BBC and Netflix team up for new true crime drama

Tuesday 16 July 2019 by Charlotte Whyatt  News

BBC One and Netflix have partnered up to co-produce new true crime drama The Serpent. 

The eight-episode limited series will follow Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg during the hunt for Vietnamese serial killer Charles Sobhraj in the mid-1970s. 

Born in 1944, he acted as a con-man and a jewel thief before killing as many as 20 Western tourists across India, Thailand and Nepal.

Award-winning French actor Tahar Rahim will take on the role of Sobhraj but Knippenberg has yet to be cast. 

Tom Shakland, who recently helmed the BBC’s non-musical adaptation of Les Miserables, is to direct all eight episodes.

Ripper Street writers Richard Warlow and Toby Finlay are to author the script. 

“I am thrilled to play Charles Sobhraj in The Serpent, a role I have dreamed of portraying since I read a book about him when I was seventeen years old,” said Rahim.

“We are delighted to have the brilliant Tahar Rahim play our leading man in The Serpent and for him to unravel Sobhraj’s dark web of deceit, crime and murder in this fascinating true story for BBC One.” added Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama.

Source: ITV