The cozy mystery, starring Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, is now streaming on Netflix. The Thursday Murder Club ending explained: Who killed Tony Curran — and

The cozy mystery, starring Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, is now streaming on Netflix.

The Thursday Murder Club ending explained: Who killed Tony Curran — and why?

The cozy mystery, starring Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan, is now streaming on Netflix.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a former editor at **. He left EW in 2023.

EW's editorial guidelines

August 29, 2025 4:00 p.m. ET

(Left to right) Celia Imrie, Helen Mirren, Naomi Ackie, Pierce Brosnan, and Sir Ben Kingsley in 'The Thursday Murder Club'. Credit:

Giles Keyte/Netflix

- *The Thursday Club *stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie as retirees investigating cold cases.

- Chris Columbus' film is based on Richard Osman's best-selling books.

- The comedic mystery is now streaming on Netflix.

For some, retirement is about rest. For others, it's an opportunity for adventure. The aging quartet animating *The Thursday Murder Club* is among the latter.

Based on the first entry in Richard Osman's best-selling book series, Netflix's cozy mystery movie stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, and Sir Ben Kingsley as retirees with a passion for solving cold cases. When a murder occurs at their retirement village, the graying gumshoes put their crime-solving skills to the test.

Like any murder mystery, *The Thursday Murder Club* brims with shady suspects, red herrings, and late-in-the-game revelations. Join us as we slip on our deerstalkers, light up our pipes, and break down who killed who — and, of course, *why.***

What is The Thursday Murder Club about?

Sir Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Giles Keyte/Netflix

*The Thursday Murder Club* begins with our titular crime-solving aficionados recruiting a new member, Imrie's Joyce, to help them solve the cold case of Angela Hughes, who was stabbed and thrown from a window in 1973.

Quickly, however, their attentions are drawn to the murder of Tony Curran (Geoff Bell), the roguish co-owner of their retirement village, Cooper's Chase. Curran's death is bad news for the residents, as he was all that was standing in the way of his co-owner, Ian Ventham (David Tennant), selling the land and turning Cooper's Chase (and its adjoining cemetery) into luxury apartments and an event space.

Here's all the major changes between 'The Thursday Murder Club' book and film

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As the Thursday Murder Club intertwines itself in the official investigation — led by Daniel Mays' DCI Chris Hudson and Naomi Ackie's PC Donna De Freitas — several suspects emerge. There's Ian, obviously, who's going through a costly divorce and will certainly benefit from selling the land. But shady figures abound.

They include Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), a kindly Polish groundskeeper who's promised money and power by Ian — so long as Tony is out of the picture. There's also Jason (Tom Ellis), the son of Brosnan's Ron. A washed-up boxer (and reality TV star), Jason is dealing with his own financial woes. And what of the mysterious Bobby Tanner (Richard E. Grant), who, despite having been off the grid for years, is discovered to be a secret third owner of Cooper's Chase.

The mystery only deepens when Ian suddenly dies from what we soon learn is a lethal dose of fentanyl — one he didn't inject himself. The bodies are piling up, and the demolition of Cooper's Chase is imminent.

Who is Bobby Tanner?

Helen Mirren as Elizabeth in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Giles Keyte/Netflix

Bobby Tanner is described as a "crime kingpin" who's eluded the local police. He has a history with Tony, and suspicions of his involvement arise after a picture of the two of them is found at the crime scene. They're inflamed when Bobby is discovered to have a secret ownership stake in Cooper's Chase.

That means Bobby is the sole living owner of the retirement community. And since Ian's will dictates that his development plans for Cooper's Chase will continue despite his death, Bobby is the only one who can stop its destruction.

Through a bit of sleuthing, Mirren's Elizabeth is able to deduce that Bobby is living under an assumed name and operating a flower shop. When she visits him, he denies having anything to do with Tony or Ian's deaths. He does, however, admit that he and Tony had been engaged in the illegal practice of hiring immigrants and withholding their passports as a means of exerting power.

Tony, he says, was particularly cruel in this regard. That turns out to be a very important detail.**

Who killed Tony Curran?

Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Bogdan in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Tony was killed by Bogdan, the Polish groundskeeper employed by Ian at Cooper's Chase.

