If there’s one thing Netflix knows about the public, it’s that they like a good murder mystery. That’s the whole reason The Thursday Murder Club exists, but if you’ve already watched it, you might be looking for something that has a similar light tone, even though it’s also about crime.
While not all of the movies we’ve pulled together for this list are murder mysteries, they all strike a similar balance to The Thursday Murder Club. Check out our selections for similar movies below.
Knives Out (2019)
Rian Johnson’s ode to the work of Agatha Christie, Knives Out, is an old-fashioned whodunit centered on a wealthy family whose patriarch dies under mysterious circumstances. Although this film launched an entire franchise, the first Knives Out is an intelligent examination of the way class and race change how we look at people, even as it proves to be a deeply satisfying mystery.
Ana de Armas delivered a breakout performance here that justifiably earned her plenty of attention, even as she was working with a star-studded ensemble cast.
You can watch Knives Out on Amazon Prime Video.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Your average heist movie knows that the most climactic moment of the film is the robbery. What A Fish Called Wanda presupposes is that maybe we’ve got it all wrong. This movie tells the story of a group of criminals who unite for a diamond heist that goes terribly wrong.
In the aftermath, they try to cover up the crime and recover the diamonds they lost in frequently hilarious fashion. Kevin Kline won an Oscar for his performance as a weapons expert who can’t seem to kill an elderly woman. Regardless, every performance in A Fish Called Wanda is excellent.
You can watch A Fish Called Wanda on Tubi.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
One of the definitive cult movies of the 1990s, The Big Lebowski is a little less straightforward than Thursday Murder Club, but it’s absolutely packed with some of the greatest jokes ever told.
Anchored by the most definitive performance of Jeff Bridges’ career, the film follows Jeffrey Lebowski, a.k.a. The Dude, as he gets ensconced in an elaborate mystery in the greater Los Angeles area. Although the specifics of the plot in The Big Lebowski are complicated, the movie itself is filled with so many iconic lines and moments that you hardly notice.
You can watch The Big Lebowski on HBO Max.
Gosford Park (2001)
Gosford Park is a prim and proper comedy, but a comedy nonetheless. The film is an upstairs-downstairs drama in which someone is murdered during a gathering of wealthy lords and ladies. The rest of the people in a particular wealthy manor have to suss out who did it.
Written by Julian Fellowes, who would go on to create Downton Abbey, Gosford Park is supremely aware of all the ways money can absolutely annihilate a person’s sense of self-awareness. Just as crucially, though, Gosford Park‘s mystery has a remarkably satisfactory conclusion.
You can rent Gosford Park on Amazon Prime Video.
The Nice Guys (2016)
If Barbie was the first time you realized just how funny Ryan Gosling can be, you owe it to yourself to watch The Nice Guys. This ode to the ’70s crime comedy tells the story of a private investigator (Gosling) who teams up with an enforcer (Russell Crowe) to look into the disappearance of a young woman.
Because Shane Black wrote and directed the film, things are darker and funnier than you can imagine. The Nice Guys is unhinged in all the right ways and deserves even more love than it received in 2016.
You can rent The Nice Guys on Amazon Prime Video.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Maybe still Wes Anderson’s best movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel tells the story of a hotel manager who prides himself on his personalized service. When one of his guests turns up dead, he becomes the chief suspect in her murder and goes to extraordinary lengths to prove his innocence and maintain his position in the hotel.
Ralph Fiennes delivers one of the great performances of the decade at the center of this film, and Anderson’s intricate style proves to be a perfect match for the material he’s working with here.
You can rent The Grand Budapest Hotel on Amazon Prime Video.
Confess, Fletch (2022)
Confess, Fletch absolutely rules. Adapted from a series of novels about a freelance reporter who finds himself stumbling into various mysteries, this film stars Jon Hamm as the titular Fletch, a man who finds himself the prime suspect in a murder.
As he works to prove his innocence, he charms and quips his way across the city of Los Angeles and even begins suspecting that his girlfriend might be behind the crime. Confess, Fletch is light on its feet, and Hamm is perfect at the center. We should get one of these movies every year for the rest of our lives.
You can watch Confess, Fletch on Paramount+.
