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Netflix's Tiger King Docuseries Is a Wild, Gay, Polyamorous Mess
A trainwreck unlike anything we've ever seen before!
Netflix's latest crime docuseries has everything: big cats, polyamory, death threats, sequined jackets, redneck gays, homicide (??), mullets, and of course, cults.
Living up to its name, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is seven episodes of real-life insanity serialized for our viewing pleasure. It tells the story of Joe Exotic, an eccentric independent zoo owner in Oklahoma who allows average Joes to take selfies with the hundreds of tigers, leopards, jaguars, and more big cats he keeps.
Seemingly innocent enough, right?
Not at all. The documentary takes several hard right turns as it introduces us to the array of thrill-seeking narcissists that occupy the private zoo industry.
Ethical concerns are the least of our worries. Joe Exotic has an ugly rivalry with Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin, a weird cat lady Floridian animal rights activist who believes Joe is endangering his big cats. It's her life mission to take down his business. Also, she may have killed her husband in the 90s for his insurance money. The jury's still out on that.
Decades of anger and litigation between the two have fostered an extremely hostile relationship, so much so that Exotic is currently in jail for hiring a hitman to kill her.
But their drama is only the tip of the iceberg. We also meet Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, Exotic's idol and the fanatic owner of Myrtle Beach Safari who may or may not be running a cult and forcing his wives to get breast implants. Then there's Mario Tabroue, a reformed felon who's no longer cutting open snakes and lining their stomachs with drugs then sewing them back together again to smuggle into the country; he just wants to be left alone with his cats.
Did we mention Joe Exoctic has two husbands? And the flashy fame-chaser was the subject of a wacky 2010s reality series documenting the many outlandish, immoral, and potentially-illegal dealings that took place on his property - until all the footage mysteriously burned down in a studio arson along with a dozen of his crocodiles...
Oh also, one of Exotic's employees gets her arm bitten off on camera.
Yeah, I don't even know what to say about this show. Kate McKinnon is set to star in upcoming scripted series though, so the gays stay winning.
Stream Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness on Netflix now. Watch the trailer below:
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
