The Joe Exotic (working title) series is moving full steam ahead at Peacock. According to Deadline, the series just cast Dean Winters (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) as Jeff Lowe, Joe Exotic’s former business partner-turned-nemesis. He’s joined by Kate Mckinnon, who will take on the role of Carole Baskin; John Cameron Mitchell, who’s portraying the titular character.
The NBC-backed limited series based on the Wondery podcast will follow the long-running rivalry between Baskin and Exotic. It promises to focus largely on Carole Baskin (McKinnon), a big cat enthusiast, who follows Joe Exotic’s (born Joe Schreibvogel) work after discovering that he is using his big cats for-profit and breeding them. When Baskin (McKinnon) launches a campaign to take Exotic and his low-budget zoo out of business, chaos ensues as the two traded insults and character smears over the internet. Once Exotic finds out about Baskin’s sketchy past, he begins a counter-attack to highlight Baskin’s alleged “hypocrisy.”
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Ethan Frankel will pen the script as part of his overall deal with Universal Studio Group’s UCP. McKinnon will executive produce alongside Hernan Lopez, Marshall Lewy, and Aaron Hart for Wondery. Dennis Quaid as Rick Kirkham, Brian Van Holt as John Reinke, Nat Wolff as Travis Maldonado, Sam Keeley as John Finlay, and Lex Mayson as Saff have all been previously announced to be among the cast.
Winters has a long and impressive acting resume. Aside from his role as long-time boyfriend to Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) on Law & Order: SVU, he’s also been seen in 30 Rock playing Tina Fey’s “Beeper King” boyfriend as well as Rescue Me, American Gods, Divorce, Wayne and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. As for his next act, he’ll be starring in an indie feature film Christmas Vs. The Walters. He’s also largely recognized for his performance as “Mayhem” in several award-winning Allstate insurance commercials.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Joe and Jeff are continuing their ongoing feud. From prison, Exotic is looking to clear his name in a court of a deranged accusation laid against him by Lowe. Lowe previously alleged that Exotic was engaging in sexual acts with the farm animals at his roadside zoo, but Exotic says that’s not the case. Exotic’s lawyer claims Lowe made the damaging statements to stay relevant after the popularity of the Netflix documentary faded.
