Series Page

Season 1 – Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness

Play trailer

2:03

Mar 2020

Documentary

Crime

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

99 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

An exploration of big cat breeding and its bizarre underworld, populated by eccentric characters.

Watch on Netflix

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

A bizarre true crime story you have to see to believe, Tiger King is a messy and captivating portrait of obsession gone terribly wrong.

Read Critics Reviews

Alessa Dominguez

BuzzFeed News

Apr 7, 2022

Even by reality television standards, Netflix’s new show is completely wild. But it never moves beyond caricature.

Go to Full Review

Kyndall Cunningham

Bitch Media

Mar 15, 2021

We haven't made much progress if our collective comfort and entertainment relies on the vilification of women, especially those who lack control of their own narratives.

Go to Full Review

Noel Murray

Polygon

Apr 14, 2020

It's a highly watchable docu-series, with insights into the grandiose delusions of self-made celebrities in the internet age. The Tiger King and I... lets some of the doc's subjects keep soaking up attention... without any reasoned objections.

Go to Full Review

James Profetto

Reel James (YouTube)

Jul 3, 2026

8/10

[This provides an] interesting line of characters. They're all very different and unique in their own right, and there's no-one to root for here. And that's why it's such a good watch: you're not rooting for anybody.

Go to Full Review

Gem Seddon

SFX Magazine

Feb 3, 2022

There's absolutely no knowing what's coming next in Tiger King. Each episode adds another twist, and it's almost impossible to stop watching.

Go to Full Review

Victor Pineyro

Seventh Art Studio

Aug 20, 2020

6/10

Tiger King was Netflix's first COVID-19 quarantine hit, but not necessarily a good one. Somewhat entertaining. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

harrison r

@clinthoward Sep 19, 2022

Really amazing. Despite being a celebration of the worst people on earth.

alan b

@RT79384129 Jan 23, 2022

Starts out well with a colourful set of characters and an intriguing plot. But then it goes on far too long and eventualy begins to lose the plot (excuse the intentional pun). Too much padding is really a symptom of lazy and incoherent editing. The documentary could have done with much tighter control of the narrative and been presented in far fewer episodes. Then it would have been worth 5 stars.

Nov 11, 2021

In the time of Quarantine first happening in the U.S., Netflix gave us this wonderfully horrible docuseries that bonded us all together. "I saw a tiger....and the tiger saw a man." hahah you gotta love it for all its twists and turns and actually opening the eye to how horrible those places are.

Nov 10, 2021

An addictive wild ride that must be seen to be believed.

Jul 26, 2021

Best show in the whole quarantine. A must see.

Apr 3, 2021

I don't usually like this genre, but this show is so out of the ordinary that you will either love it or hate it. I loved it. The storytelling is very cleverly done.

Read all reviews

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Eric Goode

Director

Rebecca Chaiklin

Director

Joe Exotic

Self

Carole Baskin

Self

Howard Baskin

Self

John Finlay

Self

Episode 1

Aired Mar 20, 2020

Not Your Average Joe

Joe Exotic, the gun-toting operator of an Oklahoma big cat park, is accused of hiring someone to murder his chief rival, Carole Baskin.

Details

Episode 2

Aired Mar 20, 2020

Cult of Personality

Subjected to long hours, little or no pay and the whims of eccentric bosses, some big cat park employees are just cogs in a web of personality cults.

Details

Episode 3

Aired Mar 20, 2020

The Secret

An incident in Carole's past casts her in a suspicious light, and Joe is all too happy to point the finger at her, even while she maintains her innocence.

Details

Episode 4

Aired Mar 20, 2020

Playing With Fire

Joe seeks to become an internet and TV star, but a mysterious fire and lawsuit threaten his plans until an angel investor appears.

Details

Episode 5

Aired Mar 20, 2020

Make America Exotic Again

As Joe dives into politics, he deals with tumult and tragedy in his personal life; the dynamics at the park change with the new owners.

Details

Episode 6

Aired Mar 20, 2020

The Noble Thing to Do

James Garretson makes a shocking claim about Joe, leading to FBI involvement; a desperate Joe thinks Jeff and James have set him up.

Details

Episode 7

Aired Mar 20, 2020

Dethroned

Joe faces the music in the courtroom but insists the story is far from over; Jeff's prospects crumble; former G.W. Zoo workers try to move on.

Details

Episode 8

Aired Apr 12, 2020

The Tiger King and I

In an aftershow, Joel McHale interviews people who appeared in the documentary series, including John Finlay, Kelci "Saff" Saffery, Rick Kirkman, John Reinke, Erik Cowie, Joshua Dial, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe.

Details

Dirty Money

100%

89%

Dirty Money

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Dirty Money

American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson

100%

92%

American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson

Watchlist

TRAILER

for American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson

Bad Sport

100%

82%

Bad Sport

Watchlist

The Innocence Files

100%

91%

The Innocence Files

Watchlist

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping

100%

87%

The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping

Discover more movies and TV shows.

14 Shows — and a Marvel Movie Marathon! — You Should Binge-Watch This November

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness: Limited Documentary Series Trailer

2:03

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Director: Eric Goode, Rebecca Chaiklin
Network: Netflix
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Documentary, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date: Mar 20, 2020

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Season 1 – Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness

Where to Watch

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Reviews

Audience Reviews

My Rating

Cast & Crew

Episodes

More Like This

Related TV News

Videos

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — Season 1

Photos

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — Season 1

Season Info