If there was one good thing about lockdown, it was that we all got to watch lots and lots of television. Staying in our pyjamas, occasionally moving to brush the biscuit crumbs off our hoodies – and semi-consciously pressing “play next episode”. We were thoroughly spoiled too, with some of the greatest TV dramas of the century debuting during a well-timed streaming boom. Finally, we could forge our own path through the golden age of television.
And then, some bloke called Joe Exotic turned up. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness became the early hit of Lockdown One (before the underwhelming sequels and Christmas special turned up). Suddenly, all of the prestige miniseries and eminently binge-able comedy went out of the window. The ludicrous mystery, and the ridiculous (yet real) cartoon-level characters involved in one of the most extraordinary, preposterous iterations of the true crime genre ever filmed, gave us all water-cooler moments when there was no water-cooler anymore.
And so, of course there is going to be a season two – and of course there were so many strands left dangling at the end of season one that speculation commenced on the socials as soon as the credits had rolled on the final episode. Here, we’ve whittled it down to the main questions to which we demand answers. And if they don’t answer them? Well, there’ll probably be a season three.
Will Joe Exotic ever get out of prison?
A genuine discussion point in the 2020 US Election, before Four Seasons Total Landscaping took all the limelight, was whether one of Trump’s final acts as president would be to issue a pardon to Joe Exotic. Sadly, although this could have been the high point of his tenure in The White House, it wasn’t to be. Currently serving 22 years in prison for ‘murder for hire’, and battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer, Exotic still hopes for a pardon or a retrial to clear his name and prove Baskin’s guilt. Hell, maybe if he gets out he’ll run for president. And probably win.
Did Carole Baskin actually murder her husband?
Going right up against the Tiger King sequel is a new rival series on Discovery+ from the sort-of antagonist of season one. The unsettlingly serene animal rights activist – think Midsommar meets Dog the Bounty Hunter – has simultaneously capitalised on the fame generated by Tiger King while still suing Netflix for using footage of her in the second season. So far, so Hollywood. But never mind all that, did she really feed her husband to the tigers?
Has Dillon Passage taken a different avenue?
At time of writing, Dillon Passage remains Joe Exotic’s husband… husband number five, that is. But, Passage did announce in March this year that he is seeking a divorce. He posted on his Instagram “We are on good terms still and I hope it can stay that way. I will continue to have Joe in my life and do my best to support him while he undergoes further legal battles to better his situation.” How Dillon and the vast cast of misfits slot into season two will be of great interest.
Will the US ever change its exotic animal policy?
One of the biggest shocks, outside the actual psychodrama of the series, was how relaxed the laws are around keeping these big cats in these supposed ‘zoos’ and ‘sanctuaries’. Surely, there is further punishment to be dished out. Surely, even from the first series, there is enough evidence to hold other individuals to account.
What will be the best haircut of the series?
We can only wait with baited breath, but we hear that one of the tigers has let fame go to his head and is now sporting some highlights and a mullet.