Tahar Rahim Takes Lead In BBC/Netflix True Crime Serial Killer Drama ‘The Serpent’
Award-winning French actor Tahar Rahim (‘The Looming Tower’, ‘A Prophet’, ‘The Eddy’) will take the lead role of Charles Sobhraj in drama series ‘The Serpent’, based on the astonishing true story of how one of the most elusive criminals of the 20th century was caught and brought to trial.
Charles Sobhraj was the chief suspect in the unsolved murders of up to 20 young Western travellers across India, Thailand and Nepal through 1975 and 1976. Psychopath, con man, thief and master of disguise, having slipped repeatedly from the grasp of authorities worldwide, by 1976 serial killer Sobhraj was Interpol’s most wanted man and had arrest warrants on three different continents.
When Herman Knippenberg, a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, unwittingly walks into Sobhraj’s intricate web of crime, he sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will see these two diametrically opposed men engaged in a chase across the porous borders of the Hippie Trail, as Knippenberg seeks to bring Sobhraj to justice for his terrible crimes.
“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,” comments Rahim. “I couldn’t be happier than to make it under the direction of Tom Shankland and writers Richard Warlow and Toby Finlay.”
Commissioned by BBC One, ‘The Serpent’ will be produced by Mammoth Screen (‘Poldark’, ‘World On Fire’) and is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix. The eight-part limited series is written by Richard Warlow (‘Ripper Street’) and Toby Finlay (‘Ripper Street’) and directed by Tom Shankland (‘Les Miserables’).
“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,” adds Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama.
The Serpent is an 8×60’ limited series produced by Mammoth Screen for BBC One and Netflix. It is executive produced by Richard Warlow, Tom Shankland, Preethi Mavahalli and Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen, Lucy Richer for the BBC and will be handled by Carolyn Newman for Netflix. Mammoth Screen is part of ITV Studios and the deal was made through ITV Studios Global Entertainment. Further casting will be revealed in due course.
‘The Serpent’ will premiere on BBC One in the UK and on Netflix outside of the UK.
