Netflix releases The Thursday Murder Club, a cozy mystery adaptation

Netflix released The Thursday Murder Club on Aug. 28, 2025, bringing a star-studded, cozy-mystery adaptation of Richard Osman’s bestselling novel to streaming audiences. Directed by Chris Columbus and produced in part by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin, the 118-minute film follows four pensioners at the Coopers Chase retirement community who, while solving cold cases for sport, become embroiled in a very present and dangerous murder investigation.

Set almost entirely at Coopers Chase, the movie centers on Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and newly recruited Joyce (Celia Imrie) as they probe the deaths that threaten their home. What begins with the discovery of a body and a decades-old cold case quickly expands into a tangle of motives and coverups. The first killing involves Tony Curran, a co-owner of Coopers Chase, whose death initially points to developer Ian Ventham, played by David Tennant. The film reveals a more complicated chain of events: handyman Bogdan, coerced by a human-trafficking ring and promised work by Ian, carries out the killing. Bogdan confesses to Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), banking on Stephen’s memory loss to shield him, but a...