Do you remember March of 2020? Who am I kidding, of course you do! It was back at the beginning of quarantine when everyone was obsessed with doing the same things. Families were all taking hour long walks through the neighborhood; everyone found the whipped coffee Tik Tok recipe, and some had even just discovered TikTok, itself!
(Major side note, the whipped coffee is fantastic! Maybe make it and sip on it while you get sucked into Netflix? That’s what I did…)
And of course, there was, what I think to be, the most interesting trend to come out of quarantine, the Netflix documentary called Tiger King. Filming began in 2014 and it’s constructed of video clips that have been gathered over the years. Since it is a documentary, there aren’t any actors, only the people that this documentary is based on. The directive team interviewed employers, members of the FBI team that directed the case against Joe Exotic, Joe Exotic's campaign manager who helped him attempt to run for President in 2016, and his rival, Carole Baskin.
Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin from the Netflix series, Tiger King. Credit: Netflix
A bit of background for those who may be jumping into this show as blind as I did, Carole Baskin is an animal rights activist and proud owner of the animal charity Big Cat Rescue. And Joe Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison for allegedly plotting to kill Carole. But, before that, he owned a private big cat zoo that competed with Carole Baskin’s, which became the source of this rivalry. The documentary dives into allegations from Joe towards Carole for some pretty appalling things which, not going to lie, seem somewhat convincing when they get into it. (If you want to know what I’m talking about, check out the Tik Tok linked below.)
There is only one season of this show, but by the end of it, you may be thankful for that. On a scale from “Oh, I could see any reasonable person making these decisions,” to “Why am I letting myself waste time by watching this,” I would personally rate it at a “I want to look away. It’s so bad, but I can’t.” The chaos that this crew is able to fit into 8-hours of TV is incredible. What’s even better than that is the record time that it took me to watch it which was two days! And while the quarantine era of binging TV shows and not moving off of your couch may be over, there’s never not a good reason for a bit of harmless background noise. And if it just so happens that you get completely invested in the show that is playing, more power to you!
So, if you haven’t already seen this show, it’s definitely one of my favorites to recommend. It also helps to re-watch it and thank yourself for not having a life as crazy as Joe Exotic’s. And, odds are, if you enjoy watching unexpected and unnecessary drama, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this show. Happy binging!