No escape claws: ‘Tiger 2’ is coming
Netflix is going back into the lion’s den.
After “Tiger King” captured the nation’s attention for a few weeks at the beginning of the pandemic, the streaming service is trying to reignite that spark with “Tiger King 2.”
The hit “will return to Netflix for more madness and mayhem” sometime this year, the streaming service announced Thursday.
The original docuseries, which premiered in March 2020, dug its claws into the world of big cats and the humans who befriend them, including the infamous Joe Exotic and conservationist Carole Baskin.
No other details for the sequel were provided, possibly because a not insignificant number of cast members are currently in legal trouble, among them the zookeeper himself.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, is behind bars after being convicted in 2019 on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire for his plot to kill Baskin. His sentence was recently reduced from 22 years to 17.
Allen Glover, the hitman hired by Exotic to take out Baskin, was busted for drunken driving in South Carolina last month and Doc Antle was indicted on felony counts of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy and misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act in October.
Earlier this month, zookeeper Erik Cowie was found dead inside a Brooklyn apartment he had rented four months prior.
If the upcoming season isn’t enough “Tiger King” for you, Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, is also working on a scripted miniseries with Kate McKinnon starring as Exotic.
Netflix is doubling down on true crime — the service announced several other docuseries Thursday. They include:
-- “The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman,” a three-part series about “one of the world’s most audacious conmen who was convicted in 2005 for stealing fortunes and destroying multiple lives;”
-- “The Tinder Swindler,” about a prolific conman who posed as a billionaire playboy on Tinder;
-- “Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King,” about the suspicious death of cryptocurrency multimillionaire Gerry Cotten and the investors who claim he stole $250 million, and
-- “Bad Vegan,” about celebrity restaurateur Sarma Melngailis, who loses millions when a con man “convinces her that he can expand her food empire and make her beloved pit bull immortal.”