Joe vs. Carole is a miniseries airing on Peacock, starring Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell. It is a dramatization of the events featured in Tiger King.
Incensed after animal-rights activist Carole Baskin strips him of his license to run animal shows, roadside zoo operator and breeder Joe Exotic declares war, setting off a decade-long feud that threatens to destroy them both.
This miniseries contains examples of:
- An Arm and a Leg:
- Joe's right-hand man John is a double-amputee as the result of a zipline accident.
- In "A Gun-Toting, Animal-Loving, Mullet-Wearing Motherfucking Star", Saff loses his arm in a tiger attack.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Both Joe and Carole had troubled pasts before getting involved with big cats.
- Joe tried to kill himself in a car accident after struggling with his sexuality, but ended up badly injured instead. During his rehabilitation in Florida, one of the other patients inspired him to come out and introduced him to the world of big-cat breeding, which gave him stability and direction in life, but led to harassment when he returned home to Texas. He found love with his first husband Brian, only to lose him to HIV... he's had it rough.
- Carole was gang-raped as a teenager and ran away from home when she received no support from her parents.
- The Lost Lenore: Joe remains haunted by the death of his first husband Brian.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: In "Sanctuary", one of Carole's former employees sells a thumb drive stolen from Carole to Joe in retaliation for Carole firing him for Joe sneaking into her sanctuary, something he had no way of anticipating.
- Naturalized Name: Joe Exotic was born Joseph Schreibvogel, but changed his name to Joe Exotic during his stint in show business.
- Refuge in Audacity: Faced with impending financial ruin after Carole Baskin sues him and after a whole lot of people watch Saff lose his arm to a tiger, Joe turns to the lucrative world of reality TV to try and recoup his losses.
- Versus Title: A show titled Joe vs. Carole is about the feud between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin.
