The Thursday Murder Club film landed on Netflix last year with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley, and performed well enough that Netflix didn’t even pause before going back to Richard Osman for more.
Netflix is developing a six-part drama series adaptation of Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders, the first book in his new mystery series, following the success of The Thursday Murder Club film on the platform.
The sequel book, We Chase Shadows, arrives on September 15, meaning Osman has two active mystery franchises with Netflix simultaneously. The man is having quite a year.
What Is We Solve Murders About?
In We Solve Murders, things get significantly more globe-trotting and considerably more action-packed than the retirement village setting of The Thursday Murder Club.
The official synopsis makes the premise immediately irresistible:
Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers the pub quiz and afternoons at home with his cat Trouble. His days of adventure are over, that’s his daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul, which makes being a private security officer to billionaires the perfect job. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending Steve an SOS… As a breakneck race around the world begins, can they stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?
The father-and-daughter-in-law dynamic between Steve and Amy is the engine of the series—two people who are genuinely fond of each other but operate at completely different speeds and with completely different risk tolerances.
Steve wants the pub quiz. Amy finds a dead body on a billionaire’s private island and sends her retired father-in-law an SOS. They are, to put it gently, not always on the same page.
The Guardian gave it a strong review, calling Osman’s new crime-fighting team “another winner.” It was an instant New York Times bestseller upon publication in September 2024. And the sequel, We Chase Shadows, arrives September 15, 2026.
Richard Osman himself announced the Netflix deal with his usual disarming candor, saying during a TV interview:
“Netflix have bought the rights to We Solve Murders, which is great. So it could be a busy few years.”
He then added, with perfectly calibrated self-deprecation: “Unless everyone reads We Solve Murders and says, ‘This is not for us,’ in which case they’ll go quiet.”
Given that it became a New York Times bestseller, Netflix has remained very loud indeed.
What We Know About the Netflix Series?
The adaptation is being developed as a six-part drama series. This format gives the story considerably more room than a feature film would and suits the globe-trotting, chapter-by-chapter nature of Osman’s plotting very well.
No cast, showrunner, director, or premiere date has been confirmed at this stage. The project is in active development, and given how recently the announcement was made, we are likely some way from a casting announcement. A 2027 premiere feels realistic, though nothing is confirmed.
Notably, this marks the second Richard Osman franchise Netflix is actively developing. The Thursday Murder Club remains a film universe, while We Solve Murders is being developed exclusively as a TV series from the outset.
Netflix is, in effect, building two parallel Osman franchises in two different formats. That is an extraordinary level of institutional confidence in one author.
Read Now: Steve, Amy, and a Dead Body on an Island
We Solve Murders is available now, and We Chase Shadows arrives on September 15. You have plenty of time to read both before casting is announced and the internet divides into passionate camps over who should play Steve and Amy.
If you haven’t read any Richard Osman yet, you genuinely don’t need to choose between The Thursday Murder Club and We Solve Murders as an entry point. These are entirely separate series, entirely self-contained, with completely different casts and completely different tones. Start with whichever premise pulls you in harder.
But do start because Netflix is clearly not done with Richard Osman, and the best possible way to be ready for whatever they announce next is to already be inside his world.
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