Netflix has just announced a Tiger King after-show episode hosted by Joel McHale. It’s called Tiger King and I and it’ll feature a handful of new interviews with the, uh, characters of the show.
The after-show will feature new interviews with former zookeeper Saff, Joe Exotic‘s ex-husband John Finlay, Joe’s former campaign manager Joshua Dial, the former zoo manager John Reinke, former zookeeper Erik Cowie, the producer of Joe’s reality web series Rick Kirkman, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe.
Unsurprisingly, it looks like Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin will not appear in the special. She’s made it absolutely clear that she doesn’t approve of the docuseries or of her portrayal in it. In a statement published on her website, Carole expressed her disappointment that Tiger King was not “the big cat version of Blackfish (the documentary that exposed abuse at SeaWorld” and refuted the claims that she murdered her husband and fed his remains to her tigers. It appears Joe will also not appear in the special, although he is currently in jail so that might have something to do with. In an interview with Netflix last month, Joe said, “I’m done with the Carole Baskin saga. It’s now time to turn the tables and… get [Joe] out of jail a free man and exonerated from all these charges.”
Netflix released a teaser to promote the “eighth instalment” of the docuseries. McHale, decked on in full Tiger King apparel, called it “eye-opening and hopefully funny”.
The Tiger King and I hits Netflix April 12. That’s this Sunday.
The Tiger King and I — a Tiger King after show hosted by Joel McHale and featuring brand new interviews with John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Saff, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkman, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe — will premiere April 12 pic.twitter.com/8fbbNdaiDA
— Netflix (@netflix) April 9, 2020
Look, I don’t think there’s any point trying to explain what Tiger King is about. But for those who still haven’t seen it, but have instead chosen to watch it vicariously through memes, yarns, and tweets, here is the gist. The show is supposed to be about how former zoo owner Joe Exotic – legal name Joseph Maldonado-Passage – tried to hire someone to kill his mortal enemy Carole Baskin. But that’s easily the most uninteresting bit of the documentary. Tiger King is really a disturbing look at the exotic animal trade in the States with a dash of polygamy, cults, rumoured murder, lots of guns, and batshit fashion.
Tiger King is streaming on Netflix now.
