I'm so tired of having the coronavirus be the only topic of conversation these days. I still stay up-to-date on the newest findings and quarantining details, but somehow I still manage to not talk or post about it all day every day. It's important to stay up to date on what's going on in the world and the country, but the more we talk about it the more anxious I keep getting. Let's not give COVID19 the satisfaction of taking over every aspect of our lives. We still have school, books, podcasts, and the new Netflix Original Docu-series, "Tiger King" to keep us plenty busy.
My news feed is 49 percent coronavirus and 51 percent "Tiger King" and I'm not complaining. Thank goodness for "Tiger King" coming up to the plate when it did. I was about to lose my mind with all this talk of coronavirus. I can't take any more conversations about it, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I was so ready for there to be more to talk about because, let's face it, being around the same people for the past 12 days can mean that there can be a lull in convos. Finally, when my family started watching "Tiger King" it brought us a lot closer together than the coronavirus conversations could.
How can one TV show have anything and everything you want and need in a TV series? Comedy? Yes. Romance? Yes. Drama? Absolutely? Murder? Perhaps. Even in the cover photo on Netflix, it says "Murder, Mayhem, and Madness". If you haven't yet watched this roller coaster of a series, then you're truly missing out on a wild ride. (Pun intended.)
The series focuses on three different groups of big cat lovers, Doc Antle, Carole Baskin, and Joe Allen Maldanado-Passage, or more commonly known as Joe Exotic.
Doc Antle, business and wildlife enthusiast, is the director and founder of The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.). Doc, also known as Bhagavan Antle, has multiple wives and is perhaps, definitely, running a cult inside his zoo.
My personal favorite is Carole Baskin. Living in Tampa, FL, Carole Baskin has managed a nonprofit big cat sanctuary, Big Cat Rescue, all while being an animal rights activist. Her number one goal is to save big cats from being in cages and place them in her own sanctuary of cages. Specifically, Carole is wanting to take down Joe Exotic and strip him of his exotic animals. Everything she owns or wears or does is always related to cats. Carole is constantly dressed from head to toe in any type of cat print and the look is mostly always topped off with a flower crown. A true cat queen. Did I mention that she may have fed her husband to the tigers?
The star of the show is Joe Exotic. From starting a roadside zoo to running for President of the United States to making Carole Baskin number one on his hit list, Joe Exotic has pretty much done it all. He is currently serving 22 years in federal prison for 17 federal charges. Plotting to kill Carole Baskin is one of the 17. Prior to his arrest, Joe Exotic owned and directed the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. He also operated an online reality TV show which the audience is shown clips of in "Tiger King". As if watching the clips from his reality online series and his day-to-day life isn't enough, Joe Exotic has also created multiple music videos that are sprinkled in the episodes. My Favorite was "Here Kitty Kitty".
This show truly will bring you and whoever you are quarantining with a genuine laugh. It trumps any television show you're currently watching - trust me. In these strange times we are currently living in, it's important to find joy in the smallest of things. Let "Tiger King" be that laugh you need.
