Louis Theroux confirms he's making a new documentary about 'Tiger King'

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By VT

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Louis Theroux has confirmed that he is making a documentary about Tiger King's Joe Exotic a year on from the release of the Netflix docuseries.

Following the release of the series, Exotic became a cult phenomenon, so much so that a well-funded media campaign was created in a bid to have him pardoned by then-president Donald Trump prior to him leaving the White House in January of this year.

In the BBC documentary, Louis will examine the footage of himself and Exotic from ten years ago as he attempts to get to the bottom of who the Tiger King really is.

He then goes on to investigate what happens in the years after, interviewing people from his original documentary as well as the team of people who are attempting to have Exotic freed from prison, and those closest to him.

Cast your mind back to the trailer for Tiger King below: 

Louis first met Exotic back in 2011 while filming his documentary America's Most Dangerous Pets.

Now, a decade later, Exotic is in prison for a murder-for-hire plot against fellow big cat enthusiast Carole Baskin and multiple animal cruelty charges.

Louis said of the documentary: "This is one of those quintessentially American stories, taking place in the heartland of Oklahoma, with a cast of characters almost too colorful and larger-than-life to be believed.

"I spent eight or nine days filming at the park back in 2011, over the course of three separate visits. I'd forgotten how much we shot until I went back into the footage during lockdown. It's extraordinary how much was there.

"Since then the story just got stranger and bigger, and in going back at the end of last year I uncovered a real-life drama that took me in directions I never could have expected."

Tiger King became an unlikely phenomenon when it was released during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

The extent of its popularity is reflected by a scripted limited series also currently being in the works at the American network NBC, per Radio Times.

The premiere date for Theroux' Tiger King documentary has yet to be announced.