Fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club expressed widespread anger after Netflix’s film adaptation altered the ending of the story and removed a recurring character, prompting calls on social media for “justice for Bogdan” and threats to boycott any sequel.
Released by the streamer on Aug. 26 and directed by Chris Columbus, the feature amassed attention ahead of its debut but left many readers of Osman’s bestselling novels disappointed when the movie appeared to write out Bogdan, the Polish handyman who is portrayed on screen by Henry Lloyd-Hughes. On Reddit and other platforms, viewers described the change as "unforgivable" and noted that Bogdan features in subsequent books in the series.
The Thursday Murder Club follows four retirees — Elizabeth (Dame Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Joyce (Celia Imrie) and Ibrahim (Sir Ben Kingsley) — who solve cold cases from their retirement community, Cooper's Chase. In both the novel and the film, the discovery of a body at the home sets the quartet on the trail of a local killer. Geoff Bell appears in the film as Tony Curran, the co-owner of Cooper's Chase whose death triggers the investigation.
Criticism has focused on the film’s ending and the decision to alter Bogdan’s storyline. On Reddit, multiple users urged the studio to reconsider, with posts demanding "justice for Bogdan" and warning that some viewers would not support future installments if the adaptation continued to diverge from the source material. The outcry underscores tensions that often accompany adaptations of popular books, where deviations from the original text can provoke strong reactions from devoted readers.
Netflix and the filmmakers have not issued a public statement addressing the complaints as of this writing. Cast and crew have previously discussed the challenges of adapting Osman’s tone and plotting for a global streaming audience, and Columbus’s involvement was widely noted during the film’s promotion.
Osman’s Thursday Murder Club novels have been a commercial success, combining cozy mystery elements with a cast of elderly sleuths and recurring supporting characters. Bogdan, introduced in the books as a handyman with ties to several characters at Cooper's Chase, appears in later entries in the series, a fact that many readers cited when criticizing the film’s creative choice to remove or alter his arc.
The reaction to Thursday Murder Club follows a pattern of fan responses to high-profile adaptations that make substantive departures from source material. While some viewers praised aspects of the film’s performances and production, the debate over fidelity to the books has dominated social media discussion since the release.
How Netflix, the filmmakers or Osman will respond remains unclear. The studio has invested in the property with an eye toward potential sequels, making fan sentiment a notable factor in the ongoing conversation about the franchise’s direction. Meanwhile, readers and viewers continue to air their views online, signaling that the debate over adaptation choices may influence how future installments are received.