This story about “Tiger King” first appeared in the “Race Begins” issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine. It is one in a series of conversations about the effects of the coronavirus on the TV industry.
In the first month of isolation and social distancing, there’s no question which television series dominated social media conversation. Directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin’s “Tiger King,” the WTF saga of a feuding group of private zoo owners, launched more memes, dropped more jaws and prompted more binges than any other bit of pandemic entertainment. The Netflix docuseries even led to a reporter asking President Donald Trump if he would pardon the mulleted central figure, Joe Exotic.