The Serpent is based on true events of a criminal mastermind who committed his crimes in Bangkok in the 1970s and was able to entice others into his web to poison, drug, rob and kill unsuspecting victims backpacking to broaden their horizons. Jenna Coleman (Young Victoria) plays his girlfriend who seems to get off on the power she wields by pretending to be his wife and has left her moral compass at the door. She is also acting like an actress who just got her first job.
Attention is given to costumes, locations, cars and sets to create the 1970s world when these crimes happened but the same attention to develop the characters fall short of the mark. Billy Howle who plays the embassy attaché and the only person who cares that people are being murdered seems way over his head. In episode 2 he is on the phone while smoking and seems to have just lit his first cigarette. He should have practiced smoking because he is not in the least convincing. The killer is charmless but menacing and perhaps that's the hold he has on those helping him kill his victims. I am not sure I will be able to stay with the series. We go back and forth in time which seems more gimmick than anything and does little to enhance the story. The characters and production is amateurish at best. I am underwhelmed. This could have been riveting with the right cast and right direction but isn't that true of any production.