What’s Next For The Netflix Movie?

The Thursday Murder Club is the cozy mystery genre taken to the furthest possible point: there are cakes, tea, jigsaw puzzles, and, of course, a handful of grisly murders. But Chris Columbus’ tale of pensioner amateur detectives adds an extra twist — a very real and pressing murder in the retirement community of Coopers Chase. And just when they think they’ve found a lead on one mystery, another one drops in front of them.

But just who murdered who in this twisted tale, from the cold case to the revenge mission? And, now that those are solved, what’s next for the club?

The First Murder

The first casualty of The Thursday Murder Club is Tony Curran (Graham Bell), the co-owner of Coopers Chase and the last obstacle between Ian Ventham (David Tennant) and his plan to kick all the residents out and turn the building into an event space. At first, everyone thinks the perpetrator must be Ian Ventham, as his motive is obvious, but the true cause is far more complicated.

Handyman Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) was the one who actually dispatched Tony, on strict orders from Ian Ventham. Bogdan is the victim of a human trafficking scheme run by Bobby Tanner (Richard E. Grant) and was looking for a way home to his mother, and Ian promised him the role of lead contractor.

Bogdan actually confessed to the murder to Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), the husband of Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), thinking he’d get away with it because of Stephen’s memory loss. Little did he know, he kept a recorder going throughout his day, meaning Elizabeth had a confession on tape.

The Cold Case

The Thursday Murder Club opens with Elizabeth presenting a cold case to Ron (Pierce Brosnan) and Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), following a girl who fell from a window, only for her boyfriend, Peter Mercer, to disappear without a trace. It’s the case that brings the three together with Joyce (Celia Imrie), but it holds a much greater significance than that. Elizabeth tells Joyce the case is from their friend Penny (Susan Kirkby), who is now residing in hospice care, but used to be a Detective Inspector.

When Bogdan breaks ground in the cemetery, he finds a body on top of a coffin. He tells Elizabeth about it, and she puts together the clues: that body belongs to Peter Mercer, the man who disappeared in the cold case. He murdered his girlfriend, but the Old Boys’ Club of the police covered it up. Penny, unhappy with justice not being served, murdered Peter and dispensed of the body in the cemetery at Coopers Chase.

The Second Murder

All the stakes are raised when Ian Ventham visits the resident protest organized by Ron. In the middle of a tense confrontation, he collapses and drops dead. That makes all the residents possible suspects, but the true motive for this second murder goes much further than Ventham’s plan to close Coopers Chase.

When Bogdan found Peter’s body, he was going to tell Ian Ventham, which would have revealed Penny’s entire revenge plot. So Penny’s husband, John, the resident veterinarian who took care of Coopers Chase’s llamas, took action in order to keep his wife’s secret. Using the fentanyl he normally used to treat the animals, he secretly injected Ian with a fatal dose, meaning his secret would be kept forever.

When the Murder Club finds out the truth, Elizabeth tells John she has no choice but to contact the police. She notices the extra doses nearby, so she leaves John alone, and the implication is that he injected himself and Penny with fatal doses, allowing them to pass away together.

What’s Next?

At the end of The Thursday Murder Club, Joyce is made an official member, Joyce’s daughter ensures that Coopers Chase can stay open, and the four intend on solving more murders together. If Netflix does make a sequel, it’s likely it will be an adaptation of Richard Osman’s second novel in the series, which focuses on Elizabeth’s ex-husband being threatened by a banker after a massive diamond theft. When the police can’t come up with enough evidence, it’s up to the Thursday Murder Club to figure it out.

Of course, it’s all contingent on Netflix greenlighting a sequel, but considering the massive success of the books and the all-star cast of this one, leaving this to just one movie would be the biggest mystery of all.

The Thursday Murder Club is now streaming on Netflix.