For a time, the saga of Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic ruled every conversation with friends and family. If you hadn’t watched Netflix’s Tiger King, you were living under a rock.
Then, in November of last year, a second series following their lives post the breakout show premiered but disappeared just as quickly.
But everyone’s ‘favourite’ zoo-keepers are back in the parody series Joe Vs. Carole, starring Saturday Night Live icon Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell.
Here’s a summary of what people have had to say:
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Rebecca Nicholson from The Guardian praises it for being “hugely entertaining, striking just the right tone, half absurd, half empathetic.”
She goes on to applaud the series for seeing through the “operatic insanity” of their lives and looking at the heartfelt moments underneath.
Richard Lawson from Vanity Fair however, suggests it fails to bring “motivation” and “backstories” to this fictional telling, instead coming across like a “brutally over-extended Saturday Night Live sketch.”
Adam White from The Independent seconds this, suggesting the series is “unsure if it wants to be a sensitive portrayal of trauma or a comedy skit.”
White’s impression of Mitchell and Mckinnon is “strong for the most part” but notes the “whiff of bad improv”.
McKinnon’s performance is an “outline of a real person,” suggests Lawson. Her performance is just “McKinnon ticks” and “superfluousness.”
On the other hand, Vanity raves over John Cameron Mitchell’s performance. Labeling him “funny and pitiable and scary and unique” and rescues the series from “outright uselessness.”
“If only everything surrounding Mitchell’s splendour could come even close to matching it.”
The series does not look like it’s going to be as successful critically or commercially as its predecessors. But, all parties seem to agree that if you have a soft spot for the antics of Tiger King, then you might find something to love in Joe Vs. Carole.
Joe Vs. Carole is now streaming on Peacock and Stan in Australia.
Watch the trailer below!
