Joe Vs Carole Trailer: The Tiger King Story Gets The Limited Series Treatment
Nearly two years after the world emerged from its "Tiger King"–watching fugue state, a fictionalized portrayal of the Joe Exotic/Carole Baskin feud is coming to Peacock in the form of a limited series. A new trailer digs into "Joe vs Carole," showing off the series' fantastic cast and a story that seems poised to go deeper than the Netflix docuseries ever did.
There's a certain amount of "Tiger King" fatigue that will likely keep some viewers from tuning in to "Joe vs Carole," but the new two and a half minute trailer includes three compelling reasons to give the show a shot: Kate McKinnon, John Cameron Mitchell, and Kyle MacLachlan. MacLachlan especially seems perfectly cast as Howard Baskin, Carole's vaguely geeky but super supportive older husband who sits by her side during interviews. Together, he and McKinnon nail the quirks of the couple, as when Carole lets out a deeply strange laugh after an interviewer calls cat people "a little weird."
A Delightfully Offbeat Cast
"Joe vs Carole" looks funny in that its central story remains preposterous, but the show actually seems to be treating the subject matter more seriously than the documentary by Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin. Whether by design or by accident, "Tiger King" led viewers to believe the real Carole Baskin may have committed murder, and compared her rescue organization's volunteer system to Joe Exotic's deeply sketchy enterprises. "Joe vs Carole" is actually based on the Wondery podcast about Joe Exotic, and looks like it's ready to tackle some of the topics the docuseries glossed over. "I come from a home that didn't feel like a sanctuary," Carole says in the trailer, and quick clips show that we may get more of her backstory than we've heard before.
Actor-director John Cameron Mitchell completes the trifecta of perfect casting as Joe, the flashy man who built a big cat empire and eventually ended up in prison after arranging a murder-for-hire plot against Carole. Mitchell, the daring artist who embodied Hedwig in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and directed the erotic film "Shortbus," is an inspired pick for Joe. He's inherently funny when decked out in Joe Exotic's signature accouterments, but the footage doesn't lean too heavily into comedy. The series looks like it's going to tackle the serious parts of Joe Exotic's origin story, too, with Nat Wolff playing the tragic role of his husband, Travis Maldonado.
The new "Joe vs Carole" trailer claims that "Tiger King" told only "half the tale," and even references the Netflix phenomenon directly. "So how many people are going to see this little documentary of yours?" Carole asks at one point. The trailer drives home the promise of a new angle on a familiar story with a cover of the song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." I'm as over "Tiger King" as everyone else is, but Peacock might just have me convinced this one's worth checking out.
"Joe vs Carole" debuts on Peacock on March 3.