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Amazon wants a Joe Exotic series starring Nicolas Cage

The series would star Nicolas Cage in his first major TV role.

Samuel de Roman via Getty Images

One of the clearest signs that we’re approaching the Peak TV bubble is the number of upstart streaming companies making the same damn show. Variety is reporting that Amazon is looking to launch its own series based on the lurid exploits of the Tiger King, Joe Exotic. Nicolas Cage has signed on to star as Exotic, and is currently in development at Amazon with CBS TV and Imagine. Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the only reason anyone’s talking about Exotic is thanks to a Netflix docu-series which aired back in March.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness was a breakout hit for Netflix, and the company claimed more than 64 million people saw it in its first month on the platform. The combination of the too-mad-to-be-true plot, the grisly and violent subject matter and the fact everyone was entering COVID-19 lockdown meant that it was uniquely-placed to be a success.

Joe Exotic has been the subject of several gawking exposés examining the more extravagant parts of his life, and lifestyle. The Amazon series is based on a Texas Monthly article published in June 2019, documenting Exotic’s private zoo and subsequent arrest. It will, however, be competing with another Tiger King adaptation which is being produced at Peacock, NBC’s own streaming service. That is reportedly being made starring Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin and told from her point of view.