Tiger King

Tiger King
Promotional poster for the first season
Also known as
  • Murder, Mayhem, and Madness
  • Tiger King 2
  • The Doc Antle Story
GenreTrue crime
Documentary
Directed byEric Goode
Rebecca Chaiklin
Presented byJoel McHale (2020 Special)
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes15 (+1 special)
Production
Executive producers
CinematographyDamien Drake
Editors
  • Doug Abel
  • Nicholas Biagetti
  • Dylan Hansen-Fliedner
  • Daniel Koehler
  • Geoffrey Richman
Running time41–48 minutes
Original release
ReleaseMarch 20, 2020 (2020-03-20) –
December 12, 2021 (2021-12-12)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Tiger King (subtitled in marketing as Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness for its first season, Tiger King 2 for its second season and Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story for its third season) is an American true crime documentary television series about the life of former zookeeper and convicted felon Joe Exotic.[1] The first season was released on Netflix on March 20, 2020.[2] A second season, Tiger King 2, was announced in September 2021 and was released on November 17, 2021, while a third season, Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story, was announced on December 3, 2021, and released one week later on December 12.[3][4] The series focuses on the small but deeply interconnected society of big cat conservationists such as Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue, and collectors such as Exotic, whom Baskin accuses of abusing and exploiting wild animals.

Season 1 received positive reviews from critics, and according to Nielsen ratings, was watched by 34.3 million people over its first ten days of release, ranking as one of Netflix's most successful releases to date, partly due to its release amid the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and also inspired several memes online.[5] Despite its success and popularity, the season received criticism from conservation and animal rights groups for its framing and inaccuracies related to private breeding and wildlife conservation issues.[6][7][8] A special aftershow hosted by Joel McHale was released on April 12, 2020, with McHale interviewing several of its subjects about Exotic and the series itself. The second and third seasons in contrast received mostly negative reviews from fans and critics, and the former was subject of a lawsuit by Carole and Howard Baskin over footage used in the series.[9][10]

  1. ^ Miller, Julie (March 19, 2020). "Netflix's Wild Tiger King Is Your Next True Crime TV Obsession". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  2. ^ "Tiger King". Netflix. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Peters, Jay (September 25, 2021). "Tiger King season 2 premieres November 17th". The Verge. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (September 23, 2021). "Tiger King is returning for a second season on Netflix later this year". The Verge. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  5. ^ "55 hilarious 'Tiger King' memes we all need right now". April 2, 2020. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ April 2020, Mindy Weisberger-Senior Writer 15 (April 15, 2020). "Outrageous 'Tiger King' zoo owners say they help tigers. Conservation experts disagree". livescience.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Shafer, Ellise (November 1, 2021). "Carole Baskin Sues Netflix for Using Footage of Her in 'Tiger King 2'". Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Anderson, Hayley (November 18, 2021). "Tiger King season 3 release date: Will there be another series of Tiger King?". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.