Kate McKinnon Is Playing Carole Baskin in a New ‘Tiger King’ Miniseries: Who Else Should Star?

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Kate McKinnon Is Playing Carole Baskin in a New 'Tiger King' Miniseries: Who Else Should Star?

"Hey, all you cool cats and kittens!" Kate McKinnon is set to channel Carole Baskin in a new series inspired by Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — and fans can't wait to see how the comedian will put her own spin on the eccentric character. Deadline reported in November 2019 that the Saturday Night Live star, 36, was slated to portray the Big Cat Rescue CEO in an adaptation of the Wondery podcast "Joe Exotic." At the time, Universal Content Productions — the studio behind podcast-to-TV project Dirty John — was working on developing the series for an unnamed network. After Netflix dropped its wildly successful Tiger King docuseries earlier this month, fans are curious to find out which stars will join McKinnon as part of the cast of colorful personalities. [jwplayer 8Gadd9pe-l3ahXupL] Dax Shepard has already made a convincing pitch to take on the role of Joe Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage), an Oklahoma zoo owner and Baskin's nemesis. "If I don’t get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken," the 45-year-old Parenthood alum tweeted on March 25 while binge-watching the Netflix show. Edward Norton then replied that Shepard should "step aside," adding, "You're way too young and buff and you know it. You could probably pull off [Travis] Maldonado [the third husband of Joe Exotic] still, actually. Wouldn’t that be fun?" Exotic is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for hiring a hitman to kill Baskin and filed a lawsuit against his former business partner, Jeff Lowe, claiming that Lowe planted evidence against him that led to his arrest. While some social media users have pitched Kiefer Sutherland and 30 Rock alum Dean Gerard Winters for Lowe's role, Woody Harrelson is the ultimate fan favorite. More than a few celebs bear a striking resemblance to Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, the founder and director of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, including Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet and Step Brothers star John C. Reilly. However, comedic heavyweight Will Ferrell stands out as the clear choice to bring Antle to life onscreen. Scroll down to see Us Weekly's breakdown of which stars should join McKinnon in the upcoming TV adaptation of the “Joe Exotic” podcast! [podcast_block]

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Kate McKinnon Is Playing Carole Baskin in a New 'Tiger King' Miniseries: Who Else Should Star?

"Hey, all you cool cats and kittens!" Kate McKinnon is set to channel Carole Baskin in a new series inspired by Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — and fans can't wait to see how the comedian will put her own spin on the eccentric character. Deadline reported in November 2019 that the Saturday Night Live star, 36, was slated to portray the Big Cat Rescue CEO in an adaptation of the Wondery podcast "Joe Exotic." At the time, Universal Content Productions — the studio behind podcast-to-TV project Dirty John — was working on developing the series for an unnamed network. After Netflix dropped its wildly successful Tiger King docuseries earlier this month, fans are curious to find out which stars will join McKinnon as part of the cast of colorful personalities. [jwplayer 8Gadd9pe-l3ahXupL] Dax Shepard has already made a convincing pitch to take on the role of Joe Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage), an Oklahoma zoo owner and Baskin's nemesis. "If I don’t get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken," the 45-year-old Parenthood alum tweeted on March 25 while binge-watching the Netflix show. Edward Norton then replied that Shepard should "step aside," adding, "You're way too young and buff and you know it. You could probably pull off [Travis] Maldonado [the third husband of Joe Exotic] still, actually. Wouldn’t that be fun?" Exotic is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for hiring a hitman to kill Baskin and filed a lawsuit against his former business partner, Jeff Lowe, claiming that Lowe planted evidence against him that led to his arrest. While some social media users have pitched Kiefer Sutherland and 30 Rock alum Dean Gerard Winters for Lowe's role, Woody Harrelson is the ultimate fan favorite. More than a few celebs bear a striking resemblance to Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, the founder and director of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, including Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet and Step Brothers star John C. Reilly. However, comedic heavyweight Will Ferrell stands out as the clear choice to bring Antle to life onscreen. Scroll down to see Us Weekly's breakdown of which stars should join McKinnon in the upcoming TV adaptation of the “Joe Exotic” podcast! [podcast_block]

Credit: Netflix; Shutterstock

Dax Shepard as Joe Exotic

The "Armchair Expert" podcast host has already pitched himself for the role of Joe Exotic, much to the dismay of Edward Norton and Steve Buscemi fans all over the internet. Robert Moor, who hosts the "Joe Exotic" podcast the series will be based on, put a few left-field suggestions up for consideration during the March 30 episode of "Radio Andy" on SiriusXM. "Sam Rockwell was one of the names that came up a lot to play Joe Exotic," Moor explained. "My preferred casting — and this is off the wall — would be Margot Robbie. I think Margot Robbie should play Joe in a, like, gender switch [thing]."

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin

The Emmy winner is renowned for playing some of the most bizarre characters in her eight years on SNL — and Baskin would fit well in her repertoire. After hearing that McKinnon would be portraying her onscreen, TMZ reported that the animal rights activist encouraged the actress to "utilize computer-generated imagery (CGI) of cats in the show rather than forcing real big cats to suffer just to entertain the audience." 

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Woody Harrelson as Jeff Lowe

While the Zombieland star could take on a number of the Tiger King characters, channeling Lowe's personality would be right in his wheelhouse. 

Credit: Netflix; Shutterstock

JK Simmons as Rick Kirkham

Kirkham, a former Inside Edition reporter, worked closely with Exotic on the zookeeper's reality TV web series — and his black cowboy hat would suit Simmons perfectly.

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Will Ferrell as Doc Antle

The former SNL cast member has a knack for effortlessly bringing quirky characters to life, so there's no doubt he could do the South Carolina animal enthusiast justice in this upcoming series. 

Credit: Shutterstock; YouTube

Jeff Goldblum as Howard Baskin

The resemblance between the Jurassic Park star and Carole Baskin's third husband, Howard, is uncanny.

Credit: Netflix; Shutterstock

Adam Driver as Travis Maldonado

Driver would bring Oscar-worthy charm to the role of Maldonado, who married Exotic at only 19 before his untimely death in October 2017. 

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Shia LaBeouf as John Finlay

LaBeouf is a perfect fit for Finlay, who currently resides in Texas with his fiancée. The former GW Zoo employee was married to Exotic at the same time as Maldonado before the lovers discovered that Finlay had a sexual relationship with a woman he worked with at the zoo.

Credit: Shutterstock

Bob Odenkirk as Don Lewis

Carole's former husband mysteriously vanished in 1997, leading some to believe that the animal rights activist had a hand in his disappearance. Odenkirk's legacy as the smooth-talking Saul Goodman makes him a shoo-in to play Lewis.

Credit: Shutterstock; Netflix

Matthew McConaughey as John Reinke

Reinke was one of Exotic's right-hand men at the GW Zoo. McConaughey's trademark Southern drawl puts him in first place to play the zoo manager.