The thrill, temptation and hearsay of ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness’

New Netflix show leaves viewers roaring over rumors

The Tab

“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” is currently the most streamed show on all of Netflix.

Due to the situation we’re currently in with quarantine and social distancing, people are taking to things like Netflix to relieve their boredom. The show “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,” released on March 20, is already the highest streaming show on the Netflix platform.

At first, all I wanted to do was ignore the hysteria, but after having it constantly shoved in my face whenever I opened the app, my curiosity overcame me, and I watched the whole show in less than a day.

It follows a feud gone wrong between zoo owner Joseph Allen Maldanado-Passage, or Joe Exotic and Big Cat Rescue owner Carol Baskin. The show also gives other zoo owners’ stories and takes on the dispute.

The show overall was highly entertaining, though it shouldn’t be called the documentary it claims to be.

Throughout the series, it had a tendency to egg on rumors about each person in the show. We would later find the people the rumors were about weren’t given any way to respond. While this makes the show great television, it leads the audience to believe these accusations are 100 percent facts, and the people who should be given a voice to respond don’t have a big enough outreach to do so. The editing makes these rumors seem even more true, and it was something the show could have left out, while still accomplishing the same meaning.

Although the plot was over exaggerated, it’s very unique and original. One thing the show did do was provide enough shock value that kept viewers grasping for future episodes. No one would have watched it if they didn’t find it entertaining.

While people shouldn’t let go of that excitement, we should focus on the big cats and the abuse that they have to go through on a daily basis, not allegations about certain people in the show.

I highly recommend “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” but also would like viewers to not believe everything it portrays. This would lead to millions of videos and posts bashing individuals who were accused and rumored to have done or said certain things that might not be true.