The Serpent
What does it take to catch a killer?
Status
Ended
Country
Network
BBC One
Production
Creators
Richard Warlow, Toby Finlay
Actors
Tahar Rahim, Jenna Coleman, Billy Howle, Ellie Bamber, Mathilde Warnier, Grégoire Isvarine, Tim McInnerny, Alice Englert, Ellie de Lange, Armand Rosbak
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Richard Warlow, Toby Finlay
Producer
Stephen Smallwood, Tom Shankland
Camera operator
Seppe Van Grieken
Composer
Dominik Scherrer
Editing
Helen Chapman, Danielle Palmer, Malcolm Crowe
Whole Team (17)
Whole Team (17)
Short description
The remarkable story of how murderer Charles Sobhraj was captured. As the chief suspect in unsolved murders of young Western travellers across India, Thailand and Nepal’s ‘Hippie Trail’ in 1975 and 1976, Sobhraj had repeatedly slipped from the grasp of authorities worldwide to become Interpol's most wanted man, with arrest warrants on three different continents.
Seasons
| Season | Episodes | Release date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2021-01-01 | 8.1 |
What's left behind the scenes
- In the series, Angela Kneppenberg, played by Ellie Bamber, is shown in a supporting role, although in reality, she was just as involved in the investigation and search for Charles Sobhraj as Herman was.
- During her screen test, Jenna Coleman was asked to speak French. She had to learn the French language by ear.
- For her role in the series, Ellie Bamber had to learn how to speak with a German accent, as well as learn a bit of Thai.
- Fufu, who played the dog named Frankie, caused a lot of trouble because he wouldn't listen to the trainers and was constantly breaking things on set. One day, the actors in the series noticed that the dog was behaving unusually quietly. It later turned out that the producers had replaced Fufu with another dog and hadn't told anyone.
- The series is based on true events. Charles Sobhraj was nicknamed "The Serpent" for his cunning and ability to evade punishment. He was sometimes called the "bikini killer" because many of his victims were wearing bikinis.
- Marie-Andrée Leclerc, played by Jenna Coleman, is portrayed in the series as helpless and passively following Charles, played by Tahar Rahim. In reality, she was fanatically devoted to him and even participated in murders committed in various countries. Like Charles, she was eventually imprisoned in India, but when she was diagnosed with cancer, she was released and allowed to return to Canada. Leclerc remained loyal to Sobhraj until her own death at the age of 38 from ovarian cancer.
- Tahar Rahim had to take a break from filming to participate in the thriller "The Mauritanian" (Kevin Macdonald).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
