All You Need To Know About Netflix True-Crime Show The Serpent

BBC's true-crime drama show, The Serpent has released on Netflix this Friday on April 2, 2021.

The show is based on the real-life of a serial killer and con-man Charles Sobhraj who used to drug, rob and kill backpackers on the Hippie Trail between 1975-1976.

The role of Sobhraj is played by the award-winning French actor Tahar Rahim. Jenna Coleman, who is also famous for playing Clara Oswald, the companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the Doctor Who series is playing the role of Sobhraj's accomplice, Marie-Andrée Leclerc. Billy Howle plays the role of Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg.

The Serpent is directed by Tom Shankland and Hans Herbots and written by Richard Warlow. The drama is a co-production between Netflix and BBC One, developed by Mammoth Screen and commissioned by BBC.

Here are 10 things we know about BBC One's The Serpent:

1. It is an eight-episode true-crime limited series by BBC and Netflix.

2. The show follows the story of serial killer Charles Sobhraj and how he was brought to justice.

3. Most of the show is shot in Thailand. But due to COVID limitations, the cast and crew had to come back to the UK and the rest of the show was shot in Hertfordshire, England in August 2020. Kathmandu, Delhi, Paris and other cities were created through sets and visual effects.

4. The film was in the pre-production stage since 2013 but started its production only in 2019.

5. According to the producer of the show, the real-life story of Sobhraj and the incidents surrounding him were so bizarre that they had to cut down many facts as the public would never believe them.

6. The production crew of the show never met the real Sobhraj in order to pay respect to the families of Sobhraj's victims.

7. The Serpent was based on the interviews of Sobhraj taken after his arrest by the journalist Julie Clarke and details on Leclerc's diary.

8. Herman Knippenberg, the Dutch diplomat who spent his entire life trying to catch Sobhraj never met him in real life, as he was arrested after Knippenburg got retired.

9. Sobhraj and Leclerc were arrested in India and sentenced to life. After his release, Sobhraj was arrested again by Nepal's government and is in jail in Kathmandu.

10. The show was released on BBC on January 1, 2021, and came on Netflix on April 2, 2021.

Watch the trailer of the show here: