X
  • 2021
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix
  • 2021
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix

Summary Set in the 1970s, conman Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim) and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman) begin their crime spree in southeast Asia which catches the attention of Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) and his wife (Ellie Bamber) in this eight-part series inspired by real events. [Premiered originally in ...

  • 2021
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix
  • 2021
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix

The Serpent

Season 1 Premiere: Jan 1, 2021
Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 18 Critic Reviews
59
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 32 User Ratings
7.1
My Score
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Summary Set in the 1970s, conman Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim) and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman) begin their crime spree in southeast Asia which catches the attention of Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) and his wife (Ellie Bamber) in this eight-part series inspired by real events. [Premiered originally in ...

Where to Watch

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Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 18 Critic Reviews
59
50% Positive
9 Reviews
44% Mixed
8 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 18 Critic Reviews
59
50% Positive
9 Reviews
44% Mixed
8 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
83
Apr 2, 2021
The added time and the measured work from the show’s core cast help to show the full psychological toll it takes to both evade justice and to attempt to see it delivered.
By Steve Greene FULL REVIEW
75
Apr 1, 2021
Serpentine (I see what you did there) storyline concerns aside, “The Serpent” is an effectively unsettling, fictionalized telling of the incredible and horrific series of kidnappings and murders orchestrated by one Charles Sobhraj, played to suave and oily perfection by Tahar Rahim.
By Richard Roeper FULL REVIEW
70
Apr 2, 2021
The Serpent is certainly a slow burn, and it’s jumpy timeline will take some getting used to. But the lead performance by Rahim, and fine supporting performances by Coleman, Howle and Bamber help us stay engaged with the story.
By Joel Keller FULL REVIEW
60
Dec 3, 2021
With the local Thai police both corrupt and uninterested in the fate of ‘long-hairs’, Knippenberg becomes the detective figure in the subsequent story; once you grasped that, The Serpent became less slippery.
By Gerard Gilbert FULL REVIEW
60
Mar 5, 2021
It tells the story, makes Sobhraj’s life look fairly glamorous, amid all that murder, and makes it clear enough that these young people had their futures taken from them in the cruellest of ways. But it is not a whodunnit, nor much of a why-they-dunnit: anyone who knows the story will have some idea of where it lands. It looks the part, and pulls the right strings, but, in the end, it left me a little cold.
By Rebecca Nicholson FULL REVIEW
40
Apr 2, 2021
As a standalone history, it leaves a lot to be desired. It feels as if the miniseries is an attempt to sell us on the fact that while this slice of history—various sunglasses and sapphires and all—is interesting, the full details of it are too difficult to dramatize fully.
By Sonia Saraiya FULL REVIEW
30
Apr 1, 2021
The Serpent ends up being an infuriating blueprint for how bad storytelling choices, bad accents and an opaque central performance can thwart even the most inherently gripping of yarns.
By Daniel Fienberg FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 32 User Ratings
7.1
75% Positive
24 Ratings
13% Mixed
4 Ratings
13% Negative
4 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 32 User Ratings
7.1
75% Positive
24 Ratings
13% Mixed
4 Ratings
13% Negative
4 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company:
  • BBC One
  • Mammoth Screen
  • Netflix
Initial Release Date: Jan 1, 2021
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Genres:
All Details

Awards

Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Royal Television Society, UK
• 5 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 2 Nominations

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