Richard Osman says societies around the world ‘treat older people terribly’

Richard Osman has spoken about the marginalisation of the elderly, claiming that there “isn’t a country in the world” that says, “we love older people”.

The author, podcaster and former game show sidekick is now best known as the author of the Thursday Murder Club book series, which focuses on a group of elderly retirement-home residents who become amateur sleuths.

In a new interview with The Times, Osman spoke about the success of the Thursday Murder Club franchise internationally.

The novels have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, with the rights having been sold in more than 40 countries.

“They all say, ‘Oh yeah, it really resonates. We treat older people terribly,’” Osman remarked. “There isn’t a country in the world where they go, ‘What are you talking about? We love older people.’”

Osman also spoke about the cultural barriers involved in translating the novels: in China, the books contain extensive footnotes contextualising Osman’s myriad of British reference points.

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“You look through the footnotes and it’ll be ‘Nigella Lawson’, ‘Hairy Bikers’, ‘Jaffa Cakes’. They explain everything,” Osman said.

Last month, a film adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club was released on Netflix.

Directed by Christopher Columbus (Home Alone), the film starred Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.

In a two-star review, The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “The Thursday Murder Club poses a simple question: if a murder mystery features Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie hoodwinking the law and gallivanting around a beautiful stately home, can it really be anything less than great? The answer, unfortunately, is yes.

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“No matter how enticing the prospect may sound on paper, and even with the efforts of director Chris Columbus (of Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire fame), the whole affair is so flimsy you’ll lose nothing from watching it on an iPad while cooking dinner.”

Osman rose to fame as the co-host of the BBC quiz show Pointless, opposite presenter Alexander Armstrong.

He currently works as the co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is… Entertainment, alongside newspaper columnist Marina Hyde.

“We come at things from different angles,” he told The Times. “Marina’s happy to be controversial and I’ve never found a fence I wasn’t comfortable sitting on.”

The Thursday Murder Club is available to stream on Netflix now.