The Serpent miniseries: Re-Constructing Murders British true-crime drama miniseries The Serpent, written by Richard Warlow and Tob Finlay, mainly takes place in the mid-1970s following multiracial French serial killer Charles Sobhraji and his lover French Canadian Marie-Andrée Leclerc. The eight-part series explores how Charles got away with murdering and poisoning “hippy” travelers throughout South Asia. Only Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg hunts for the serial killer. The main problem with The Serpent is the minimalization of the character Angela Knippenberg. The real Angela has said that actress Ellie Bamber who played her, did not correctly portray her. Something we can blame the writer and directors for more than Bamber.