Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — Review
Synopsis: A flamboyant zoo owner spirals out of control amid a cast of eccentric rivals in a true, stranger-than-fiction murder-for-hire story from the underworld of big-cat breeding.
Format: Limited series — 7 episodes, all streaming now.
- Cast
- Joseph Maldonado-Passage (Joe Exotic), Carole Baskin, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle
- Directors
- Rebecca Chaiklin, Eric Goode
Overview
Netflix keeps the weird coming with Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, a seven-episode docuseries that absolutely lives up to its outlandish title. The titular “Tiger King,” Joe Exotic — gun-loving, mullet-sporting, a showman to his core — runs the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park with a revolving crew of ex-cons and drifters he houses on-site. Across the state line, his nemesis Carole Baskin, founder of Big Cat Rescue, campaigns online and in courts to shut operations like Joe’s down.
The feud escalates
What starts as an online war — videos, Facebook posts, lawsuits — metastasizes into something far darker. Before long, the rivalry has FBI agents, wiretaps and, ultimately, a murder-for-hire plot attached to it. The sheer absurdity is part of the draw, but it’s also jaw-dropping to watch the escalation step by step.
Along the way the series opens a door to a subculture of private zoos, pay-to-pet cub events and cult-of-personality showmen. Baby tigers aren’t just cash cows; they’re leverage — for access, status and, as one interviewee crudely puts it, “pussy pulls easy pussy.” (Coarse language quoted from the series.)
No heroes here
None of the key players are easy to root for. Joe Exotic is charismatic and compulsively watchable, but also self-absorbed and exploitative. Carole Baskin’s animal-rights advocacy is undercut by self-righteousness and a carefully curated persona. The result is a can’t-look-away train wreck even when you know where it’s headed.
What the series misses
One thread the docuseries could have leaned on harder: the animals. Both Joe and Carole seem more invested in their brands than the cats, and the show often follows them into that vortex. Tigers are an endangered species; more independent expert perspective would have sharpened that point.
Bingeability
At seven episodes it’s an easy binge. Each hour ends with a new “wait, what?” that begs the next. Even with Joe currently in prison, you’ll catch yourself wondering how he’ll try to wriggle out of it next.
Verdict
Tiger King is sensational, messy, and undeniably gripping — a portrait of egos combusting in a world built on spectacle and cubs. It entertains first and interrogates second, but as a wild true-crime ride it delivers.
Score: 7.5/10
