THE REAL SERPENT: INVESTIGATING A SERIAL KILLER

In the 1960s and 70s, countless young Westerners went to Asia, backpacking along the Hippie Trail.

Some of them met a handsome young gemstone dealer called Charles Sobhraj. The lucky ones were drugged and robbed of their passports and belongings. The unlucky ones lost their lives to the serial killer who would become known as The Serpent. 

Today, at almost 80 years of age, Sobhraj the conman turned killer, has pulled off perhaps his greatest trick. Against all the odds, he has been released from prison in Nepal where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of two backpackers in the country in the 1970s. 

Today, as a free man, he nonetheless remains suspected of the senseless slaying of dozens of other young tourists across Asia.

This master of evading both truth and justice, has been in the sights of film-makers David Howard and Rik Hall for almost a decade and have gained unprecedented access to Sobhraj.  As well as following him with their cameras for six months, Sobhraj has laid down the gauntlet inviting anyone with evidence against him to come forward and challenge him.  

“There are five episodes in season 1 of World’s Most Notorious Killers and you’ll want to watch each one.” HEAVEN OF HORROR
"A real globe-trotting true-crime expedition." COLLIDER
“Gripping" OXYGEN
“As a true crime fan, I can confirm that great shows are sometimes hard to find, but Peacock is coming to the rescue with their new docuseries, “World’s Most Notorious Killers.” HORRORFUEL
“A brand-new docuseries that you’ll want to add to your queue.” COLLIDER
"Highly compelling." THE GUARDIAN
**** [Four Stars] DAILY MAIL WEEKEND
"Fascinating." IRISH DAILY MAIL
**** [Four Stars] "Gripping documentary." THE TELEGRAPH
"A superb skewering of Charles Sobhraj." THE TELEGRAPH
"Pick of the day." THE I
"Pick of the day." THE GUARDIAN
"Intense." THE OBSERVER
"Pick of the day." THE OBSERVER
"Unprecedented access. This is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a callous killer. THE SUN

DURATION

3 x one hour (1 x 74-minutes also available)

BROADCASTER

Channel 4

YEAR OF PRODUCTION

2024

PRODUCED BY

Monster Films

COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION

UK

Director

David Howard

Producer

Rik Hall

Executive Producer

Chris Shaw

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