It might feel likes years since Tiger King–Netflix’s true-crime masterpiece–hit our screens, but its upcoming TV adaptation is here to keep our obsession with the bizarre tale going.
It has been confirmed that a scripted show starring Saturday Night Live‘s Kate McKinnon as Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin will be going ahead. NBCUniversal announced that the drama, titled Joe Exotic, will consist of an eight-episode limited series based on the Wondery podcast, Joe Exotic: Tiger King, which reveals further details into both Exotic and Baskin’s personal lives.
As we learnt from the Netflix documentary series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, Joe and Carol’s rivalry spurred major tension between the two big cat enthusiasts, so we can expect the dramatised version to use that as inspiration.
Below, everything we know about the upcoming series.
What Will The Series Be About?
The series will be based on the true events following Carole Baskin, “a big cat enthusiast, who learns that when fellow exotic animal lover Joe ‘Exotic’ Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit, she sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry.”
The show’s official description adds that Carole “has a checkered past of her own” and that “Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy.”
Who Has Been Cast?
As mentioned, McKinnon will take on the role of Baskin, as well as executive produce the upcoming series. The role fo Joe Exotic has not yet been cast, but when Exotic–real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage–was asked who he’d like to see play himself, he suggested “Brad Pitt or David Spade.”
When Will It Begin Filming?
According to reports, the mini-series will begin production in early 2021. The Courier Mail reported the show will be filmed in Brisbane as part of a million-dollar deal made between the Australian government and NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group.
When Will The Series Be Released?
There’s been no word yet on when the Joe Exotic mini-series will air, so stay tuned!
