Details came together for Mammoth Screen’s upcoming crime drama The Serpent back in autumn 2019, with the series coming to Netflix internationally and BBC One in the UK. You can see the trailer at the bottom of the page to see it in action and the details for the theme song are below too, along with the cast and synopsis, air date and the latest from the production.
The biggest news is that the cast will include Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman (Victoria) as the partner of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, alongside Tahar Rahim (The Looming Tower). Since her time in the Tardis she’s gone on to play Queen Victoria in the ITV drama, Baines in Thunderbirds Are Go and Lydia Wickham In Death Comes To Pemberley and her role in The Serpent looks set to be yet another direction for her.
AdvertisementSynopsis
The plot for the 8-part drama is based on the real life story of Herman Knippenberg, a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok who unwittingly discovers the criminal world of Charles Sobhraj. Investigating the disappearance of two Dutch nationals, he stumbles on the dark trails of the chief suspect in the killings of a number of backpackers.
Set on the Hippie Trail in India, Nepal and Thailand in 1975 and 1976 it turns out to be a very dangerous place for anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in the killer’s web of lies. Nicknamed “The Serpent”, Sobhraj managed to avoid capture using a combination of stolen passports and disguise, despite arrest warrants on three different continents. It pathed the way for one of Interpol’s highest profile man hunts of the decade.
The Serpent cast
In addition to Coleman and Rahim as Marie-Andrée Leclerc and Charles Sobhraj, the cast also includes Billy Howle and Ellie Bamber as Herman and Angela Knippenberg. The Serpent will also feature Alice Englert (Top of the Lake), Mathilde Warnier (The Widow), Gregoire Isvarine (The Inside Game), Sahajak Boonthanakit (Only God Forgives), Fabien Frankel (Last Christmas), Chicha Amatayakul (Girl From Nowhere), Surasak Chaiyaat (Love Destiny), and Ruby Ashbourne-Serkis (National Treasure and daughter of Andy Serkis).
You can follow the official BBC One Twitter page at https://twitter.com/BBCOne to see more about the cast in the buildup to the air date.
Release date in the UK
The UK air date for The Serpent on BBC One and the release outside the UK on Netflix hasn’t been confirmed as of yet. Filming is underway at the moment on location in Thailand, so we’re not expecting it anytime soon. It doesn’t seem like the kind of production that would work well during Christmas and New Year, so we’re probably looking at Q1-2 for the premier, which we’ll keep you posted on here.
The release continues the ongoing relationship between BBC and Mammoth Screen with productions like Agatha Christie thriller The Pale Horse and World War II drama World On Fire in the works too. It follows on from the previous success of The ABC Murders and Poldark.
You can see more on Mammoth Screen at https://www.mammothscreen.com/productions/.
Theme tune and trailer
AdvertisementThe Serpent theme tune is a slow and tense number created for the show by renowned British composer Dominik Scherrer. It’s a dark and foreboding classical piece for the intro song, but it doesn’t feature in the trailer. With eight episodes and Netflix in toe for the thriller, it was always going to be the kind of production with a memorable theme.
AdvertisementThe Serpent age rating and parents guide
Any story featuring a serial killer is going to be one to be aware of for parents, so you’re probably going to want to give The Serpent and age rating of 15 in the very least. Even if the portrayal of the crimes is toned down for the BBC One and Netflix production, you’re still probably going to veer in the side of caution. We’ll update with more details after the trailer arrives and then again after the air date.
Trailer
You can see straight away from the trailer that the production is a very stylish one. The BBC is one of the best when it comes to crime drama and with the added budget of Netflix behind it, you’ve got a very well crafted series. The Serpent is obviously going to be a difficult watch, but Mammoth Screen has clearly put the work in to make it visually impressive throughout.
