Louis Theroux is to revisit Joe Exotic in a new feature length documentary.
The award-winning film-maker Louis Theroux will return to America for a new special about one of his most provocative subjects – Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, the self-proclaimed ‘Tiger King’.
The BBC share: “10 years since he first met Joe whilst making his documentary America’s Most Dangerous Pets, Louis returns to Oklahoma to explore what has happened since, with Joe now residing in a Federal Prison, having been found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot and multiple animal cruelty charges.
“But rather than a pariah, Joe is a media phenomenon with a well-funded campaign team who were attempting to win him a presidential pardon.
“Looking back at his original documentary while reflecting on hours of unseen footage, Louis sets out to understand who the real Joe Exotic is.
“As he tries to investigate what has happened in the intervening years, he meets old friends from his original documentary, the team trying to get him out of prison and those closest to Joe who have never spoken before.”
Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic will air on TV on Monday, 5 April at 9PM on BBC Two. It’ll be available to watch online via the BBC iPlayer thereafter.
Louis Theroux said: “This is one of those quintessentially American stories, taking place in the heartland of Oklahoma, with a cast of characters almost too colourful 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.”
Clare Sillery, BBC’s Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, History and Religion added: “In this follow-up to Louis’ revelatory first-look at the life of Joe Exotic in America’s Most Dangerous Pets, viewers will be taken even more deeply into the weird world of one of America’s most notorious figures.
“This feature-length special will be full to the brim with never-before-seen footage and brand new interviews with those on all sides of the Joe Exotic story”.
More on: BBC TwoLouis Theroux
