Tiger King (2020–2021) User Reviews

This is quality documentary-making

[OCarlisle · 8/10 · 22 March 2020]

Filmed over the course of several years by clearly passionate and committed filmmakers, this superb series takes many gripping twists and turns. I watched for seven hours straight, only breaking to Google every now and then.

Although it's about the exotic animal business in the USA, it actually has multiple layers of interwoven themes.

Populated by flawed humans interacting with magnificent animals, nobody is presented as a pure goodie or a baddie - every real-life character has elements of both, presented in such an insightful way that you'll find your opinions and loyalties shifting as you get carried along on this interesting journey.

Perfectly paced, great soundtrack, interesting bonus to have the main protagonist's "own" music featured. I finished this feeling educated and entertained, sad and conflicted, curious and fascinated.

It's a highly recommended experience.

Only in America

[ileon68 · 8/10 · 28 March 2020]

Bunch of low lifes keeping big cats. Unbelievable but very entertaining.

The weirdness of the characters and events is entertaining at first...

[hoever-51744 · 6/10 · 22 April 2020]

...but soon wears off. To be honest after a while I just continued to watch it because I wanted to see how it ends, it wasn't really that entertaining anymore. What also leaves a somewhat sour taste in my mouth is that a large part of the appeal of the series is based on the fact that you don't really know how much of what is being said by the different characters is true or not, and then when you dig a little bit deeper you also start to wonder where and when the filmmakers are maybe not telling the whole story anymore. In my opinion definitely not worth to be called a documentary. Still, as mentioned in the beginning, it's difficult to stop watching once you started, in that regard it is much like a bag of chips: the first couple of hands you grab seem to be delicious, after a while you are not continuing because it tastes good but because it's just the right combination of fat, carbs and salt to please a prehistoric part of your brain, and after you finished emptying the whole bag, you pretty quickly realize that the whole experience just wasn't worth it.

Trainwreck

[bholly77 · 10/10 · 28 March 2020]

I feel better about my life decisions after watching this. It's an amazing documentary about a world I never knew existed. MUST WATCH!

Can't take your eyes off it

[cbellagigi · 9/10 · 23 March 2020]

During the pandemic what else if there to do than binge watch documentaries. This one does not disappoint! You will ask yourself over and over again if these people are real.

I worked for this guy for 9 months

[tjlove-59575 · 7/10 · 28 March 2020]

Back in 2008 I worked for Joe Exotic for about 9 months, 4 of which were on the road and maybe 5 at the animal park. I've seen the doc and in my experience working with him and being at the park I really don't have anything bad to say about the guy based on what I lived personally being around the whole thing

there's obviously some sensationalism involved in the doc, some things are accurate and some things aren't but that's the nature of these kind of things.

A Beautiful Train Wreck.

[sajdmed · 10/10 · 24 March 2020]

I couldn't stop watching. Just when you thought it was strange it raised the bar even higher. If you like this series you definitely need to check out "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia".

Big Cats are not for our entertainment.

[missmayhillary · 7/10 · 20 March 2020]

I live in an area with many Joes. Men who get off on the power exchange between man and beast. Also while profiting off of it. Thats all I have to say about this documentary. Big cat captivity for entertainment and profit is wrong.

You won't believe what you're watching

[SGents · 10/10 · 21 March 2020]

Ric Flair meets Jim Baker meets Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh meets Siegfried & Roy meets The Trailer Park Boys. Enjoy!

So many despicable people in one industry

[view_and_review · 6/10 · 6 April 2020]

I don't think I've ever seen a show with more despicable people than "Tiger King." By episode four I was having a cathartic moment like, "What am I doing watching this?" I didn't like any of the people and I especially didn't like Carole Baskin the Mary Sue. She was no better than the rest of the slime balls in the big cat industry, she only spun her obsession a different way. It's not like she was releasing cats into the wild. All she was doing was taking them from other owners and putting them into her "sanctuary."

As the deplorable people piled up like Joe Exotic's Walmart meat I found that I had to press forward and finish the show. Why? Because I suffered from FOMO: fear of missing out. I was seeing so many internet articles, memes, and text messages about the show I could no longer be the guy who didn't know who or what Tiger King was. Now that I've watched I find myself red neckier for it and almost ashamed that I gave so much of my valuable quarantine time to such a show. I'm not impressed with "Tiger King" at all. The whole ordeal is one of the wackiest things you'll ever witness; it is truly a case of fact being stranger than fiction, but it's also too close to reality T.V. and I HATE reality T.V.

Pathological Liars Abound

[SGSypult · 8/10 · 22 March 2020]

Interesting series on many levels, but everyone featured is a pathological liar and experienced various mental illnesses. The truth means nothing to these people, so it will never be found. Protecting the animals is the only thing we should care about here. The actual "animals" are the featured people: Baskin, Antle and Schreibvogel. Sick, awful human beings.

🐅 Redneck Tarzan 🐯

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 7/10 · 12 April 2020]

Most of the hype is from the ridiculousness of Oklahoma's King of the Jungle and his competitors. Interesting story but it wasn't told very well. The episodes were too long with many plot and technical issues. I wanted to see more focus on Baskin's ex-husband disappearance and am shocked no further investigation happened. Hype is over, time to go feed my tigers now. 😛

Stop after season 1

[Nevergivea10 · 4/10 · 18 November 2021]

Season 1 is a 7/10. Season 2 is 2/10. Enjoy season one and stop. Season 2 tried to capitalize on the popularity of the First season but it is terrible. There's no structure or real plot. Just some of the old people and some new people who add nothing to the original story.

