William Fichtner is ready to have a wild time with the Joe Exotic series.
On Thursday, July 1, Peacock revealed that the Mom actor has been tapped to replace Dennis Quaid as producer Rick Kirkham in the highly anticipated miniseries. Friendly reminder, earlier in June, The Parent Trap star was announced to play Rick, who played a key role in the Tiger King saga by describing his working experience with the eccentric Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel.
However, per the streaming service, the 67-year-old actor had to depart the series due to a scheduling conflict. While this is certainly sad news for fans of Dennis, we couldn’t be more excited about his replacement. Not only does William look an awful lot like the Tiger King fan favorite, but he also has a stellar acting resume. Ever heard of Prison Break, Black Hawk Down or Drive Angry? We have!
William is joining an already stacked cast, which includes Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell as rival big cat owners Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic respectively. Of course, while many people were introduced to this rivalry through Netflix‘s Tiger King docu-series, Joe Exotic is based off the Wondery podcast.
NetflixIn fact, according to John, the Peacock project will have a totally different tone. “I love what they’re going to be doing with the story,” he teased to E! News in May. “It’s going to be much more deeply felt, heartfelt than the docuseries, which is more sensational.”
We have a feeling this show will be a roaring good time. For everything we know about the Joe Exotic miniseries, scroll through the images below.
NetflixJoe Exotic and his gang of misfits have found mega fame with their Netflix docuseries, but he was first introduced to the world on Wondery’s second season of the podcast Over My Dead Body. The story that the writers at Wondery weaved will be the basis of the new series produced by UCP studios. Together, Wondery’s Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy will executive produce the limited series with the help of their star, Kate McKinnon. Etan Frankel will write and executive produce the series, and it will air on Peacock.
Per UCP, “Joe Exotic is a limited series based on true events following Carole Baskin (McKinnon), a big cat enthusiast, who learns that when fellow exotic animal lover Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit, she sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry. But Carole has a checkered past of her own and when the claws come out, Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy. The results prove dangerous.”
UCP confirmed the Saturday Night Live star will be playing the divisive Carole Baskin in the limited series. In a statement, Carole called McKinnon “a wonderful actress” and requested that the show use only CGI tigers instead of real ones.
Shrill star John Cameron Mitchell, who rose to fame by writing and starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, will play the titular eccentric zoo owner who has it out for Carole Baskin.
“I’m thrilled to take on the role of this modern folk antihero,” Mitchell said in a statement. “Joe and I are the same age and like him, I grew up queer in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas so I feel like I know a little bit about this guy and his desperate attempt to conquer an inhospitable world.”
As for who will play Joe’s backstabbing friend and fellow big cat enthusiast Jeff Lowe? That will be none other than Oz‘s Dean Winters.
Initially, Dennis Quaid was cast to play producer Rick Kirkham. However, due to a scheduling conflict, The Parent Trap actor had to exit the series. In July 2021, it was announced that Mom‘s William Fichtner would step into the role.
In May 2021, it was revealed that Cougar Town‘s Brian Van Holt was cast as John Reinke in the Joe Exotic miniseries. As fans of the Tiger King saga well know, John was the manager for Joe’s zoo, a loyal employee until things got too out of hand.
The Peacock series began rounding out its cast when it tapped Nat Wolff to play one of Joe’s husbands, Travis Maldonado, who passed away in 2017 due to an accidental suicide. Nat confirmed the casting news on Instagram, writing, “Couldn’t be more excited to go on this wild adventure with this talented group of people!”
On Tuesday, June 1, the second of Joe’s husbands was announced. Specifically, Sam Keeley will be joining Joe’s throuple as John Finlay, who was often shirtless and had a headline-making smile in the Netflix docuseries.
In regard to his new role, Sam took to his Instagram story and said he was “very excited to be apart of this.”
A newcomer, named Lex Mayson, will portray Saff, an employee of Joe’s who lost their arm after a brutal tiger attack.
Following his work on Orange Is the New Black, Joel Marsh Garland is set to play James Garretson, Joe’s friend-turned-FBI informant, in the upcoming series.
Will Ferrell, Jim Gaffigan and John C. Reilly are a few of the names that fans believe would be excellent in the role of the mysterious Doc Antle. Justin Long personally nominated Jim Gaffigan, telling Dax Shepard they can “sit next to each other at the Oscars.”
Depending on the timeline, there could be new evidence brought to light in the disappearance of Carole’s husband Don Lewis. The Hillsborough County sheriff wrote on Twitter, “Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads.” If this happens, the show could have new info to inspire their script.
Joe Exotic does not currently have a premiere date, but will debut on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
