The Characters of Netflix's 'Tiger King,' Ranked From Best to Absolute Worst
We’re ranking the characters of Netflix’s 'Tiger King' docuseries from best to absolute worst, including Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin & more.
Image via Netflix
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One of the best ways many of us have kept our minds occupied from steadily refreshing news about COVID-19 has been by diving into movies and TV. Netflix has thrived on the binging habits of anyone with an internet connection, but they've seen a massive (and unsuprising) uptick in streaming numbers since everyone has been locked down in their homes, and one of the biggest factors of those boosts has been the salacious seven-part docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, which details the rise(?) and fall of one Joe Exotic, as well as a colorful array of terrible exotic animal owners.
At its heart, the series set to tell the tale of how Joe Exotic was imprisoned for 22 years for attempting to hire a hitman to murder Carole Baskin, a woman who he'd been feuding with for years over their disagreements when it comes to the care of exotic animals (primarily tigers), although their actual practices seemed to be very similar. As per usual, the unfolding of this tale turned into examining how insane (and creepy) the world of hoarding wild animals and putting them on display—sometimes illegally—in America can be, primarily due to the batshit crazy owners and operators of these zoos across the country. Even those who have husband who disappeared under suspicious circumstances, causing the entire world to become armchair investigators—or, in OJ Simpson's case, golf course investigators (for good or ill). Basically, we got to meet a bunch of wackos, and during this deep dive, we couldn't help but wonder: Who's the worst of this bunch?
With Joe Exotic's strange saga still captivating the country—and becoming the source of conversation for everyone from Trevor Noah to Cardi B—it's dope to see that the docuseries is not only unearthing strange connections to this largely invisible world, but it could help solve some cold cases. We've already ranked his music (which he apparently Milli Vanilli'd), but today let's take it one step further: here's our ranking of the best of the worst characters from Netflix's Tiger King docuseries.
12.Saff
Who?: Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park employee who had his arm ripped off
Easily the coolest, most likable character in this whole damn Tiger King universe. Saff was calm, cool, and collected throughout the show; even after getting his arm ripped off by a tiger, Saff was still about his business. While the rest of the characters were a continuous mess of who the fuck knows what, Saff was just chilling, taking it all day-by-day. You have to admire that level of chill, especially in such trying times. I hope Saff is doing OK. We salute you. —ZF
11.Erik Cowie
Who?: Former employee at Greater Wynnewood Animal Park
Cowie was just an all-around boss, honestly. Many have spoke on him being one of the few who actually seemed to give a shit about the animals at the Park, even if it was scary AF seeing him fill up a gas tank with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Working there for five years, he was privy to a lot, even testifying at Joe Exotic's trial that Joe had killed tigers in the park to make space for new animals. Cowie has a no-nonsense approach to speaking on what went down at the Park, and for that, we commend him. —khal
10.Joshua Dial
Who?: Joe Exotic's campaign manager
Talk about a damn legend. Dial didn’t show up until later in the show when Joe was getting into politics, but he left his mark. I mean, when Josh said, “Fuck the Feds,” I felt that. This guy may have only been in a few episodes, but man, I really felt bad for him. Not only did Travis shoot himself right in front of Josh, but he had to try and get Joe elected as Governor. Imagine putting “Joe Exotic’s Campaign Manager” on your resume. —ZF
9.John Reinke
Who?: Former manager of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park
"Animal people are nuts, man. And I might be one of them people, I don't know, but they're all half-out there, man. They're crazy." The realest statment spoken in Tiger King came from John Reinke early-on in the first episode of Tiger King, and should've set us up for the subsequent journey we took (spoiler: it didn't). Reinke was just a guy. Dude had lost his legs before even showing up at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, but he was a trooper, and kept it pushing. The real key was that Reinke had been around long enough to not only have a stolen Hummer sold to him (allegedly), but he had all of the info, so he was one of the more reliable sources in a documentary full of, well, nutty animal people. —khal
8.Rick Kirkham
Who?: Joe Exotic's video producer
