‘The Serpent’: TV Review
Daniel Fienberg
For the second season of FX’s
American Crime Story franchise, Tom Rob Smith used a reverse-chronological structure to trace Andrew Cunanan’s
Talented Mr. Ripley-style journey from con artist with identity issues to road-tripping murderer. It was a framing device that didn’t always feel organic, but it yielded unexpected emotional rewards as the series progressed, aided tremendously by Darren Criss’ lacerating performance.
It’s impossible to know if writer Richard Warlow took inspiration from
The Assassination of Gianni Versace; maybe it’s a complete coincidence that he approached the menacing tale of ’70s serial killer Charles Sobhraj as a