The Thursday Murder Club releases on Netflix later this month, and it could end up being a mᴀssive success. The movie, directed by Home Alone’s Chris Columbus, is based on Richard Osman’s acclaimed thriller novel of the same name and follows a group of retirees who work on unsolved murder cases in their free time.

The Thursday Murder Club is a very exciting project for several reasons, but most importantly, because of how much potential there is for Netflix to transform it into a fully-fledged franchise that could help the streaming platform remain on top following the conclusions of some of its biggest properties earlier this year.

The Thursday Murder Club Might Be Netflix’s Next Big Franchise

Columbus’ upcoming movie has the potential to become a major fit for Netflix, and not just because of the immense talent that’s involved. Yes, it’s helpful to have veteran actors like Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Ben Kingsley in the project, but the real magic of The Thursday Murder Club comes from Osman’s hugely popular source material.

The British TV personality-turned-author has written four books in his acclaimed series to date, with a fifth installment, тιтled The Impossible Fortune, set for release in September. Each of these quirky murder mysteries has been more popular than the last, with the books constantly breaking sales records in the UK. These acclaimed thriller books are the perfect foundation for Netflix’s next franchise.

With many of Netflix’s biggest series coming to an end in 2025, including projects like Squid Game and Stranger Things, the streaming giant desperately needs another property to reach the same level of global popularity. Given how easy these books are to digest, and how charmingly likable all the characters are, it’s easy to imagine that The Thursday Murder Club could step into this role.

One of the rare features of Osman’s books is that each sequel manages to improve upon aspects of the previous one, making each pᴀssing installment better than the last. This is the key to building a prosperous franchise, and it would be an enormous missed opportunity if Netflix didn’t at least try to adapt the sequels once The Thursday Murder Club is released.

The initial trailers for The Thursday Murder Club suggest that Columbus’ movie will adopt a very similar tone to Osman’s novels: one of sharp wit, charming characters, and sentimental family dynamics. It could even be the perfect companion to the streamer’s Knives Out movies. This is sure to make the film a reliable crowd-pleaser that keeps audiences coming back for more.