Netflix’s “Tiger King” has taken the world by storm during quarantine and it is clear why. Think of the craziest, most interesting story possible. Whatever imagined is nowhere near as fascinating as “Tiger King.” Honestly, I don’t know where to start without making it sound like complete insanity from the beginning. To put it simply, the show is about a type of wildlife attraction that many are unfamiliar with: big cat animal parks. The documentary follows Joe Exotic, a notorious park owner, as his life of collecting big cats begins to spiral out of control.

The two main characters alone are interesting enough to have their own show. Take the “Tiger King” himself, Joe Exotic. Imagine your average guy, but add five husbands, a mullet, 176 tigers, guns, a brutal hunger for fame and a murder-for-hire plot to top it off. Not to mention his compulsive hate toward another park owner and tiger activist, Carole Baskin, that he displays very publicly on his own self-produced web show. Then there is Carole herself, just a few states away innocently taking care of her tigers that she quite possibly fed her husband to. It’s just like the average TV show, right?

It was not hard for producers to find some intriguing people to deepen the storyline, seemingly taken straight out of fiction. When seeing some of the people, it is hard not to find them comical. Another big cat park owner featured in this series is none other than Doc Antle. Doc not only has hundreds of tigers, but also multiple allegations of running a cult. Or take the sanest person in the show, Joshua Dial, previously a Walmart gun salesman, that turned into a political campaign manager overnight. The fact that these people are not on my top five list of most interesting people in this show should only begin to hint at what you will see when you watch “Tiger King.”

The interviews in “Tiger King” are what tie everything together. In the interviews, the viewers are able to see the natural side of people in the places that they are comfortable. From a shirtless man with no teeth, to relaxing in a bathtub, to smoking while surrounded by gallons of gasoline, there is always the uncertainty of what is in store next. And don’t worry, you will get more than just an adequate dose of animal print decor. The makers of the TV show took this absurdity and ran with it, making the audience think, “clearly it can’t get more ridiculous than this.”

With all the conflicts and bizarre twists going on throughout the series, there is never a dull moment in “Tiger King.” The show immediately grabs the audience’s attention and gets them hooked from the beginning. In every episode there is some new fact, crime or even a failed political campaign to keep you wanting more. The show itself is one-of-a-kind, and whatever once was considered normal will be quickly thrown out. It ultimately leaves viewers in disbelief. 

“Tiger King” is by far one of the most binge-able shows and in some ways, it is exactly what we need right now during quarantine: a meaningless semi-reality TV distraction. With its insane plot, there is no surprise that after a month “Tiger King” still sits on Netflix’s top 10 list. Although receiving some mixed reviews for its scenes of animal abuse, “Tiger King” is a must-watch. As Rick Kirkman, one of the producers of the show, says, just start from “the beginning, the crazy beginning.”