As a pandemic unfolds throughout the world and everyone is forced to spend their days at home, Netflix has served us with a new and bizarre documentary, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,” which is currently in the top 10 on the website.

The documentary series includes seven 45 minute long episodes, which is the perfect binge while you’re locked up in quarantine, and it will give you something to discuss that isn’t the Coronavirus. Not only is “Tiger King” part crime-story, but it also features reality show aspects with an outrageous cast of characters.  Any person who has watched the series can tell you, each turn the show makes will leave your jaw hanging and have you questioning the sanity of the people featured in the show. 

The main character, Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is as unusual as he is entertaining. He rocks a bleached mullet and carries around a gun to protect the zoo he owns while posting YouTube videos about his hatred for a woman named Carole Baskin. The hatred between the two began when Baskin, owner of a non-profit animal sanctuary and animal rights activist, publicly charged Joe Exotic with abusing the tigers in his zoo and created a campaign with PETA in hopes of destroying his business.

The oddity of Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic is what leads this docu-series to stand out amongst others, along with their serious hatred for one another. They aren’t just regular people. When Carole Baskin ends her day running Big Cat Rescue, she proceeds in her fight to take down Joe Exotic. Baskin claims that Joe Exotic abuses his tigers by hosting “Cub Pettings” where visitors can interact with the baby tigers. Carole and Joe Exotic are in one way or another obsessed with exotic animals, and they will not go down without a fight. 

The docu-series gives Carole Baskin a chance to share her story. While running her non-profit animal sanctuary, Carole’s biggest goal in life is to send Joe Exotic to prison and ruin his reputation. As she takes us through her early years, the show takes another turn. Suddenly, we learn that Carole Baskin has an overwhelming secret that Joe Exotic uses to his advantage. 

On the other side of the story, the show features scenes from Joe Exotic’s zoo in Oklahoma where he gives us a deeper look into his daily life with a crew of misfit employees and lovers and his future aspirations. Besides taking care of his tigers, Joe Exotic’s biggest goal in life is to become famous. Not only is he an aspiring country musician and reality TV star, but in the midst of his lawsuit with Carole, he runs for governor of Oklahoma and president of the United States. When each of the attempts fail, things seem to return to “normal.” That is until Joe Exotic is arrested for a murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin.  

The original plan for the documentary was to shine light on the exploitation of exotic animals, but the spotlight ended up on the insane drama, which ultimately led to the show’s success. There are millions of memes and videos flooding social media. Some viewers are asking questions about Carole’s missing husband, while others are demanding Joe Exotic be freed from prison. 

If you are searching for something new to watch on television, I would recommend nothing other than the insane docu-series that is Tiger King. To make things even better, due to the overwhelming interest from fans, Netflix dropped a new episode of Tiger King on Sunday, April 12. In the new episode, you can expect to never-before-seen interviews and some of the stars’ reflections on the docu-series. Even though the episode doesn’t feature any of Joe Exotic’s tigers, there will be plenty of drama to keep you entertained.