When "good intent" is overshadowed by $$$ and fame

[Felicia_Voris · 9/10 · 23 March 2020]

The big players in this documentary are all of dubious character. The filmmaker spent 5 years filming this story; he presents a clear picture of all the characters in the story. This is a rare documentary devoid of any bias against any particular person in the storyline. The good, the bad, and the evil sides of all characters is on display in each of the seven episodes.

I think it's worth the binge to watch all the episodes to see what happens when people start off with the good intent to help endangered animals, and how quickly the needs of the animals become overshadowed by $$$ and fame.

I see people requesting folks make donations to Carole Baskin's Big Cat Rescue. I have issue with her and her husband spending approximately a million dollars to sue Joe Exotic. Why not take that cash and put it back into the sanctuary? The layout and containment areas of BCR look to be in worse shape than the containment areas of G.W. Zoo. If the animals truly do come first, I'd think the Baskin's would be better servants of how they spend their money battling antagonists like Joe Exotic. It was quite the tell to hear Carole say she wished she would have been killed, to bring more awareness to her cause!

Wow

[markanthonyparra · 10/10 · 21 March 2020]

This documentary has it all: cult dynamics, twisted gay Okie love, animal rights and abuse issues, forensic intrigue, something for everyone.... and Big Cats!!

Interesting...and irritating

[grantss · 6/10 · 9 April 2020]

Joe Exotic runs the GW Zoo in Oklahoma. The zoo's claim to fame is its massive collection of big cats, including tigers and lions. An eccentric, larger-than-life, unscrupulous character, Joe Exotic's management of the animals leads him into confrontation with animal welfare advocates and another zoo owner, Carole Baskin. The feud between them leads him down a very dangerous path.

A reasonably interesting documentary. The old "fact is stranger than fiction" saying certainly applies to this: you couldn't script something this bizarre. A tale littered with oddball, repulsive characters and off-the-wall goings on.

The characters, while providing colour to the proceedings, are also a drawback: there is absolutely nobody to support. On the one hand you have the insane rednecks, on the other the greedy, superficial, possibly-husband-murdering, power-hungry busybody. Even the minor characters are all quite loathsome and seem to have an agenda. The seediness of it all becomes a bit irritating after a while.

Overall: overhyped but watchable. Just don't expect any pitiable characters or even to come away feeling educated: nobody in the series deserves 15 seconds of fame, let alone a 5-hour documentary series made of them.

Total train wreck

[Sbecon · 8/10 · 22 March 2020]

I couldn't stop watching. Absolutely compelling story with outrageous characters and unbelievable events. Proves what they say, the truth is stranger than fiction.

I don't get the hype.

[PsychoBeard666 · 6/10 · 4 April 2020]

Narratively, the documenting is all over the place. Who is telling the story? Apart from the big cats, nothing intrigued me.

Well damn

[dhillon-664-55851 · 8/10 · 21 March 2020]

It's a great documentary, I just never knew that I have existed on this planet with these people. I mean I don't even know what to say, Big cats, fights, gay owner, other lady husband missing, lawsuits, poor joe screwed over by Jeff, I think these guys live in there own dimension and somehow crossed over.

Wow

[jack_o_hasanov_imdb · 7/10 · 6 August 2021]

I didn't want to watch it for a long time, but when i started watching it, my blood froze, it was really interesting.

Riveting

[TinaTanberk · 9/10 · 29 March 2020]

Well made. Everyone stinks in this except the animals, film maker and woman who lost her arm.

Reviewing my rating based on S2

[LindsayFlim · 7/10 · 9 December 2021]

Rated this very highly, initially, but if they'd like us to consider both seasons as one body of work, I'm revising that rating.

I suspect the "Season 2" appendage was a last minute sneaky attempt to latch onto and capitalise on the success of the first brilliant season only once they realised how abysmally unentertaining a watch it would be. I don't believe they ever planned for a sequel so this is just a great example of how to completely ruin the legacy of something with shameless greed.

Once Rick Grimes left The Walking Dead, the show was immediately over - same here. Why even consider continuing something without the primary nucleus of its draw? Odd.

Don't understand the hype

[alexrosetz · 3/10 · 4 April 2020]

Sure it's interesting, but not for more than an hour or so episode. Eventually it comes down to trashy people. We shouldn't give these people more attention... especially when wildlife is involved.

I had to watch it all in one day.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 12 April 2020]

If I'm honest I almost gave up on this after the first episode, I'm not a huge documentary fan but took the advice of friends, by episode two I was hooked.

What starts off as a feud over caged wild animals (Sure we all have our own views on that subject) turns into a crazy tale of attempted murder. Along the way you will learn of hypocrisy, lies, jealousy, multiple husbands, and genuinely some of the most bizarre behaviour imaginable.

Some intriguing footage, it's almost as if the outcome was expected.

I won't spin any theories, or give personal opinions, but more than just one person should be in Jail.

Some of the people have wild animals and guns, I would feel uneasy with them owning water pistols and kippers. Only in America.

Baffling to say the least, but utterly engaging and totally addictive. 8/10.

Carole Baskin Is a sociopath

[Salamalad · 8/10 · 11 April 2020]

I mean the alleged murder was one thing. But then she went after old people for money she doesn't even need "to prove a point". As crazy as Joe is, this woman gives off an aura of pure evil and is unfathomable. I think Joe signed everything over to her mother because he probably believed that even she wouldnt go that far. Elderly people. Just monstrous and disgusting.