Tiger King to return this year for second season with Joe Exotic in jail Netflix announces
Streaming platform Netflix have revealed the Tiger King story will continue later this year, with a new series promising as much "much mayhem and madness" as season one
Netflix has confirmed that smash-hit series Tiger King will return later this year.
Announcing the news on social media, the streaming platform promised 'mayhem and madness' ahead of the second season of the surprise hit of 2020.
"Tiger King is coming back this year — and Season 2 promises just as much mayhem and madness as Season 1!" Netflix tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
The first offering of Tiger King followed the life of zookeeper and convicted felon Joe Exotic and became a pop culture sensation at the start of the coronavirus pandemic after premiering in March 2020.
34.3 million people over its first ten days of release, ranking as one of Netflix's most successful releases to date, as the majority of the world was confined to their homes during the very first lockdown.
The first season focused on the small but deeply interconnected society of big cat conservationists such as Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue, and Tiger King himself, Joe, who Carole accuses of abusing animals.
Despite being the main focus of the series, 58-year-old Joe is yet to see the critically acclaimed documentary that inspired millions of memes and jokes.
Speaking to Netflix from his jail cell, the imprisoned media personality revealed he loved his new-found fame, but wished he could experience it firsthand.
He also expressed remorse for his actions, saying: "I mean, when I left the zoo and I sent my chimpanzees to the sanctuary in Florida and imagined what my chimpanzees went through for 18 years, I'm ashamed of myself."
With the promotional image showing Joe speaking in a prison visitor's room, it's assumed he will be heavily involved in the new epsiodes.
It is not known whether Carole will return for the new series but judging from her comments earlier this year, it doesn't seem likely.
In February 2021, the 60-year-old revealed that she had been asked to feature in a planned second season of the show, but she refused and told the producers to "lose her number".
The big cat rights activist and her husband Howard have previously said they felt betrayed by show's filmmakers.
In a post on the Big Cat Rescue website, Carole said that the show "has a segment [in the third episode] devoted to suggesting, with lies and innuendos from people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband Don 21 years ago" and that the series "presents this without any regard for the truth".
Carole has never been charged with anything related to Don's disappearance and has always denied having anything to do with it
Following the announcement on social media that a second season of Tiger King is coming, fans were divided on whether it is something that is needed and recalled the time period the first season premiered.
"considering how much this was a part of everyone's early pandemic, feels entirely appropriate that we get a sequel just in time for another covid winter," journalist Christopher Mims reacted to the tweet from Netflix on Thursday.
"i don't care nearly as much about this as i did when it premiered at the beginning of stay-at-home," another critic wrote.
A third added: "Tiger King should be locked in a vault with other lockdown memories and never spoken about again. I refuse to move backwards."
However, some welcomed the chance to watch the story continue.
"This has made my day," one excited fan exclaimed, while another quipped: "Let's go!!!"
