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If you’ve seen Tiger King, or even just read a few articles about it, you may feel you know all you need to know about Carole Baskin and Joe “Exotic” Maldonado-Passage. The new Peacock Original, Joe vs Carole, argues that you don’t know the half of it yet.
When Is the Release Date of Joe vs Carole (And Where Can You Watch it)?
Joe vs Carole will be available on NBC’s streaming service Peacock starting on March 3, 2021. This limited series will consist of eight episodes. How this series will be received by viewers and critics remains to be seen. The second season of Tiger King was met with poor reviews and a lawsuit from Carole Baskin and a third season was barely acknowledged when it was released in December 2021. Amazon canceled a scripted Tiger King project of their own, feeling that it was “no longer relevant,” according to Nicolas Cage, who had originally been cast as Joe Exotic.
To view a different aspect of this story that has spanned multiple decades and more than a few streaming services, check out Animal Planet’s series called Surviving Joe Exotic. It focuses on rescuing four big cats that were previously held at Joe Exotic’s zoo and includes interviews with former employees of Joe Exotic, as well as with animal rights groups, and even with Joe Exotic himself. This 2020 series is streaming on Amazon with Discovery+.
What Is Joe vs. Carole About?
Joe vs Carole promises that it will be an origin story, both for Joe Exotic and for Carole Baskin. The series plans to show the chain of events that lead Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin to their respective careers and into conflict with each other, and then ultimately to Joe Exotic’s jail sentence for attempting to have Carole Baskin killed. It is unclear to what extent, if at all, the series will discuss the disappearance of Carole Baskin’s husband, Don Lewis.
If you’re not familiar with the feud between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic, it was initially born of a mutual love of big cats. Carole Baskin is the CEO of Big Cat Rescue and an activist for a variety of animal welfare causes. It was perhaps inevitable that she would end up in conflict with Joe Exotic, former owner of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, known for his over-the-top animal shows and breeding large cats for profit. It seems less inevitable that this would lead to attempted murder, as was the case.
While most people likely learned of Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, and their feud by watching Netflix’s 2020 series Tiger King, Joe vs Carole is actually based on a podcast from Wondery. The podcast, called Over My Dead Body, focuses on a different story each season with the overarching theme being “people who are pushed beyond their limits and do unspeakable things.” Season 2 of Over My Dead Body focuses on Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin and is subtitled Joe vs Carole. It is available to listen to on Amazon Music.
Is There a Trailer for Joe vs Carole?
A trailer for Joe vs Carole is currently up on Peacock and on Youtube and is scored to The Animal’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” The trailer gives more than a few hints of the questionable choices its characters’ good intentions lead them to. There is also a teaser trailer available.
Both trailers offer a glimpse at Kate McKinnon’s portrayal of Carole Baskin and John Cameron Mitchell’s take on Joe Exotic. The line between thoughtful character study and outrageous parody can be thin with people as over the top as Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. The costuming is certainly on point as both McKinnon and Mitchell show off some of Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic’s most memorable looks. Yes, the flower crown is there, and of course, the mullet is flawless.
Who Is in Joe vs Carole?
Kate McKinnon, in addition to starring as Carole Baskin, is also one of Joe vs Carole’s executive producers. Kate McKinnon is probably best known for her years on Saturday Night Live and her roles in over the top comedies like Family Guy and Venture Bros.
The role of Joe Exotic will be played by John Cameron Mitchell. His most memorable role is as Hedwig in 2001’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but you may have seen him more recently in Girls as David Pressler-Goings or as Gabe Parrish in Shrill.
Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) will play Carole’s current husband, Howard Baskin. Nat Wolff (Paper Towns) will play Travis Maldonado, one of Joe Exotic’s husbands. Joe’s husband John Finlay will be played by Sam Keeley and Joe’s most recent husband, Dillon Passage, will be played by Tom Rodgers. Jeff Lowe, Joe Exotic’s former business partner, will be played by Dean Winters. Yes, Mayhem, from the Allstate commercials, will be in Joe vs Carole.
Etan Frankel (Shameless) is credited as a creator, writer, and producer of Joe vs Carole. He has described the show as “a fun and rich journey into the story of people who live very extreme lives. When I took on this project a year and a half ago, I found Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin to be utterly fascinating, and this crazy tale about two big cat lovers quickly became an important story for me to tell.”
What Has the Real Carole Baskin said About Joe vs Carole?
Carole Baskin has stated “my husband and I look forward to seeing Kate McKinnon and Kyle McLaughlan’s portrayal of us, even though we expect it will be a parody based on the trailer. Both are talented actors and I expect Joe vs Carole will be a lot more entertaining than the situation was in real life”
Joe Exotic is currently serving a prison sentence of 21 years after having been found guilty of attempting to have Carole Baskin killed and of multiple accounts of animal abuse and cruelty. He has not commented on the upcoming television series.