Big Cat Rescue's YouTube channel has received a lot more views since the series, but this seems to have been detrimental. Their videos were reasonably popular with their fans, but with mainstream attention and the less-then-flattering portrayal of the operation, they receive a much more divisive response. See also Why Fandom Can't Have Nice Things below.
While Joe was already a local celebrity and some knew of him because of his presidental ads (possibly through the show mentioned above), the docuseries ended up being so popular Joe is now known world-wide.
Creator Backlash: Carole Baskin has officially stated that she regrets being featured, chastising the docuseries for its sensationalism and claiming that the filmmakers lied about the type of doc they were being interviewed for (according to her, they told her and Howard that the doc was similar to Blackfish). The producers deny they told her any such thing.
Deleted Scene: Perhaps unsurprisingly the series has quite lot of material cut out. But what really makes it notable, is that, despite how many of Joe Exotic's ugly sides there is on display in the finished product, some punches were actually pulled regarding his depiction, as much of what ended up on the cutting room floor would have made him come across as even worse. Said cut material mostly involves Joe liberally peppering his angry rants with racist and other bigoted slurs, and casually admitting or alluding to having committed even worse animal cruelty than what was seen in the show.
In Memoriam: The second season is dedicated to the memory of Erik Kowie after he was found dead in his home from alcohol poisoning in 2021.
Non-Singing Voice: Though Joe insists otherwise, those songs he lip-syncs to in the music videos featured in the documentary are neither written or sung by him — they were actually produced for hire by songwriter Vince Johnson and singer Danny Clinton, with Joe simply giving them notes on what the song should be about. Note that when Joe sings on a couple of occasions he sounds very different.
What Could Have Been: Apparently, this isn't so much a reality show about Joe Exotic as it is a reality show about a million-dollar reality show about Joe Exotic that was lost in a fire.
Why Fandom Can't Have Nice Things: Carole Baskin is considering permanently closing her sanctuary (which was already closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic) to the public after this series gave mainstream attention to it.
General Trivia:
After the series was filmed, Bhagavan Antle attempted to clean up his image, often getting celebrities like pro wrestler The Undertaker and Youtuber Logan Paul for pictures. The raid on his park mentioned in the final episode was completely unrelated to anything covered in the series, being part of an investigation into another zoo in Virginia (And it wasn't really a "raid" like the series claims so much as an investigator coming onto the premises and asking questions, which is hardly the Laser-Guided Karma the series frames it as). Antle was formally charged with animal trafficking and animal cruelty in connection with his dealings with that zoo in early October.
As revealed in the retrospective eighth episode, John Findlay has since gotten teeth implants. He also mentions that the cover-up tattoo he was shown getting was only the first part, which is why so much of the original was still legible; he's quite happy with the final product.
Joe Exotic has had several interviews from jail since the release of the documentary.
Jeff Lowe's Thackerville project as of this writing is nearly complete.
Following the docuseries' airing, it was revealed that thirty-nine of Joe Exotic's tigers (along with three bears of his) were seized from the G.W. Zoo and taken to the Wildlife Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. When the animals arrived at the sanctuary, they were described as being malnourished and weak, but they're now much better off.
Roughly two-and-a-half months after Tiger King's release, Carole Baskin was granted control of the G.W. Zoo following a trademark dispute. However, Jeff Lowe still gets to keep the animals.
Jeff Lowe lost his licence to display the animals and has tried to get around it by exhibiting them online on using the park as a set for Tiger King cash-ins; this is possibly illegal but nobody has ever been successfully prosecuted for it.
Tim Stark (the neck monkey guy) also lost his license and was later arrested for attempting to intimidate the government inspectors and for fleeing arrest.
On September 3, 2021, former GW head zookeeper Erik Kowie was found dead in bed while visiting a friend's apartment in Brooklyn. His death was subsequently ruled as accidental, caused by "acute and chronic alcohol use".
Carole Baskin sued the show for featuring her in Tiger King 2, but later withdrew the suit following the season's lackluster ratings.
In January 2022, Jeff and Lauren Lowe announced that they would build a new zoo in Mexico to circumvent the animal display ban placed on them in the United States.
by who appeared to be Jimmy Fallon. However, the interview was a prank done by Josh Pieters and Archie Manners