Dennis Quaid Cast as ‘Tiger King’ Fan Favorite Character in New Series

Dennis Quaid has been cast in Peacock’s new series about Joe Exotic, and he’ll be playing a fan-favorite Tiger King star. Deadline reports that Quaid will portray Rick Kirkham, a former Inside Edition reporter, and TV producer, who worked with Exotic. Joins previously announced cast members John Cameron Mitchell (Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel), Kate McKinnon (Carole Baskin), Brian Van Holt (John Reinke), Nat Wolff (Travis Maldonado), and Sam Keely (John Finlay).

An official synopsis of the new series reads: “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.” While the show will feature real-life people from the Netflix docu-series, it will actually be based on Wondery’s Joe Exotic podcast. In addition to starring in the series, McKinnon will also serve as an executive producer. Etan Frankel (Shameless, Animal Kingdom) will write the show, and will also serve as an executive producer.

In a previous statement, Mitchell spoke out about his excitement at taking on the role of Joe Exotic, and offered some insight into how much the two real-life men have in common. “I’m thrilled to take on the role of this modern folk antihero,” Mitchell said. “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.”

The series was originally set to air across Peacock, NBC, and the USA Network, but that plan was recently changed, and it will now be a Peacock exclusive. Susan Rovner, Chairman of Entertainment Content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, issued a comment on the company’s decision, explaining that as the series has taken shape, it feels best suited for the streaming service. “Joe Exotic is shaping up to be a bold and provocative drama and perfectly suited for Peacock, where we can push the envelope and truly bring the story to life in a way that we would be unable to do on broadcast television.”

Rovner added, “Moving Joe Exotic to Peacock exclusively is just one example of the strengths of our new structure, which gives us the ability to let the art dictate the platform and not the other way around.” At this time, the new series does not have an announced premiere date. It is possible that it could debut in 2021, but it also may not premiere until 2022, depending on filming schedules.