There has been quite a divide on the internet since Tiger King premiered. Some people (like Cardi B) became invested in the story, which followed Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin’s well-known feud in the exotic animal community, while others didn’t really care about the story at all. No matter what side you are on, it’s clear that the Tiger King saga made enough of an impact to spark several lively internet debates and multiple shows on the matter. One show is Joe vs. Carole, which just premiered on Peacock.
Starring John Cameron Mitchell and SNL star Kate McKinnon as Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin respectively, the series explores the complex history between the two rivals, which ultimately leads to Joe Exotic plotting to have Baskin murdered (Exotic is currently serving jail time, though he has been trying to get out for some time). But, as with all dramatizations of true crime, the show begs the question: is the show actually good?
The eight-episode series has a pretty talented cast, with Kyle MacLachlan as Howard Baskin, Dean Winters as Jeff Lowe, Nat Wolff as Travis Maldonado, and William Fichtner as Rick Kirkham. Many fans flocked to Twitter to share their reactions and they seemingly came to two conclusions: one is that Kate McKinnon is actually a great actress and the second is that the CGI tigers are NOT very convincing. Also, Kyle MacLachlan is a treasure. Here’s what the people are saying:
https://twitter.com/Knope447/status/1499927284018561027
me watching joe vs carolepic.twitter.com/VxTQldWQM3
— lucy (@margotskate) March 6, 2022
listen idgaf about tiger king or that whole mess but SHE is the one that’s going to make me binge joe vs carole pic.twitter.com/pzDRJFhDB3
— Vál ☆ (@ATOMICFUNTIME) March 4, 2022
Ep 5: I'm about to pee myself laughing. Mr @Kyle_MacLachlan this is 24 karat gold entertainment. Thank you for accepting the role of Howard Baskin from the bottom of my ❤️, because this is unbelievable fun. This role should be in bold on your IMDB for folks to find it more easily pic.twitter.com/WHDQvmndXF
— Liza (@LizaAndTheCats) March 6, 2022
Just did a double take at this Joe vs. Carole casting because I genuinely thought they broke Joe exotic out of jail to film this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that’s some good casting/make up…Emmy worthy I fear pic.twitter.com/kH0SaFA2mP
— RealityTVBasura (@dara_a_la_mode) March 8, 2022
Mad respect to all the actors in #JoeVsCarole for being able to act so convincingly with all these CGI animals. I completely get why it was done (That's the point of it), but man…it is painfully obvious.
— Horror of Zachula (@horrorofzachula) March 4, 2022
I am screaming about how bad this cgi tiger looks hahahahah https://t.co/6agtlcRkX4
— amanda | BLM (@amandaxxfranco) March 6, 2022