A limited series based on eccentric zoo owner Joe Exotic is currently in the works, with Kate McKinnon set to star as Exotic’s rival Carole Baskin. Exotic, whose real name is Joe Maldonado-Passage, has become a very well-known name as of late thanks to Netflix’s wildly successful documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Directed by Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, the series follows the unbelievable trials and tribulations of its titular subject as he goes from eccentric wildlife enthusiast to being at the center of a federal murder-for-hire plot.
The seven-episode series mainly focuses on Exotic and his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, but a number of other big cat owners soon enter the fray as well. A fellow big cat lover, and Exotic’s eventual enemy, Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue in Florida, is one of the other key players in this series. Her back-and-forth with Exotic escalates to insane, and often unbelievable, levels over the course of the docu-series. It’s the kind of outlandish and unthinkable story that Hollywood would chomp at the bit to create something out of, and thankfully, one of Saturday Night Live’s best is jumping on this opportunity.
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According to Deadline, SNL’s Kate McKinnon is leading the charge to star in and executive produce the limited series, which was initially based on Joe Exotic, the second season of Wondery’s Over My Dead Body podcast. McKinnon is set to star as Baskin in the series, which is currently “still in internal development at UCP and has not been set up at a network or a streaming platform.” Even so, the series will surely be quick to get off the ground thanks to the wild success of Tiger King on Netflix. The streaming service is “possibly among those interested in the limited series because of its kinship with” the docu-series. The upcoming limited series will follow Baskin and her many interactions with Exotic. After learning that he is breeding big cats for profit, “she sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry.” However, “Carole has a checkered past of her own, and when the claws come out, Joe will stop at nothing to expose her hypocrisy. The results prove deadly.”
McKinnon is an excellent choice to play the bizarre and mysterious Baskin, who feels straight out of an SNL sketch on her own anyway. A number of individuals online have also started to dream-cast the series, especially who could play the wildly unpredictable Exotic. Multiple celebrities have piped up about their casting thoughts as well, with both Edward Norton and Dax Shepard recently expressing their excited interest in playing the titular big cat owner.
No matter who ends up getting cast, it’s clear that this series will be just as binge-able as its docu-series counterpart. Tiger King has been an unexpected treat for those practicing social distancing at home. Its wildly entertaining plot has been a great source for laughs and intrigue ever since its debut. With McKinnon leading the charge for the upcoming production, it’s sure to attract even more hilarious talent very soon.
Source: Deadline