Though an early suspect, he fades into the background as the Thursday Murder Club investigates other leads. In fact, it's not even Elizabeth who first identifies him as the killer — it's her husband, Stephen (Jonathan Pryce). Observing and learning about him during the pair's games of chess, Stephen knew how badly Bogdan needed money to help his ailing mother back in Poland.

Bogdan admits to Stephen that, yes, he killed Tony, but only to get his passport back. Unfortunately, Stephen, who struggles with dementia, forgets his accusation just moments later.

Jonathan Pryce as Stephen in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

After learning about Tony and Bobby's passport scheme, Elizabeth deduces that Bogdan had more than a few reasons to want Tony out of the picture. She rushes back to Cooper's Chase with Donna and several police officers to arrest Bogdan. He proclaims his innocence, but what he didn't know was that Stephen records all of his chess matches — in order to study the moves of his opponents — so Bogdan's confession is on tape.

Bogdan says he didn't intend to kill Tony. He simply wanted his passport and Tony wouldn't give it to him. After Tony attacked him, he claims, "it was him or me, I had no choice."

But did Bogdan kill Ian, too?**

Who killed Ian Ventham?

David Tennant as Ian Ventham in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Ian was not, in fact, killed by Bogdan. It wouldn't have made sense for Bogdan to kill him, as it was Ian who was offering Bogdan the resources he needed to help his mother. So who did?

That's a complicated answer that, believe it or not, actually ties back to the cold case the Thursday Murder Club was investigating in the film's opening moments.

First, a bit of context. Angela Hughes' murder in 1973 remains unsolved, but the club's preliminary investigation found all evidence pointing towards her boyfriend, Richard Mercer, who was let off the hook by police before mysteriously disappearing.

Mercer pops up again halfway through the film. Bogdan, who was ordered by Ian to dig up the graves in the adjoining cemetery to make way for his development project, ends up finding a skeleton in a grave where it's not supposed to be. He shows it to Elizabeth, knowing her interest in mysteries such as this. Well, it turns out the skeleton is roughly 50 years old — and belongs to Mercer.

Henry-Lloyd Hughes' Bogdan and Helen Mirren's Elizabeth find Mercer's bones in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Giles Keyte/Netflix

The story of Mercer's bones intersects with that of Penny Grey (Susan Kirkby), a retired police officer and close friend of Elizabeth's. Penny co-founded the Thursday Murder Club with Elizabeth, but is now unconscious and at death's door in the hospice wing of Cooper's Chase, where her grieving husband, John (Paul Freeman), sits by her side.

Well, after finding Mercer's bones and digging back into the case's files (and the fact that it was one case Penny never wanted to reopen), Elizabeth deduces that Penny killed Mercer.

John confirms this to be true. "Penny couldn't stand by and look at that bully get away with it," he says. "She saw too many abusers walk free."

John, fearing that Ian's plan to dig up the cemetery would lead to the discovery of Mercer's bones, killed Ian to try and put a stop to it. He used a syringe of the fentanyl his wife was prescribed for her pain. As John puts it, he can't save his wife from the disease that's killing her, but he could try and protect her secrets from being uncovered.

Elizabeth understands his pain, but says she has to tell the police the truth. When John asks if he can have a moment alone with Penny before he's turned in, Elizabeth agrees. But she knows what the audience also does — that John is going to use the remaining fentanyl to end he and his wife's lives peacefully.**

How does The Thursday Murder Club end?

Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, and Celia Imrie in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Giles Keyte/Netflix

*The Thursday Murder Club* ends at the dual funeral of Penny and John. Kingsley's Ibrahim is giving the eulogy, saying, "What John did, he did for love, for the love of Penny."

After the service, Elizabeth gifts Joyce a necklace with the Thursday Murder Club logo on it. They want her to join as an official member, and she accepts.

But what's to become of Cooper's Chase? Bobby, the last surviving owner, told Elizabeth he plans to sell it, and Elizabeth knows just the buyer: Joanna (Ingrid Oliver), Joyce's well-off daughter. She says she's interested, which bodes well for the future of the community.**

Where can I watch The Thursday Murder Club?

(Left to right) Celia Imrie, Sir Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan in 'The Thursday Murder Club'.

Giles Keyte/Netflix

*The Thursday Murder Club* is now streaming on Netflix.**

*** Sign up for **'s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.*****

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