Next week sees the release of Surviving Joe Exotic, a documentary that follows the creatures who once lived in Joe Exotic's zoo.
To be quite honest, I was perfectly content to forget about the realm of Tiger King. If only for a month or so, it was joy not to hear people say, "Hey all you cool cats and kittens," every five minutes, but admittedly the old covids probably had something to do with diverting the world's attention.
Surviving Joe Exotic poster However, a few things have recently made me think of the infamous docu-series: this new documentary Surviving Joe Exotic; Carole Baskin getting duped into wishing Rolf Harris a happy birthday on Cameo; and my colleague's name on Slack having a Carole Baskin emoji next to it.
After being found guilty of paying a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, which evidently didn't work, and of several other Endangered Species Act crimes, including the slaughter of five tigers, Exotic is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence. However, Animal Planet's upcoming program will concentrate on his most recent misdeeds.
According to a newsrelease about the documentary: Viewers will follow the emotional stories of animals that made it out of the zoo for a second chance at life, and hear from ex-employees, including Saff Saffery - who lost an arm to one of Joe’s tigers - rescue leaders, exotic animal experts, and others with firsthand knowledge of the animal trafficking and breeding that fuelled Joe Exotic’s empire.
Paired with never-before-seen footage of Joe filmed for Animal Planet’s Wolves and Warriors in 2018, audiences will witness the stories of animals who were caught in the crossfire of Joe Exotic’s big cat breeding business, and the heartwarming stories of those that found new homes after the G.W. Zoo.
It's an intriguing perspective because, in the Tiger King series, the tigers essentially served as the plot's and the characters' second fiddle.
In my opinion, Joe Exotic's discussion in the last episode about the monkeys he held in captivity is the most humanizing scene in Tiger King. I was really saddened by that.
I think that although he had the greatest of intentions at first, fame and wealth quickly overtook him. On July 25, the documentary will premiere on Animal Planet.