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Tiger King: 8 ways to get more of Netflix's wildly popular documentary

Need more of the big-cat universe that's captivated so many? Don't miss the new Netflix episode. Plus there's a FOX/TMZ special, podcast, investigative series and more.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
5 min read
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Kate McKinnon will play Carole Baskin in the Tiger King miniseries.

Courtesy Netflix

Good news for viewers who binge-watched Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness and want more of the insane Netflix show. It seems anyone who's ever crossed paws with any of the Tiger King stars is producing some form of new content. 

The hit Netflix series (spoilers ahead) focuses on Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, and his Oklahoma exotic-animal park. It starts off genially loopy, with mullet-sporting Joe marrying two men at the same time in a hot-pink wedding, before exploding into a stormy feud between Joe and Carole Baskin, the owner of a big-cat sanctuary -- leading to a murder-for-hire plot. The constantly amped-up craziness of each episode has provided a much needed distraction for many amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

Read: CNET's interview with Joel McHale where he discusses Community and Tiger King.

But if you've seen the whole thing and have a cat-scratch fever for more, take heart: There may be more big catitude to come. Here are eight ways you can get more Tiger King.

Watch the aftershow

Tiger King had seven original episodes, but on April 12, Netflix served up one more slice of Tiger King content. Instead of a traditional episode made by directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, the eighth episode is an aftershow, that oh-so-meta genre of TV show that talks about another TV show. 

Actor and comedian Joel McHale hosts the new episode, which is called The Tiger King and I. Spoiler: Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin don't appear (he's in jail, she's not interested), but plenty of other park personnel, past and present, show up to dish with McHale about their weird years in the Joe universe. If you have Netflix, this episode should be in your feed now.

Tune in to the FOX/TMZ special

On Monday at 9 p.m. PT, Fox is airing a special episode of TMZ Investigates that's all about Joe Exotic, called Tiger King: What Really Went Down? 

The hour-long show promises "new footage, exclusive interviews, and shocking revelations," all of which seem to be in unending supply when it comes to this case.

Hope for season 2 of the Netflix series

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Joe Exotic of Tiger King fame is now behind bars.

Netflix

The seven regular Netflix episodes end with Joe Exotic himself behind bars in federal prison for plotting to kill his rival, Baskin. He's still there, though the colorful characters who surrounded Joe are scattered to the wind -- click here for updates on many of them. But the story's not over. 

"We have a crazy amount of footage and it's a story that's still unfolding," director Rebecca Chaiklin told Entertainment Weekly. "We're not sure yet, but there could be a follow-up on this story because there's a lot that's still unfolding in it and it'll be just as dramatic and just as colorful as what has unfolded these past few years." 

Await the true-crime show

Joe Exotic and his universe are too bizarre to be limited to only one TV show. The Investigation Discovery network announced April 6 that another Joe show is in the works. ID's program, Investigating the Strange World of Joe Exotic, promises to delve into secrets about the pasts of Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe and Doc Antle, featuring exclusive footage that's never been shown. 

The show also promises to dig in to whether Baskin is responsible for the 1997 disappearance of her husband, Don Lewis. Joe Exotic repeatedly claimed this in the show, and Baskin has publicly denied any knowledge of what happened to Lewis. A representative for ID said the show will be a limited series, and while there's no exact date, the network says it will premiere sometime in 2020.

Listen to the podcast

The Netflix filmmakers weren't the only ones working for years to tell this fascinating and bizarre story. You can listen to a podcast on the same topic. The second season of Wondery's Over My Dead Body podcast is titled Joe Exotic: Tiger King and written, narrated and reported by Robert Moor, who worked for years on the podcast. (Don't miss Moor's New York magazine article on Joe from September 2019, too.)

Unlike the Netflix series, the podcast is still delivering fresh content. New episodes come out on Tuesday, and the podcast is also sharing bonus episodes, featuring interviews with members of the Joe universe, including Baskin and Joe's former romantic partner John Finlay.

Help cast the miniseries

Because a hit entertainment series can spread to other media as quickly as a tiger can jump on a pair of cologne-soaked shoes, the podcast has been optioned by NBC Universal to be made into a miniseries. So far, the only cast member announced is Saturday Night Live comedian Kate McKinnon, who'll play Baskin as well as serve as an executive producer. A representative for McKinnon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moor told Andy Cohen that he'd love to see Margot Robbie play Joe Exotic in a gender-switch role. "Look at her eyes, she has eyes that look just like Joe's," he says. "I think she'd do a great job with it." Moor said he'd like to see John C. Reilly as Doc Antle, the founder of a South Carolina wildlife preserve who also plays a role in the podcast and Netflix show. Moor invited listeners to tweet cast suggestions to him, and CNET's Bonnie Burton came up with some casting ideas of her own

Watch David Spade's videos

Actor David Spade has fallen down the Joe Exotic rabbit hole and conducted a number of video interviews with people who appeared in the show. Until that possible second season or additional episode comes along, Spade's videos are almost like short bonus episodes and a Tiger King fan should definitely check them out.

So far, Spade has interviewed Joe's ex-partner John Finlay; former zoo manager John Reinke; Jeff Lowe, who took over the animal park; and former park employee Kelci "Saff" Saffery. Spade's not only a fan, he keeps getting suggested as a cast member for the Joe Exotic miniseries. Besides, his role as Joe Dirt in the 2001 comedy proved the man knows his way around a mullet.

Tune in to Rick Kirkham's livestream

Tiger King viewers likely remember Rick Kirkham, the former Inside Edition reporter who was filming Joe Exotic for his own documentary, then lost all his filmed footage when a fire broke out at Joe's zoo. Kirkham, who now lives in Norway, spilled more info about the whole crazy Joe universe in a livestreamed special hosted by Norwegian journalist Per Sundnes. 

The livestream's not live now: It aired first on Saturday, April 11. But if you're willing to pay between $3.99 and $4.99 US to watch Kirkham's show (cost varies by country), you can still tune in.

The two-hour special features Kirkham and Sundnes talking about Kirkham's bizarre days with Joe Exotic, and features video footage as well as questions from viewers. Warning: Kirkham's livestream has some raw moments. He discusses numerous instances of animal cruelty, and shows gory footage of Kelci "Saff" Saffery's damaged arm and hand after the tiger attack shown in the Netflix series. But some of the stream's topics are lighter, such as discussions of Joe's mullet, political campaigns, and his Milli Vanilli-esque attempts at a country-music career.

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