Netflix is promising a “wilder” and “deadlier” take on the saga of Joe Exotic when the Emmy-nominated series “Tiger King” returns next month.
The streaming network on Wednesday unveiled a dramatic trailer for “Tiger King 2,” the five-episode follow-up to the documentary that captivated viewers in early 2020. The clip picks up where Season 1 left off, with Exotic serving a 22-year prison sentence for attempting to hire a hitman to murder Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin, as well as for federal wildlife violations.
Still, the case is anything but cut and dried. The trailer shows Exotic, a former zookeeper whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, blasting those who have profited off of his story as his efforts to appeal his conviction have stalled.
Catch the trailer for “Tiger King 2” below.
And, from the looks of it, the new episodes will also delve further into the 1997 disappearance of Baskin’s first husband, Don Lewis, who has since been legally declared dead.
“There’s an innocent man in prison,” Exotic proclaims in the trailer as the song “Maybe This Time” from the musical “Cabaret” is played. “Everybody from the zoo is out there making money, and I’m paying the price for every one of them people. If you give a damn, it’s time to speak up.”
“If I have to make a deal with the devil, I will make a deal with the devil,” he adds.
Speaking to The Wrap last year, co-director Rebecca Chaiklin acknowledged that the release of “Tiger King” in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the series “caught fire in a way that it would never have” during a less fraught time.
Whether viewers will still be interested in Exotic’s story more than 18 months later, of course, remains to be seen. The documentary’s success spurred proposals for at least two television projects based on the true-crime case.
In July, however, actor Nicolas Cage confirmed that his plan to star as Exotic in an Amazon series had been scrapped because producers felt the script was “no longer relevant.” NBC, however, is forging ahead with a limited series featuring John Cameron Mitchell and Kate McKinnon as Exotic and Baskin.
“Tiger King 2” debuts Nov. 19 on Netflix.