Book vs. Film: The Biggest Changes in Netflix’s Thursday Murder Club Explained

POV Shift: Losing Joyce’s Voice

One of the most jarring Thursday Murder Club differences hits you immediately if you’re a book fan. Osman’s novels are woven around Joyce’s first-person journal entries, acting as a window into this quirky world of a retirement village. Her observations are witty, warm, and wonderfully human, and her view is the essential core of the books. This change ripples through the entire viewing experience. Without Joyce’s perspective guiding us, the film feels more distant and conventional. We’re watching these characters rather than experiencing their world alongside them.

From Drugs to Passports: A Crime Ring Makeover

The criminal conspiracy at the heart of the story undergoes a complete transformation, and honestly, this might be one of the more successful changes in the Thursday Murder Club film. In Osman’s book, we’re dealing with a rather standard drug operation involving Tony Curran, Jason Ritchie, Bobby Tanner, and the mysterious Turkish Johnny (who gets eliminated from the film).

Netflix’s adaptation opts for human trafficking, and it works. Tony and Bobby are smuggling people into the UK under false promises, then confiscating their passports to trap them in exploitative work situations. It’s a more contemporary crime that feels weightier than your typical drug ring storyline.

This change syncs very well with Bogdan’s character arc. His motivation for killing Tony becomes far more sympathetic when it’s about getting his passport back to visit his dying mother, rather than the book’s more calculated revenge plot involving his murdered taxi driver friend.

The Great Character Purge

The Thursday Murder Club film has some significant characters cut from the film that genuinely hurt the story’s emotional depth. Novels have filler characters to make micro progressions for the characters, so if they are cut, it can be mended up. But it’s very noticeable when a very prominent keystone character (in this case, characters) is missing in action.

Father Mackie’s heartbreaking backstory? Gone. In the books, he’s not actually a priest but a doctor who fell in love with a nun in the 1970s. When she became pregnant and took her own life after their affair was discovered, he adopted the priestly persona and has been protecting her memory ever since. The cemetery excavation threatens to disturb her grave, giving him genuine stakes in the mystery. The film reduces him to a generic “upset priest” stereotype. It’s such a waste of what could have been a beautifully emotional subplot.

Similarly, we lose Gordon and Karen Playfair entirely, despite their crucial role in the book’s mystery discovery. Bernard’s touching story about burying his wife’s ashes gets the axe too. Even PC Donna de Freitas loses her mother Patrice in the adaptation. I understand film constraints, but these character cuts flatten what should be a rich, community-driven story.

Elizabeth’s Spy Skills Get Downgraded

This might be my biggest personal gripe. Elizabeth’s extensive MI6 background and her genuinely impressive espionage skills feel like it’s all flash but no powder. The books showcase her as this incredibly capable operative who can still pull strings and gather intelligence when needed. The film gives us glimpses of her competence, but we lose that sense of her being genuinely formidable.

It’s a shame because Mirren could absolutely have carried those more action-oriented moments, and it would have added another layer to the character dynamics. Her spy arc would elevate to be more believable if she were given a chance to demonstrate her spy process as she gathers intel and evidence. (The filmmakers should take notes on her sniper role in 2010’s RED).

Jason’s Reality TV Subplot

Speaking of character changes, Jason Ritchie gets a completely different arc in the film. While the books position him as deeply involved in the criminal drug operation, the movie makes him a former boxer who’s now embarrassingly appearing on reality TV competitions. Tom Ellis brings charm to the role, but this change creates some odd tonal moments. The subplot about Ron feeling ashamed of his son’s career choices feels a bit forced, especially when weighed against the more serious crimes happening around them.

Visual Storytelling vs. Literary Depth

One change where the Thursday Murder Club film actually works in the film’s favor is the visual comedy. There’s a delightful sequence where Elizabeth disguises herself as a nun to visit the police station, complete with Queen Elizabeth jokes that play perfectly with Mirren’s royal filmography.

These moments showcase what film can do that books cannot – immediate visual humor and the legendary actors’ chemistry with one another. When the adaptation leans into these strengths, it showcases that there are fans of the series on the set who understand the book’s tones.

The Emotional Core Remains Intact

Despite my criticisms, the Thursday Murder Club film absolutely nails the central emotional story. Penny and John’s tragic arc – with Penny having killed someone in vigilante justice years ago and John murdering Ian to protect her secret – hits just as hard on screen as it does on the page. The core mystery about love, protection, and the lengths we’ll go to shield the people we care about translates beautifully to film. The performances in these final reveals are genuinely moving and heartbreaking.

A Cozy Mystery for the Screen

I admit that I’m being hard on this adaptation because these lovely books a brewing with great structure and storytelling. The Thursday Murder Club series represents cozy mystery writing at its finest – characters you want to spend time with, puzzles that engage without traumatizing, and a sense of community that feels increasingly rare in our fractured world.

The Netflix film captures much of that warmth when we watch Mirren, Brosnan, Kingsley, and Imrie working together and solving crimes. With their undeniable chemistry, the production values are solid, the English countryside looks gorgeous, and the pacing keeps you engaged throughout.

What This Means for Future Adaptations

With Richard Osman’s fifth Thursday Murder Club book, “The Impossible Fortune,” hitting shelves soon, and the clear success of this Netflix adaptation, we’re likely to see more of these characters on screen. I’m hopeful that future installments might learn from some of these gaps and lean more heavily into what makes the source material so special. The bones of a great franchise are absolutely here. These actors could easily carry multiple films, and there’s clearly an audience hungry for gentle, character-driven mysteries that don’t rely on graphic violence or psychological torture to maintain interest.

Please, dear filmmakers, bring back some of that narrative intimacy that makes Osman’s books so addictive. Give us more of Joyce’s perspective, more of Elizabeth’s competence, and more of those beautifully drawn supporting characters who make Cooper’s Chase feel like a real community rather than just a pretty backdrop.

Overall Thoughts: Check Out the Books and the Film

The Thursday Murder Club works because it’s about connection – between the four sleuths, between the residents of Cooper’s Chase, and between readers and these delightfully flawed, deeply human characters. When the adaptation honors those connections, it soars. When it doesn’t, well… that’s when book reviewers like me start getting territorial about beloved source material. Still, for cozy mystery fans who haven’t discovered Osman’s books yet, this film serves as a perfectly lovely introduction to the world. Just promise me you’ll pick up the novels afterward. Trust me on this one.