The Serpent (TV series)

BBC One revealed first look stills of the series in January 2020.[10] A trailer was then released on 17 December 2020.[11] The miniseries was released in January 2021.

The Serpent received generally positive reviews in the UK. Rebecca Nicholson, writing in The Guardian, gave the first episode 3/5 stars, finding the time-hopping plotting unnecessary and confusing, and wondering whether the programme had much to say, while admiring the atmosphere and the 'routinely outstanding cast'.[12] For Euan Ferguson writing in The Observer, who admired Rahim and Coleman's acting, The Serpent is a 'skillful retelling' of the Sobraj story and one that both pays homage to his victims, while revealing the cultural shortcomings of the flower children. That Rahim underplays Sobraj's charm is a good thing for Ferguson.[13] While, Rahim's absence of charisma makes it hard to understand how Sobraj gained a hold over people for Flora Carr writing in The Radio Times, who gives the show 3/5 stars.[14]

Giving the programme 3/5 stars, Ed Cumming in The Independent found the pace slow and Rahim's acting staying mostly on the right side of the fine line between inscrutable and dull.[15] James Delingpole in The Spectator called it "the best BBC drama series in ages", admiring the period detail, superb casting and absence of "unnecessary politics" as well as noting that it might be especially painful for people who could have found themselves in similar scenarios to those that Charles Sobraj exploited.[16] By mid-point The Serpent gathers "considerable momentum" according to Trevor Johnson in Sight and Sound reviewing the first four episodes, who goes on to write that the series features an "alluring anti-hero" and excellent score, but is let down by the shallow characterisation of its Thai characters.[17]

• The Serpent at BBC Programmes
• The Serpent at IMDb
• The Serpent trailer from the BBC's YouTube channel