The first trailer has arrived for Tiger King 2, the sequel to the outrageous and ethically dubious docuseries about a feud between private zoo owners that became a runaway success on Netflix in the early days of the pandemic.
The trailer, released by Netflix on Wednesday morning, returns to the “murder, mayhem and madness” that characterized the first series – wealth, guns, expansive private zoos in Oklahoma and Florida, and, of course, tigers. The sequel series, from returning directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin and executive producers Chris Smith and Fisher Stevens, promises to examine how “sudden fame and unwanted attention from the authorities turns up the heat and unearths some stunning revelations,” according to Netflix’s official logline.
The original Tiger King was filmed over the course of five years, before and after Joe Maldonado-Passage, the titular big cat owner, was arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison for hatching a murder-for-hire plot against big cat rival Carole Baskin, along with 17 charges of animal abuse.
The trailer, soundtracked to Cabaret’s Maybe This Time, features voiceover from an interview with Maldonado-Passage from prison, and suggests further investigation into the 1997 disappearance of Don Lewis, Baskin’s late husband, who was declared legally dead in 2002.
The first series premiered in March last year, at the outset of Covid lockdowns in the US, and subsequently became the most-watched show in the country, and an international hit, turning its participants into overnight subjects of fierce fascination and debate.
According to the press release, Tiger King 2, which will premiere on 17 November, will feature such returning figures as Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, Allen Glover and James Garretson.