Remember the era when we were all watching Tiger King? It’s hard to believe that was just a few months ago, because it feels like a lifetime has passed since then. It was a simpler time, one where lockdown was still new and interesting and we were sure normal life would resume in just a few weeks time. Oh how naive we were!
Since the original Netflix series aired Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and her missing husband have all become memes, and we’ve all become jaded and bored. But perhaps a new one-off documentary on the Tiger King himself will help to reignite the innocence and wonder we all had when he came into our lives, when we were newly-furloughed and had not yet grown to despise banana bread and sourdough.
Airing on 25 July, Surviving Joe Exotic follows the story of the eccentric zoo owner just before his arrest for organising a hit on his rival Carole Baskin. Filmed four months before he went to prison, the show — suitably produced by Animal Planet — explores Joe’s controversial breeding practices and animal welfare at his park.
In typical Tiger King style the newly released preview from the documentary is chaotic as hell. At one point Joe fires a pistol off camera to a crowing rooster, telling it to “get out of here”. Ah, it’s enough to take you right back to those sweet halcyon days of early March.
Watch the full trailer here, and catch Surviving Joe Exotic on 25 July at 10pm ET in the US, and on DStv Now in the UK.