“The Serpent” is a wild ride based on real events. It dives into story of Charles Sobhraj, a guy who targeted young travelers on “Hippie Trail” back in the 70s. You follow Knippenberg and his crew trying to catch this guy. With stunning locations and a groovy 70s soundtrack, it’s basically a must-see for anyone who loves true crime and period pieces. Who knew crime could look so good?

Meet the characters from The Serpent

Charles Sobhraj

Oh man, Charles is the slippery, magnetic center of the chaos — charming, painfully clever, and always three steps ahead (or at least he thinks he is). He’s the kind of person who can make you feel seen one minute and totally gaslight you the next, which is both terrifying and oddly fascinating. He collects people’s stories like souvenirs and wears sunglasses even indoors — seriously, the sunglasses thing is peak dramatic. He’s cold in ways that make you squirm but also weirdly stylish, and yes he has a soft spot for watches and complicated lies.

Marie-Andrée Leclerc

Marie-Andrée is this quiet, haunted presence who follows Charles with a weird mix of devotion and bewilderment — like she’s trying to be brave but keeps forgetting how. She’s softer-spoken, often smiling in a distracted way, and there’s something tragic about how she clings to routine (tea at three, letters she never sends). She can be both oddly tender and stubbornly ruthless when pushed, which makes her unpredictable in the best/worst way. Honestly, she seems like someone who still thinks romance is possible even when the world keeps smacking her in the face.

Herman Knippenberg

Herman is the relentless, stubborn investigator who will not let things go — the kind of person who pins maps to his wall and loses sleep over a missing file. He’s principled and annoyingly moral (in a good way), the one who reads every report twice and remembers tiny details others forget — plus he drinks a lot of black coffee and probably has a tired mustache. He’s on a one-man mission more than once, and his quiet desperation is almost heroic, except when he trips over his own case files. He’s the axis of dogged persistence, and you kind of want to hug him and give him a bigger budget.

Angela Knippenberg

Angela is Herman’s backbone but also the one who’ll bite your head off if you underestimate her — fierce, practical, and full of dry humor. She balances family chaos with this steely resolve to see things through, and she has the surprisingly sharp one-liners that make you laugh while thinking “yep, she’s right.” She’ll bake at midnight when stressed (or at least say she will) and keep a little notebook with grocery lists and investigative notes mixed together. She’s warm in a protective way and really, really not interested in nonsense.

Ajay Chowdhury

Ajay feels like that scrappy, quietly brave local guy who knows the streets and the secrets, the kind of person who surprises you by stepping up when it matters. He’s resourceful and practical, a little grumpy sometimes (maybe from too much tea? or too much sympathy, hard to tell), and he has this stubborn loyalty that sneaks up on people. He’s not flashy — more the curry-and-cricket type of steady — but he can get fierce if friends are threatened. Occasionally he’ll do something inexplicably romantic like buy a terrible bouquet of flowers and you’ll love him for it.

Paul Siemons

Paul is the soft-spoken, meticulous kind of guy who files everything away and notices the tiny inconsistencies that everyone else glazes over. He comes off calm and almost nerdy (hello, tidy shirts and pens), but there’s a quiet moral courage under that meticulous exterior. He’s the one you trust to remember the names and the dates, and he probably keeps his receipts in alphabetized order. Sometimes he surprises himself by snapping — small, contained explosions of frustration — and you realise he’s more human than you gave him credit for.

Laver

Laver is the smooth, slippery fixer who always seems to know a guy and a boat and a back alley where things can vanish — unreliable in the best cinematic way. He’s got a grin that says “no big deal” even when it’s definitely a big deal, and he’s annoyingly charming (you’ll roll your eyes, then take his advice). He cooks a mean spicy noodle at 2 a.m. and smokes like the plot depends on it, though sometimes he does something unexpectedly solid like hold the line when things get real. He’s fun, messy, and you never quite trust him — which is kind of the point.

Nadine Gires

Nadine is the quietly elegant woman who keeps her composure like it’s an art form, except when she doesn’t and it’s shocking and real and heartbreaking. She’s warm and maternal in public but has this sharp intelligence that surfaces in private conversations, like she’s cataloguing everything for later. Loves orchids, does crosswords in ink (stubborn), and will surprise you by speaking bluntly when someone needs it. She manages to be dignified and exhausted at the same time, which is oddly compelling.

Remi Gires

Remi has that diplomatic, slightly stiff exterior — official, measured, the guy who remembers protocol and sighs when people skip steps — but underneath he’s anxious and quietly furious about injustice. He’s methodical and careful, probably drinks a lot of brandy to unwind, and tries very hard to be the adult in chaotic rooms. There’s a melancholy to him, like he’s carrying too many small compromises, yet he can be unexpectedly kind (and stubbornly principled). He’s the sort you’d want in a crisis, even if he fidgets with his tie the whole time.

Lawana

Lawana is fierce and resilient with a sunburnt kind of toughness and surprising warmth, like someone who’s been through a lot but still collects seashells on the beach. She’s protective of her circle, quick with a laugh, and has a habit of doodling little hearts in the margins of notebooks (don’t ask why, it just happens). She can be both terrified and terrifying — protective, impulsive, and loving in weirdly contradictory ways — and she’s honest in a blunt, refreshing way. Also, she probably hums to herself while working, which makes her impossible not to root for.