LONDON: Would “Tiger King” be the global phenomenon it is now had it not coincided with the start of the global pandemic?
Would a documentary about strange American big-cat owners, and a bafflingly absurd web of attempted murder plots and animal cruelty, have been so well received if we had not all been confined to our homes?
Whatever the reason, the show’s seemingly never-ending supply of surprise developments or fresh absurdities won a lot of fans — and made a second series somewhat inevitable.
Directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin have also trimmed the episode count down to five. Supplied
The fact that the ostensible “star” of “Tiger King” — Joe Exotic — is barely in the second series suggests Netflix knows what a perfect storm the first season created.
Directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin have also trimmed the episode count down to five, perhaps in light of the fact that Exotic is currently in prison and unable to occupy as much of the spotlight as in season one.
Instead, the series follows a number of the ancillary characters in the wider “Tiger King” saga, as well as devoting an entire episode to further investigation of the disappearance of Don Lewis,former husband of Exotic’s nemesis (and fodder for a thousand memes) Carole Baskin.
Without much in the way of tigers, or input from its principal character, the second season of “Tiger King” has little to offer. Supplied
What that means, unfortunately, is that “Tiger King” has morphed from a fascinating insight into an eccentric and deeply disturbing slice of American subculture into a series of soapboxes for a progression of grossly unpleasant, over-entitled characters to grasp what they see as their 15 minutes of “fame.”
There are more surprise twists with regards to who was really involved in the alleged murder plot, but each revelation feels opportunistic, and often the insight gleaned into the motivations of Exotic’s former colleagues amounts to little more than misogynistic rants against the government and faux bravado that borders on toxic masculinity.
It makes for a deeply uncomfortable watch. Without much in the way of tigers, or input from its principal character, the second season of “Tiger King” has little to offer.