Remember Tiger King? It seems so long ago now, the early-in-the-pandemic binge series that had us all talking about the mad, dangerous, often cruel world of wild animal park owner Joe Schreibvogel and the weirdoes that inhabit it around him. More than one series based on his story is in the works and one, which already had Nicolas Cage attached to play Schreibvogel, is now setting up home at Amazon.
American Vandal showrunner Dan Lagana is overseeing the series that is based on a Texas Monthly articled called "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into The World Of A Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad, which Lagana and producer Paul Young optioned back last year.
The show's basic story will focus on the eccentric, exotic zookeeper in Oklahoma who fights to keep his park even at the risk of losing his sanity. The series will live in the lion’s den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation. The real Schreibvogel is in prison right now, so you know the story didn't go well, even if you haven't watched the Netflix docuseries. More recently, he's popped back up on news radars petitioning President Trump for a pardon.
Other Tiger King-spawned series include the one focused more on animal activist rival Carol Baskin, which hasKate McKinnon producing and starring, and recently landed a series order at US network NBC (with plans to also show it on streaming service Peacock).