While Kirkham isn't trash compared to the folks who occupy the back-end of this ranking, you have to have some level of creep in you to point a camera at all of Joe Exotic's rantings and still stick around for the ride. Money talks, sure, but there was a lot of fuckery going on that Kirkham, who's story (which includes being addicted to crack while working on Inside Edition) is deeper than what we saw on Tiger King. Not holding his past against him, but he's obviously been trained to expose insanity, which places him closer to the middle of the ranking than others. —khal
7.John Finlay
Who?: Joe Exotic's husband
We’re getting deeper into the weeds now and to a point where nobody is really considered a “good guy” in this story. John Finlay, who was one of Joe’s husbands, seemed alright when the show started. He was a bit happy, in my opinion. Like none of it was his problem. By the end, I was convinced he was just using Joe throughout, especially after he left him for a woman. Some true heartbreak. —ZF
6.Travis Maldonado
Who?: Joe Exotic's husband
Travis' story might be the most tragic of the entire series. He came to the Park fairly young, and while it was hard to tell why he was first into what Joe Exotic was selling, he dug it enough to marry the guy along with John Finlay. A lover of guns (shooting them, pointing them at people) and drugs, it'd be his infatuation with the former that spelled his demise, as a conversation about a gun not firing because the clip wasn't in it turned to be his fatal last mistake. The aforementioned Dial had to see this first hand (the video of Dial's reaction might've been the most bugged out thing in the documentary, surprisingly), but it's the fast-and-hard lifestyle of Travis' that is remembered most. —khal
5.Joe Exotic
Who?: The "Tiger King" and (former) owner of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park
And now we arrive at the man, the myth, the legend, Joe Exotic. He was probably the hardest person to rank for this, because I genuinely liked him for the most part during the show. He was just trying to run his zoo and let people know that Carole probably killed her husband. But still, Joe is on the wrong side of this list because it’s pretty clear he did some shady shit and probably killed some tigers. For that, Joe is rather low on the list, but still ahead of some other very shitty people. —ZF
4.James Garretson
Who?: The guy on the jetski who set the whole sting on Joe Exotic in motion (and allegedly sold a stolen Hummer)
The only thing this guy has going for him is that awesome jet ski montage that was for some reason included in the documentary. I’m honestly not sure why he was even involved in this. He just had some money from running strip clubs and then decided to jump in the zoo business. There honestly seems like a lot of overlap between the strip club industry and the private zoo industry. Maybe too much. Anyways, this dude snitched, so this is where he falls. —ZF
3.Jeff Lowe
Who?: The guy who was brought in to save the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (and who'd sneak baby tigers into Vegas hotels in suitcases)
We’re now in what I like to call “The Big 3 of Shitty Zoo People.” (Yes, that name is trademarked by me.) Jeff Lowe came on later in the show, but he was an awful dude. Not only was he carrying tigers in suitcases in Vegas, but he was openly trying to bang his future nanny. Just an all-around terrible person who stole a zoo and then proceeded to act like he had money when he actually didn’t. Also, you can never really trust anyone who wears a hat over a bandana. That’s just the rule. —ZF
2.Carole Baskin
Who?: Big Cat Rescue owner (and Joe Exotic's nemesis)
Let’s start this off by saying that Carole Baskin probably killed her ex-husband. Do we really even need to write more? Not only did she likely feed her husband to a tiger, but she’s also a huge hypocrite. She’s going in on Joe for running a zoo while (basically) doing the same exact thing. While I don’t agree with Joe’s tactics to get back at Carole, I definitely feel where he is coming from. She’s full of shit. Did I mention that she probably fed her husband to a tiger? —ZF
1.Bhagavan "Doc" Antle
Who?: The founder and director of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.)
And now we come to Mr. Doc Antle. He edged out Carole Baskin for this spot, but it wasn’t an easy decision—because, ya know, Carole probably killed her husband. Anyways, Doc Antle is definitely doing tons of shady shit at his zoo and possibly running a full cult. Like, when the woman said that she got a boob job just so she could get some sleep, I knew that this guy was a maniac. There’s also some strong evidence that he’s doing shady shit with his tigers and other animals. He surely can’t be trusted, I don’t care how many pictures he takes with The Undertaker. I’m calling for a full investigation of Doc Antle. Please get it done, FBI. —ZF