I’ve spent the past week going through Tiger King withdrawal. I’ve talked to friends and family members about their takes. I’ve hit up YouTube to check out how other people feel. I've read as many articles as I could. I’ve even watched Joe Exotic music videos. Basically, I’ve done anything I could to extend the high, but if a new rumor is to be believed, there may be more original content coming in the form of a bonus episode.
None of this has been confirmed at this point, but there’s definitely a lot of smoke here. Basically, Jeff Lowe and his wife Lauren have been recording custom messages to fans on Cameo for $150 a pop. No judgement there. Anyway, one of the videos was for Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, and in it, Jeff and Lauren said another episode of the show is coming. You can check out the short clip below…
So, ultimately, the question here is can we trust Jeff Lowe? I do. Variety reached out to Netflix, and the service decided not to comment on the record. My guess is they would probably have denied it were this not true, but we ultimately won’t know until we get some official details. Until then, all we can do is speculate, and I have some thoughts.
First, I believe the basic premise here is true. Jeff says in the video (whenever it was recorded, probably last week) that they were filming the following day. Given the immense popularity of Tiger King, it makes all the sense in the world that Netflix would want to capitalize and keep subscribers happy right now while they're watching more than ever. There is also a history of Netflix doing follow-ups in the past (see Love Is Blind).
What I am questioning, however, is that this will be 1) a traditional episode and 2) ready to be dropped on Netflix this week. I get time is of the essence and Tiger King’s popularity probably already peaked. Certainly anything that’s produced should come out sooner rather than later, but turning around an episode of TV given travel restrictions in less than a week when the original took 5 years to make is a scary proposition.
In addition, I don’t think there’s any way this could be a traditional episode. Carole and Howard Baskin were reportedly so displeased with the show they released a video talking about how they were lied to by the directors, and others including Doc Antle have been critical of certain aspects. Others including Joe Exotic and Jeff Lowe seem to be enjoying the fame and are assumedly more than willing to talk, but I’m just not sure everyone will be willing to sit back down. Plus, as far as I know, there hasn't been any huge WTF moments in the time since. So, my guess is this will be more of a check in on how some of the people are doing since they achieved this newfound fame.
Ultimately, though, if this show happens, we’re all going to watch it as soon as it comes out. There’s nothing else to do, and Tiger King is too magical not to get back in the cage for another ride.
