Written by Sean Stewart

Published on April 10, 2020

If you’re looking for an entertaining way to spend a day of quarantine, I suggest watching the Tiger King documentary. This exhilarating documentary follows exotic animal enthusiasts and their journey in the business throughout the years. The main character of the show, Joe Exotic, is a big entertainer. He has a knack for excitement and a past that at one point involved having multiple husbands at the same time and a campaign to become the governor of Oklahoma. One of his husband’s tragic passing had a huge impact on Joe, and he was never the same again.

It’s not only Joe that the show focuses on. There is also emphasis on Doc Antle, an animal trainer from South Carolina. He has a 50-acre nature preserve in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he has cub petting and viewing of exotic animals for the public. He also is somewhat of a shady character with some interviewees on the show claiming they have seen him with about nine wives, which he gets by first recruiting them to work with him in his sanctuary. 

There is also a focus on Carole Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue, an exotic animal “sanctuary.” Carole was a suspect in the mysterious disappearance of her then-husband Don Lewis, who went missing in 1997. This has become a big topic online since the airing of the documentary.The documentary focuses on the personal vendetta between Joe and Carole and the inevitable repercussions that came with it. 

If you’re bored at home and looking to explore an unthinkable world of people who experience unthinkable things this is the documentary for you.