Tiger King: Inmate Turned Netflix Star

With everyone being forced to stay home, there has been a dramatic increase in people on the internet. One of the most popular websites that people are visiting frequently is the streaming service, Netflix. With thousands of movies and TV shows available, Netflix attracts a wide variety of viewers. Whether you’re watching one of your favorite childhood shows, or binge-watching a brand new show, Netflix has something for everyone. However, there is a new series on Netflix that has quickly gained the attention of tens of millions of viewers. 

Joe Exotic, most informally known as “Tiger King,” went from being an incarcerated criminal to a Netflix star, seemingly overnight. Joe Exotic is the star of the Netflix series Tiger King, which was released on March 20, 2020. The show details the life of Exotic, the former operator of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (G.W. Zoo) in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. The main attraction of the G.W. Zoo is the hundreds of big cats that call it home, the most famous of them being the tigers. However, there are other species of big cats that are seen in the series that are just as cute, and potentially even deadlier! The cats definitely contribute to the show’s dramatic nature, but there are plenty of other things that contribute to the thrill factor, one of them being the rivalry between Exotic and Carol Baskin.

  Carole Baskin is the owner of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary near Tampa, Florida. Baskin is an animal-rights activist that is desperately trying to end the private possession of big cats, the same big cats that Exotic showcases in the G.W. Zoo, which are privately owned by him. Tiger King deeply analyzes the rivalry between Exotic and Baskin, frequently showing clips of one of them bashing the other. However, it isn’t just Baskin’s mission to end the private ownership of big cats that makes up this rivalry. The series also discusses the allegations against Exotic that he tried to conduct a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin. Exotic was eventually charged and is currently serving a sentence in prison. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances that surround his arrest, all of which are discussed in Tiger King. 

Part of the reason why Tiger King has become so popular is because of how outrageous it is. It is different from any other show on Netflix, and that sort of uniqueness has led to people being genuinely interested. That being said, the show has also received some backlash because of some of its “unique” content. There are a lot of scenes that showcase Exotic shooting his guns and making ambiguous comments about Baskin while doing so. There is also the presence of polygamy, which can be off putting for a lot of viewers. Nonetheless, the series released a new episode on April 12, 2020 and as crazy as this show is, people just can’t get enough of it!

Netflix has a huge variety of shows, but Tiger King is like nothing anyone has seen before. With 30+ million viewers to date, it is almost guaranteed that Netflix will make a second season of the hit show. However, with Exotic currently being incarcerated, that may be difficult to pull off. Regardless, there are still eight episodes of Tiger King available on Netflix for people to watch. If you are going to watch it, just make sure you’re comfortable with some of its more controversial topics. Now, the real question that is on everyone’s mind. How many people are going to dress up as Joe Exotic for Halloween this year? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!