Peacock unveiled the premiere date and first teaser for its take on “Tiger King,” the eight-episode scripted series “Joe vs Carole,” on Friday. This morning was actually the first time we got the title, too — as well as first-look at stars John Cameron Mitchell and Kate McKinnon as Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin.
Watch the teaser via the video above.
We’re not sure which of the actors are more pitch-perfect.
Based on the Wondery podcast “Joe Exotic” hosted and reported by Robert Moor, the limited series will center on Carole Baskin, a big cat enthusiast, who learns that fellow exotic animal lover Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit. She sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry, the limited series’ logline reads. But Carole has a checkered past of her own, and when the claws come out, Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy.
The synopsis concludes: “The results prove dangerous.” They sure do!
“Joe vs Carole is a wild ride. It’s a fun and rich journey into the story of people who live very extreme lives,” showrunner Etan Frankel said in a note to media. ”When I took on this project a year and a half ago, I found Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin to be utterly fascinating, and this crazy tale about two big cat lovers quickly became an important story for me to tell. I hope that when people watch Joe vs Carole just maybe they’ll see these people that they thought they knew in a brand-new way. We knew it would take two extraordinary actors to portray these larger-than-life people as the complex, three-dimensional individuals that they are. John Cameron Mitchell is one of the most gifted and thoughtful actors I’ve ever worked with. He cares so deeply about the work, and his performance is breathtaking. And Kate McKinnon is simply remarkable. She is able to make us double over with laughter one moment and then break our hearts the next. It was an absolute thrill to watch these two exceptional actors morph into these roles.”
In addition to Frankel, who is writing under his overall deal with Universal Studio Group’s UCP, McKinnon will also executive produce alongside Alex Katsnelson and Wondery’s Hernan Lopez, Marshall Lewy and Aaron Hart.
Justin Tipping, another executive producer, directed Episodes 1-4 and 8. Natalie Bailey directed Episodes 5-7.
The limited drama series also stars Kyle MacLachlan, Brian Van Holt, Sam Keeley, Nat Wolff, Marlo Kelly, William Fichtner, Dean Winters and David Wenham.