A new scripted series about Tiger King subject Joe Exotic is in the works, and one actor who should have no trouble tapping into the bonkers show's chaotic energy has reportedly been lined up.
Nicolas Cage will play Joe Exotic in a new eight-episode scripted series from Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios, Variety reports. The show will be based on the Texas Monthly article "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild," and Dan Lagana will serve as showrunner after previously working on the true crime mockumentary series American Vandal for Netflix.
This is only the latest expansion of the Tiger King universe that spawned after Netflix's documentary series, which follows the feud between zookeeper Joe Exotic and activist Carole Baskin that leads to his conviction on federal charges, became a massive hit in March. In addition to this scripted series, the show has already spawned an upcoming follow-up documentary series on Investigation Discovery, and Ryan Murphy and Rob Lowe are reportedly considering their own scripted Joe Exotic project that Lowe would star in. Cage, meanwhile, adds this to the list of roles he's got on the docket including ... himself.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The new series, according to Variety, will "live in the lion's den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation." There's no news yet on who might be cast in other key roles like Baskin, although were Cage to end up playing all the major characters Norbit-style, well, we wouldn't not watch.
-
Educating Yorkshire: a 'quietly groundbreaking' documentaryThe Week Recommends The 'uplifting' return to Thornhill Community Academy is a 'tonic' for tough times
-
Quit-smoking ads are being put outUnder the radar The dissolution of a government-funded campaign could lead to more smokers in the future
-
Codeword: September 3, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
