Netflix has announced plans for an eight-part true-crime series entitled The Serpent.

Set in the 1970s, the series will explain how serial killer Charles Sobhraj was brought to trial for his horrific crimes across India, Thailand and Japan. He escaped prison more than once and the series will tell how a junior diplomat managed to trace the mass murderer and bring him to justice. Tahar Rahim, star of The Prophet and The Looming Tower, will play Charles Sobhraj, and Ripper Street writers Richard Warlow and Toby Finlay are also on board. Recently, Tahar has been working on The Eddy, a new Netflix series produced by Damian Chazelle, who previously directed La La Land. The official summary for the new programme reads:

"Charles Sobhraj was the chief suspect in the unsolved murders of up to 20 young Western travellers across India, Thailand and Nepal through 1975 and 1976. Psychopath, con man, thief and master of disguise, having slipped repeatedly from the grasp of authorities worldwide, by 1976 serial killer Sobhraj was Interpol's most wanted man and had arrest warrants on three different continents. "When Herman Knippenberg, a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, unwittingly walks into Sobhraj's intricate web of crime, he sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will see these two diametrically opposed men engaged in a chase across the porous borders of the Hippie Trail, as Knippenberg seeks to bring Sobhraj to justice for his terrible crimes."

Directing the series is Tom Shankland and it's set to be produced by Mammoth Screen, an ITV owned company. Commissioned by BBC, the series will premiere on BBC One in the UK and outside of the UK, it will air on Netflix. Speaking about the exciting news, Brian Pearson, Netflix’s vice president for content acquisition, said:

"We’re excited to grow our partnership with the BBC alongside Mammoth Screen and bring this gripping story led by the brilliant Tahar Rahim to our members around the world".