EXCLUSIVE: Richard E. Grant (Withnail & I), Tom Ellis (Lucifer), Geoff Bell (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso) and Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who) are the latest names to have joined Amblin and Netflix’s movie The Thursday Murder Club.
They join a star-studded British and Irish ensemble including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes.
Filming is underway on the buzzy crime-comedy from writer-director Chris Columbus. Pic follows a group of friends in a retirement home who gather to solve murders for fun, but find themselves caught in a real case. The four members of the club will be played by Mirren (ex-spy Elizabeth), Kingsley (ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim) Brosnan (former union activist Ron) and Imrie (ex-nurse Joyce).
Producers are Jennifer Todd and Chris Columbus. Executive producers are Holly Bario, Jeb Brody, Eleanor Columbus and Jo Burn. The film is based on Richard Osman’s 2020 novel of the same name.
Osman previously described the lineup of actors in the movie as “the greatest British cast assembled since the [Harry Potter] movies.” He might not be wrong.
Osman is known to millions in the UK as the presenter of BBC game show Richard Osman’s House of Games and spent years as quizmaster on daytime quiz Pointless. In industry circles, he is known for a long association with Endemol UK (now part of Banijay UK), rising to Creative Director at the Big Brother company before leaving in 2020.
The film is the latest to be produced as part of Netflix and Amblin’s film partnership, which also includes the upcoming Carry-On starring Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton.