Kate McKinnon is set to star in an NBC limited series based on Tiger King's Joe Exotic. The widely successful Netflix documentary series followed the lives of eccentric tiger breeders and wildlife conservationists, with many twists and turns along the way. While the show focuses on several different characters and zoos, at the heart of the story is Joe Exotic, a unique big cat breeder from Oklahoma who once claimed to be the most prolific tiger breeder in the United States.
The docuseries details Exotic's long-time rivalry with fellow tiger owner and animal activist Carole Baskin, who accuses Exotic of breeding his tigers for profit and continuously attempts to shut down his business. The bitter feud escalates to Exotic attempting to have Baskin killed in a murder-for-hire plot. However, the series also suggests that Baskin, described as the "Mother Theresa of Cats," might have been behind the mysterious disappearance of her first husband. The rumor is also part of the reason for Exotic's intense plot to take her down, as he believes Baskin killed her husband (and fed him to her tigers) to inherit his wealth. The docuseries became an overnight success during quarantine, taking so many dark twists and turns that it's no surprise the story was picked up for a scripted series.
According to TVLine, McKinnon is officially set to star in a scripted limited series about Exotic and Baskin for NBC. The series is based on Wondery's Joe Exotic: Tiger King podcast, which came out in March. The show will feature the SNL star as Baskin, though Exotic has not yet been cast. The plot synopsis for the series is as follows:
"The show centers on Carole Baskin (McKinnon), a big cat enthusiast, who learns that fellow exotic animal lover Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit. She sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry. But Carole has a checkered past of her own and when the claws come out, Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy. The results prove dangerous."
The limited series will be available on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network, with Sorry For Your Loss' Etan Frankel on board as writer and executive producer and McKinnon also as an executive producer. Fans were thrilled when a Tiger King series starring McKinnon as Baskin was first announced as in development back in March, but the series getting assigned to a network means the show is making progress. McKinnon's casting has been well-received, with many fans casting different actors who they would want to see play Exotic.
McKinnon is a great choice to play the widely eccentric Baskin, considering the big-cat lover already seems like an SNL character McKinnon would play, though she was played by Chloe Fineman in a hilarious SNL masterclass parody sketch. Now that the project has officially been ordered at NBC, fans can look forward to likely another binge-able Tiger King series with an already promising cast.
Source: TVLine
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August 26, 2020 at 05:13AM
