The Serpent: Season 1

"It's Rahim's portrayal of the ice-cold psychopathic conman that will stay with you."

"The Serpent, true to its title, treats Sobhraj as something more dangerous and otherwise less than human, but in doing so, it leaves the possibility of real insight behind."

"There's enough audacity and confidence on display to cast a firm, often spellbinding grip."

"Drags in places, but gradually becomes the kind of binge that those who get drawn in might well consume in a weekend."

"A central irritant with this series is the script's incessant leaps back and forth through time."

"Tahar Rahim... brings a breathtaking subtlety to the part of Sobhraj."

"Fewer episodes, more creative license and fewer twists would have helped condense Serpent into a consistently stirring series."

"A fascinating, exotic, lurid period-piece true-crime story about a suave, identity-switching serial killer who makes Tom Ripley seem like an amateur."

"The Serpent is certainly a slow burn, and its jumpy timeline will take some getting used to. But the lead performance by Rahim, and fine supporting performances by Coleman, Howle and Bamber help us stay engaged..."

"An infuriating blueprint for how bad storytelling choices, bad accents and an opaque central performance can thwart even the most inherently gripping of yarns."

"...Would be fine if the show’s lack of insight were replaced by thriller tension or even entertaining performances, but that’s not the case here."

"Rahim brings such a specific charismatic energy to the performance that it’s possible to see how enough people could have been drawn into such a dangerous and morally compromising web."

"There's a fine line between inscrutable and dull, and Rahim stays mostly on the right side."

"The way they jump forward and jump backwards is actually genius."

"Rahim and Coleman are brilliantly chilling."