Tiger King: Kate McKinnon set to star in drama adaptation of Netflix series

The series will focus on the Tiger King’s rival Carole Baskin

After the success of Netflix’s Tiger King documentary, Universal Content Productions are working on a drama adaptation that would focus on the character of Carole Baskin.

The Saturday Night Live actress Kate McKinnon is set to play Baskin, the animal activist head of Big Cat Rescue who becomes the rival of flamboyant tiger owner Joe Exotic.

A seven-part series based on a podcast, Tiger King follows the prolific war which erupts between Exotic and Baskin.

Where Exotic once ran a 16-acre private zoo, Baskin would accuse Exotic of animal abuses, and specifically breeding tigers for the purposes of being photographed as cubs with excited visitors.

The series elaborately spirals from there, with directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin investigating the feud over the course of five years. Along the way, the pair encountered a wild industry of private big cat ownership in the USA, at least one murder-for-hire, a cult revolving around exotic animals, and allegations of a millionaire being fed to tigers.

Carole Baskin appears in Netflix’s new true crime docuseries Tiger King (Netflix ) (Netflix)

The true crime docuseries – which counts Kim Kardashian among its fans - has shocked viewers, with many dubbing it the perfect binge-watch for quarantine.

While there is currently no network or streamer attached to the McKinnon-fronted show, which has been scripted by EP, the release of Tiger King is likely to raise its profile.