Netflix’s Latest True Crime Doco ‘Tiger King’ Sounds Equal Parts Deranged & Disturbing

Joe Exotic / Tiger King

Netflix has announced yet another true crime documentary series to add to your watch list. It’s called Tiger King, and it’s about Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic. Yes, there’s a podcast. 

If you’re unfamiliar with Joe Exotic, Maldonado-Passage was a tiger breeder who ran a roadside zoo in Oklahoma. He was actually pretty well known for his mullet and flamboyant personality. He still has a (inactive) YouTube channel about his zoo, and heavily featured in a Louis Theroux 2011 documentary, America’s Most Dangerous Pets. He unsuccessfully ran for Oklahoma governor and president of the United States in 2018 and 2016, respectively.

Maldonado-Passage was convicted in 2019 over a plot to kill his long-time critic Carole Baskin, founder of the Big Cat Rescue Wildlife Sanctuary. He was also found guilty of killing five tigers, and for selling and offering to sell tiger cubs in violation of the Endangered Species Act. For his crimes, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January of this year.

The doco synopsis, per Netflix, is as follows: “A rivalry between big cat eccentrics takes a dark turn when Joe Exotic, a controversial animal park boss, is caught in a murder-for-hire plot in this limited docuseries where the only thing more dangerous than a big cat is its owner.”

So according to reports, Maldonado-Passage offered AUD$14,000 to an undercover FBI agent to kill Baskin in 2017.

In a recording that was played to the jury during trial, Maldonado-Passage said: “Just like follow her into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off.”

Netflix announced the documentary this morning, revealing the executive producer of FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened is behind it.

Consider me deeply unsettled. Intrigued, but unsettled.

There’s yet to be an official release date but we’ll keep you updated.

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