translated from Spanish: Tiger King: Why This Story of Tigers, Crimes and Betrayals sweeps the platform during quarantine

The seven-episode documentary, the full title of which is Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (“Tiger King: murder, chaos and madness”), is on its way to unbanking Stranger Things as the most successful work on the platform.
In the United States alone, and in the first 10 days after its premiere, it was watched by 34.3 million viewers, up from 31.2 million Stranger Things, according to data from the consultans Nielsen.
The series focuses on the bragged rivalry between big feline trader Joe Exotic, also known as Tiger King, and the owner of a reserve for these animals Carole Baskin.
But it goes much further.
Notice: From here, this note may reveal plot details.
Who’s Joe Exotic?
Joseph Maldonado-Passage is a breeder of big cats that until a few years ago owned and ran an exotic animal park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
Joe Exotic flirted with politics and was an independent candidate for governor of Oklahoma in 2018with raucous-colored shirts, a quirky haircut and his penchant for provocation and exhibitionism, Joe Exotic presents himself before our eyes as an eccentric character who defines himself as “a gay province-loving big cats.”
We see him quietly driving a van with a huge tiger in the co-pilot’s seat, singing country music songs, participating in a reality show produced by himself or marrying two men at once in a ceremony full of guests.
The other protagonist of the series is its eternal enemy, Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue, a sanctuary of big cats located in Tampa, Florida, from whom we also know lights, shadows and rarities throughout the documentary.
Carole Baskin heads the Big Cat Rescue reserve in Tampa, FloridaThe big dispute between them killed Joe Exotic in prison, where she serves a 22-year sentence for crimes including attempting to hire someone to kill Baskin and other crimes related to endangered species and conservatism.
A complete madness
So far, you might think that the series is a simple account of the clash between two people moving in the same business and therefore competitors.
A business in which a revealing figure stands out: in the United States there are about 7,000 tigers in captivity, while only 4,000 specimens live in freedom worldwide.
But the success of the documentary lies in the plot twists, the surprises that are hidden in each episode, in the succession of interviewees to which stranger they leave in the viewer a sense of disbelief and curiosity to know what happens next.
Jeff Lowe appeared as the investor who would help Joe Exotic save his animal park and ended up staying with the BusinessI, mixing animal shows with intentional fires, alliances that turn into betrayals, an unsolved disappearance, parks that look like sects, political relations, illegal transactions of felines and exotic animals, and covert investigations by the U.S. federal government.
There is no rest in this work that combines the quirk with the comic and that at times produces shame of others and discomfort, while leaving a place of sadness for the fate of its true protagonists: the big cats.
Disappointment with the result
Several of the people taking part in the series have protested the final result that appears on the screens.
This is the case of Mahamayavi Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, owner of a big cats safari in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who argues that when he agreed to collaborate on the series he did so believing it was to be a documentary about his work in defense of these animals.
Another of the owners of a big cats park is Doc Antle, who has collaborated with Hollywood on several animal filmsIgnoraba, he says, that the most morbid details of his lifestyle were to appear, which he shares with several women he seems to control as if he were the leader of a cult.
But without a doubt, the most annoying with Netflix producers is Carole Baskin herself, although she voluntarily participates in individual interviews and with her current husband, Howard Baskin.
“No respect for the truth”
The problem is that the documentary pays attention to the case of Baskin’s former husband, Don Lewis, who mysteriously disappeared in August 1997.
Some of the people who appear in the miniseries point out Baskin of murdering him, there are even those who report that the woman gave the remains of the body to the felines or that she dissolved it in acid, something that she considers “absurd” and for which she has never been formally accused.
There are between 5,000 and 10,000 tigers in captivity in the United States. Worldwide there are only 4,000 of these animals at large in their natural habitatIn a long shared social media post, Baskin writes: “The series has a segment dedicated to suggesting, with lies and innuendos of people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband Don 21 years ago.”
“The series presents this without any respect for the truth or in most cases without giving me a chance to challenge the absurd accusations before publication.”
“Despicable lies work best for getting an audience.”
Netflix told the BBC it has nothing to say right now.
Baskin has never been formally charged in connection with the disappearance of Don Lewis.
However, with the success of the Netflix miniseries, the sheriff’s office in front of the investigation announced that it is open to new information.
On the other side, Joe Exotic’s name reached the very daily press conference that U.S. President Donald Trump offers on the coronavirus.
Faced with a reporter’s question about whether he would consider granting a presidential pardon to the king of tigers, Trump jokingly responded, “I will study it.”

Original source in Spanish

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