Anna Daniels
First things first: the scripted Tiger King series will not be produced by Netflix, nor will it be based on the streamer’s docuseries. Instead, it will be based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild” by Leif Reigstad, which was published in 2019 and covered a lot of the same ground later covered by the series. The article was optioned for the scripted series treatment in June of that year by CBS TV Studios, which will produce the upcoming series (via Variety).
This means that the series might air on CBS, or be exclusive to the CBS All Access streaming platform (more likely, in our opinion). That much we can reasonably state; what we don’t know at the moment is when the series might go into production, or what its release date will be. We’ll probably be getting some news on this front sooner rather than later, though, because the series does have its showrunner in place.
Handling that duty will be Dan Lagana, who has an overall development deal with CBS and is in the market for a new gig following the cancellation of his Netflix series American Vandal. That series, by the way, was a very well-received true crime mockumentary which focused on a faux-shocking act of vandalism at a suburban high school. We’re thinking that taking on a scripted Tiger King series won’t be too much of a stretch.
Other than Lagana, there is only one principal to have signed on to the series: the lead actor, the man who will take on the task of channeling the inimitable Joe Exotic. Who could it possibly be, you ask? Are you sure you’re ready? We don’t think you’re ready, but here goes.
Written by: Looper
