‘Tiger King’: where everyone on the Netflix show arrives a year later

A year ago on Saturday, Netflix launched the series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness”, a fascinating study of characters full of big cats, drugs, sexual cults and some very questionable reasons. Launched at the start of an unprecedented quarantine block, the seven-part documentary series quickly became one of the most talked about programs in the world. In the first month, the phenomenon of pop culture was sampled by 64 million families worldwide.

As a result of the show’s success, many spinoff projects are underway. Investigation Discovery is developing a series entitled “Investigating the strange world of Joe Exotic”, which will serve as a direct sequel to “Tiger King” and will investigate the disappearance of Carole Baskin’s husband. Kate McKinnon will star as Baskin in a new limited series currently titled “Joe Exotic”, which received a multiplatform series order on NBCUniversal Television. In May, Variety reported exclusively that Nicolas Cage is set to star in a series with an eight-episode script centered on Joe Exotic. Amazon Studios will produce the project together with CBS Television Studios and Imagine Television.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Louis Theroux will produce a new documentary for the BBC entitled “The Cult Of Joe Exotic”. The 90-minute film will reflect on unpublished scenes from Theroux’s decade-long documentary, “America’s Most Dangerous Animals” and interviews with team members trying to get Exotic out of prison. In addition, Carole and Howard Baskin are teaming up with ITV America’s Thinkfactory Media for a new makeshift series that will expose those involved in cruelty to animals.

With all these “Tiger King” sequences and developments on the horizon, here’s an update on what Exotic, Baskin, Doc Antle and the rest of the cast have been doing for the past 12 months.

How is Joe Exotic doing in prison?

Tiger King himself, Joe Maldonado-Passage (right Schreibvogel), is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted of 17 animal abuse violations. In addition to wildlife trafficking, Exotic shot and killed five elderly tigers to provide boarding space for a new animal boarding. He was also found guilty on two counts of murder for hire.

Exotic is currently being housed at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, due to an immune blood disorder. Exotic’s lawyer, Francisco Hernandez, told Metro.co.uk earlier this week that the former keeper is being denied medical treatment, which has caused sores to appear all over his mouth. Hernandez said he was concerned about Exotic, saying he lost a lot of weight and that his health was getting worse.

“I’m worried about him,” said Hernandez. “With an immunological blood disorder, if he gets COVID now, it could very well be his death. COVID is still going through the prison system and he is not out of danger, it could kill him. “

Will Joe Exotic be forgiven?

In May, a group of lawyers and volunteers known as “Team Tiger” drove a double-decker bus to Washington DC to send a 257-page document to the Justice Department that contested elements of Exotic’s conviction. The team expected President Donald Trump to forgive Exotic, with private investigator Eric Love saying he was “100% sure” that this would happen. While Trump granted clemency to more than 140 people, including celebrities Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, Exotic did not make that list. The 57-year-old man expressed his frustration on Twitter, where he said “he was too innocent and too gay to deserve Trump’s forgiveness”.

I was too innocent and GAY to deserve a pardon from Trump. I only imported to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his post on social media. Boy, were we all stupid to believe that he really stood up for Equal Justice? Your corrupt friends come first. pic.twitter.com/ysGfwnqlHi

– Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) January 20, 2021

Exotic said he has more confidence in President Joe Biden when it comes to criminal justice and prison reform, which makes him believe that the new government will be more likely to get pardon. Meanwhile, Exotic plans to publish a memoir entitled “Tiger King: The Official Tell-All Memoir” on November 9 through the Simon & Schuster gallery seal. After filing a $ 94 million federal lawsuit over his charge, Exotic has hired a new legal team and is pushing for a retrial.

Will Carole Baskin appear in a possible season 2 of “Tiger King”?

Baskin was vocal about her frustration with the continuing narrative that she was suspected of killing her husband, Don Lewis, who disappeared in August 1997. On a demonstration released shortly after “Tiger King” aired, she criticized the “lascivious and sensational” series.

“The series presents this without any regard for the truth or, in most cases, even giving me an opportunity before publication to refute the absurd claims,” ​​said Baskin. “They didn’t care about the truth. Unpleasant lies are better for getting viewers. “

In a recent interview with RadioTimes, Baskin revealed that he felt “cheated” and “betrayed” by his performance on “Tiger King”, which is why she told producers to “lose their number”. Although Baskin ended the idea of ​​returning for a possible second season, she continued to defend the big cats and capitalize on her new star status. Last September, she performed in three episodes of “Dancing With the Stars”, which significantly increased the series’ ratings last season. In addition, Baskin has become one of Cameo’s most productive winners, where he is currently charging $ 299 for a personalized video message.

What is the status of the search for Carole Baskin’s dead husband?

Baskin has repeatedly denied claims to feed hungry tigers with her first husband, Don Lewis. Since “Tiger King” aired, new witnesses have come forward regarding the cold murder case. In an interview on the CBS limited series “48 Hours Suspicion”, a woman named Trish Farr-Payne said she believed her ex-husband Kenny Farr may have played a role in Lewis’ disappearance. Farr, who was Baskin’s former handyman at the time, reportedly brought home a large freezer with a padlock at the same time that Lewis disappeared. Whether this is an important clue or just an interesting detail to promote the new “Tiger King” season, Farr-Payne says that her ex-husband prevented her from talking about Lewis after his disappearance.

What is the situation with the Big Cat Act?

Baskin and her husband, Howard, have been working to get the Big Cat Public Safety Act HR263 approved by the Senate. Federal law would end possession of large cats as pets and prevent the stroking of puppies, which Baskin said were the two main sources of abuse against cats. On December 3, 2019, the House of Representatives passed Big Cat Public Safety Act 272-114, which limits the number of people who can legally transport, sell, buy, raise or own felines. Although the Senate did not approve the bill before the end of the 116th legislative session, it was reintroduced to the House in January by representatives Mike Quigley and Brian Fitzpatrick.

“Animals like tigers, lions, leopards and cougars just don’t belong to private property,” said Quigley. “This not only puts the public, including law enforcement officials and the first respondents, in grave danger – it also often causes these animals to live in miserable conditions.”

Tanya Smith, president and co-founder of the Arkansas-based Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, said the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Senate’s ability to prioritize the bill. However, many supporters of the project are hopeful that it will be approved later this year.

Kevin Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, owner of Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina and founder of the Institute for Endangered and Rare Species (TIGER), was one of the private breeders featured in “Tiger King”. Like Baskin, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the way he was portrayed in the documentary series and laments his participation.

In August 2019, a search warrant was executed at Wilson Park, where animal control agencies seized 119 exotic animals, including tigers, bears, lions, camels and buffalo. He has since been charged with two criminal charges related to wildlife trafficking and 13 additional misdemeanors.

According to a press release from In Defense of Animals, a California-based animal protection organization, Myrtle Beach Safari was ranked sixth on its annual list of the “10 Worst Zoos for Elephants in North America”.

What happened to the zoo and is Jeff Lowe still opening his new zoo?

Jeff and Lauren Lowe took over Exotic’s Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in 2016 after legal and financial difficulties. While planning to open a new zoo in Oklahoma in hopes of starting from scratch, the two lost their licenses to display wild animals.

Last November, the Justice Department sued them for alleged violations of “illegal capture, possession and transport of protected animals”, including a brown bear, ring-tailed lemurs, tigers and lions, and “taking animals’ health seriously. danger”. The DOJ filed a motion to comply with the Animal Welfare Law and deliver all puppies under the age of one, as well as their mothers, for temporary placement in reputable facilities. According to the court, this is the only way to prevent further suffering and death.