In 1975 and 1976, a series of crimes occurred across Thailand, Nepal and India, killing young Western travelers one after another. Charles Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-André Reklak (Jenna Coleman), who were wandering this Asian "Hippie Trail" disguised as gem traders, became the main suspects. After being inadvertently involved in this intricate criminal network, Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle), a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Thailand, came into contact with other witnesses who had seen how Sobhraj manipulated people's hearts. Together with Herman's spouse Angela (Ellie Bamber) and police from various countries, they helped Herman launch a special chain operation, listing Sobhraj as Interpol's most wanted criminal and issuing arrest warrants on multiple continents. The eight-episode limited series stars Tahar Rahim as Charles Soblay, Jenna Coleman as Marie-Andrée Leclerc, Billy Howle as Herman Knippenberg, Ellie Bamber as Angela Knippenberg, Amesh Adivela as Ajay Chaudhry, and Tim McInnerny as Paul Simmons. Snakes is produced by ITV Studios' Mammoth Screen and co-produced by BBC One and Netflix. The series was written by Richard Warlow and Toby Finlay, directed by Tom Senlan and Hans Hubers, produced by Stephen Smallwood, and executive produced by Richard Warlow, Tom Senlan, and Mammoth Screen's Preeti Mavahalli and Damian Timmer. Snakes was filmed in Thailand and the UK and is based on a true story, but all dialogue is fictional.