ans were thrilled when Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club finally made it to Netflix with an all-star cast including Dame Helen Mirren, Celia Imrie, Sir Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan. The film has been dominating Netflix’s streaming charts and has received a warm critical response; however, as with all adaptations, some parts of the book’s plot has been changed. And not only has the change angered fans, but it has also seemingly earned the ire of the book’s author who drew attention to the matter in a newsletter.
Fans of the series will know that Polish handyman Bogdan killed Tony Curran in the book series to avenge the murder of his friend Kaz. Although he admits to the crime, he ultimately gets away with the murder, although Elizabeth is aware of his secret. However, in the film, not only is his motive changed, but the popular character is also arrested for the crime. This jars majorly with the book series which sees Bogdan became an honorary member of The Thursday Murder Club, often giving the amateur sleuths clues as they attempt to solve a crime.
Writing to fans after the film, Richard said: “Hi gang. Let’s just deal with the movie first. I’m so glad so many of you around the world have enjoyed it so much. It hopefully means there will be more to come! You’ll be the first to know, I promise! This is a book newsletter of course, and we’ll all be aware of some of the ‘differences’ between the film and the first book (see the title of this newsletter) so I thought you’d especially like an exclusive peek at a section of the film which Chris Columbus had to cut, starring the wonderful Joseph Marcell as Father Mackie. This will also be appearing on Netflix soon, but you’re seeing it first!”
When the newsletter went around, its email subject read: “#JusticeForBogdan,” and eagle-eyed fans were quick to pick on Richard’s choice of phrasing. One mused: “Osman has always been good at toeing the line when it comes to stuff like this, but I’d love to know what he really thinks of it. Honestly, even the fact that he’s willing to put that hashtag in his newsletter is quite telling.”WATCH: See the trailer for The Thursday Murder Club
Fans react
On social media, fans were quick to note their disapproval of the change. One said: “Just watched Thursday Murder Club on Netflix and I just wanna say JUSTICE FOR BOGDAN! The movie looks so stupid & elitist with what they did to Bogdan. FREE HIM!” and a second said: “Loved @netflix’s adaptation of #TheThursdayMurderClub but was annoyed at what they did to Bogdan. Hope he still has a role in the sequels.”
A third commented: “The Thursday Murder Club was perfect until they destroyed Bogdan’s character. Why would you do that? That’s like the best part of the book,” while a fourth penned: “Dear @Netflix, what you’ve done with Bogdan is unforgivable. Chris, too. And fyi, the Thursday Murder Club do not in fact live in Downton Abbey,” and a fifth simply said: “I don’t like what they did with Bogdan in The Thursday Murder Club movie.”
What is the Thursday Murder Club?
Based on Richard Osman’s best-selling crime series, the film focus on four retirees – Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley), and Joyce (Celia Imrie) – who spend their time solving cold cases for fun. However, their casual hobby takes a chilling turn when they find themselves facing a real whodunnit. With their pasts of being a spy, a nurse, a trade unionist and a psychiatrist, the gang unite to solve a real case.
Richard Osman’s original book was followed by three sequels, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed and The Last Devil to Die. A fourth sequel is currently in the works and is due to be released later this year. Fans will no doubt be hoping that our favourite crime-fighting quartet will return to screens. And as fans hope, maybe there will be #JusticeForBogdan!
