Society is 'obsessed' with young people while older generations 'overlooked', claims Richard Osman
Author and television presenter Richard Osman has said society is "obsessed" with young people and that older generations are "overlooked" despite being "incredibly wise".
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The game show host, 54, penned the globally renowned series, The Thursday Murder Club, which follows a crime-busting group of retirees who spend time solving cold case murders before they find themselves in their very own murder mystery.
The book has been adapted into a film starring Oscar-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, Calendar Girls actress Celia Imrie, and Gandhi star Sir Ben Kingsley.
Speaking at the London premiere for The Thursday Murder Club, Osman emphasised the importance of spotlighting older characters in his books.
He said: "In our society, as you get older, you do become slightly more invisible, you do become slightly more underestimated, and yet you talk to anyone in that generation, and there's these incredible stories and this incredible wisdom.
"I get the advantage of that in my book because I get these detectives who are incredibly wise but overlooked.
"In terms of our society, we're obsessed with 25-year-old people on Instagram. That's where all the money is, but the way the wisdom is and where the heart is, you know, that's hopefully something that The Thursday Murder Club books show."
Speaking about the two female protagonists in the series, Elizabeth, played by Dame Helen and Joyce, played by Imrie, Osman added: "I come from a family of very strong women.
"It didn't occur to me for a second that I wouldn't write women, and really the main character in the books is Joyce because she writes a diary.
"She's the one whose brain is closest to mine. So it turns out I go around life with the brain of an 80-year-old woman, and who knew that would pay off?
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"I just come from a family where strong, tough, fine, funny women are the norms and so that's easy for me to write."
Directed by American filmmaker Chris Columbus, the film adaptation also sees Doctor Who star David Tennant and Sir Jonathan Pryce join the cast alongside Saltburn actor Richard E Grant; Miranda's Tom Ellis and Mickey 17 actress Naomi Ackie.
Speaking about having his book translated for the screen, he said: "I've got my version of the story, and that's the book, and that's the one that's from my heart. So honestly, this is like icing on a cake, slightly surreal.
"It's like a true story coming to life with these people playing characters who I know very well. So it's all I can ever think about ... the next book and the next book and taking care of my characters."
The characters have been appreciated by readers around the world, as well as actors including Grant, who said: "Luckily for my generation, Richard Osman wrote these books that are based on older people, so it means that there are jobs for people who are over 65.
"In most other professions you are retired off but actors keep going, so I am very grateful for that." Osman published the first book of the series with the same name in 202,0 with the fifth book, The Impossible Fortune, due to hit shelves in September.
