Bored? Check Out “Tiger King” on Netflix

Bored while in quarantine? Need a show to keep you engaged and excited? Well, check out “Tiger King,” a satirical show that is both thrilling and exciting. After scrolling through Netflix looking for a series to keep me busy during this unplanned break from classes, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness” stuck out to me like a sore thumb. I had seen it on the popular section for a couple of days and would just breeze by it–never thinking I would enjoy it–until I was sucked in by the first episode. 

“Tiger King” follows Joe Exotic, a zookeeper in rural Oklahoma who owns more than 100 tigers. Exotic’s personality is enough to keep anyone watching. He is an openly gay man with two husbands who owns a backyard full of tigers. He deals with a plethora of financial issues, causing him to reach out to different people, such as John Lowe, a fellow big cat lover who has had his issues with the law. Exotic also relies on his parents, who by the end of the series are run dry, and the people who visit the park. “Cub-petting,” which is especially frowned upon in the animal rights community, is permitted at his park. 

The series also dives deep into Joe Exotic’s rocky relationship with Carole Baskin, who is the founder of “Big Cats Rescue,” a non-profit animal sanctuary in Citrus Park, Florida. Baskin’s main goal is to wipe out all zoos that offer cub-petting. Baskin’s story does not end there, however, as she has also been accused by Joe Exotic of “feeding her missing husband to the tigers.” Exotic makes a variety of public claims that Carole Baskin is a fake and her whole company is a fraud. 

While the feud is happening, Joe Exotic also decides to run for Mayor of Oklahoma, and he even promises to be featured in the 2020 election with the slogan, “Make America Exotic Again.” If that’s not enough to convince you to watch the limited series, maybe this is: it is all true. The story is not scripted–it is a real-life documentary. 

Although being cooped up at home isn’t fun, “Tiger King is enlightening!