story arc, while other characters familiar to readers were left out.

Critical reaction proved uneven. Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent gave the film two stars.

Audience figures were stronger at first. Netflix reported 24.7 million views during the opening four days. Even so, the film missed the top position globally and slipped to fifth on the platform’s movie ranking within a week.

Osman has nevertheless described his experience on the production positively, particularly the chance to meet producer Steven Spielberg and work around Mirren, Brosnan and the wider cast.

Netflix has not announced a sequel, although several stars have indicated they would be interested in returning.

Osman’s original novel arrived in 2020 and, according to Penguin, sold almost 700,000 UK copies in four months. Four more Thursday Murder Club books followed. His worldwide book sales have since passed 17 million, leaving him behind only Julia Donaldson among the UK’s most-popular authors.

After recently leaving House of Games, Osman is also developing another crime series. We Solve Murders debuted last year, while We Chase Shadows is due next month.

SPIELBERG Steven

Chairman of Amblin Partners
#24
COLUMBUS Christopher

American filmmaker
#72
BRIDGERS Phoebe

American singer
#168
BEN-ADIR Kingsley

British actor
#795
BROSNAN Pierce

actor and film producer
#1303
OSMAN Richard

English television presenter
#1276
MIRREN Helen

English actor
#1280
IMRIE Celia

English actress
#1284
BRAND Katherine

English actress
#1287
HEATHCOTE Suzanne

British playwright, screenwriter
#1290
LLOYD-HUGHES Henry

British actor
#1294
JENNINGS Luke

British author
#1302
Netflix

#5
The Independent

#49
The Times

#73

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Richard Osman Breaks Silence on Thursday Murder Club Film Disappointment

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