# The Serpent (2021)

> A dogged Dutch diplomat and a French-Canadian woman hunt the charming serial killer Charles Sobhraj as he preys on young travellers along the 1970s Hippie Trail.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/79046

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 58 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Richard Warlow, Toby Finlay
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Tahar Rahim, Jenna Coleman, Billy Howle, Ellie Bamber, Mathilde Warnier, Grégoire Isvarine, Tim McInnerny, Alice Englert
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7985576/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, paranoid, brooding, unsettling, atmospheric

## What critics say

Audiences rate the miniseries positively, praising its gripping true-crime account and well-made craft.

## Synopsis

The Serpent (2021) is a British true crime miniseries created by Richard Warlow and Toby Finlay for BBC One. Tahar Rahim plays Charles Sobhraj, a charismatic con artist and suspected serial killer who slips between identities across Asia, while Billy Howle plays Herman Knippenberg, a Dutch diplomat who refuses to let the case go, and Jenna Coleman plays Marie-Andrée Leclerc, a French-Canadian travel companion whose disappearance draws her into the pursuit. Across eight episodes the engine is a cat and mouse game: investigators must prove crimes committed across borders where authorities barely cooperate, while Sobhraj stays one step ahead with forged papers, flattery and sudden charm. Each episode moves between the detectives' tense investigations and the murky world of young Western backpackers drifting along the 1970s Hippie Trail through India, Thailand and Nepal. Set in mid-1970s Bangkok, Kathmandu and Delhi, the series is a grounded, unsettling true story with a brooding, paranoid atmosphere, where the mood is dread rather than spectacle. Fans of Mindhunter, The Night Manager and Ripper Street will find resonance in its patient, detail-driven dramatization of real criminal manipulation and the people determined to stop it.

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