TV Show review
March 20, 2020 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Tiger King.
Woke representation / casting
Visible LGBTQ+ elements appear through Joe Exotic’s gay marriages and public persona plus one supporting staff member’s transgender identification; these are treated as real biographical facts within the eccentric cast and receive no diversity emphasis, quotas, or signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No activist speeches, identity-based lectures, or social-justice dialogue; all conversations revolve around personal feuds, animal disputes, money, and legal problems.
Identity-driven story themes
The core story follows obsession, rivalry, crime, and subcultural dysfunction; Joe Exotic’s sexuality and the staff member’s gender identity function as incidental character details without driving plot or messaging around rights or identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The series shows problems in the unregulated private big-cat trade and questions some sanctuary claims, consistent with the directors’ conservation backgrounds, but offers no broad anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchy, or systemic Western-institution framing.
Review
Tiger King is a two-season Netflix true-crime documentary series that follows Oklahoma zoo owner Joe Exotic and his bitter feud with Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue, leading to Joe’s federal convictions for a murder-for-hire plot and animal law violations. The show explores the eccentric, often chaotic world of private big cat breeders, collectors, and sanctuary operators through interviews, archival clips, and on-the-ground footage of personal rivalries, legal troubles, and daily operations. Joe Exotic’s openly gay marriages and flamboyant persona appear as biographical details within his larger eccentric character, while one supporting staff member’s gender identity receives brief on-screen treatment without thematic focus or activist framing. No identity-driven messaging, political lectures, or representation-first storytelling shapes the narrative or marketing.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is a documentary of real people and events with no fictional canon or source material altered for ideological reasons.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Almost no right-leaning criticism claims the series promotes woke or identity politics; minor notes exist about editing choices such as omitting some of Joe Exotic’s comments, but these do not allege agenda-pushing.
Creator track record context
Directors bring a feminist self-description and political documentary experience (Chaiklin) plus strong wildlife conservation work (Goode); the producer shows no activist pattern. Overall track record reflects mild liberal and environmental leanings, not recurring identity or DEI focus.
Production
