'Tiger King': Everything We Know About the Reported New Episode

Joe Exotic Netflix
Netflix

Jeff Lowe announced one was coming, while Joe Exotic's husband, Dillon Passage, said that the couple was not participating.

Following the huge success of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, it’s not surprising that Netflix would want to make more episodes for fans who are still clamoring for anything that they can get their hands on about Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and others at the center of the docuseries.

While directors Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin put as much as they could into seven episodes, which were filmed from 2014 up until weeks into 2020, there’s still a lot left unsaid and even more to be clarified. Since its release, several of the subjects -- Dillon Passage, Doc Antle, Jeff Lowe and John Finlay -- have spoken out while Baskin and Exotic have both issued reactions and addressed questions raised on-camera. 

Now, Lowe is saying that there’s another episode coming -- and it could be dropping soon. Here’s everything ET knows so far: 

What Is the Episode Going to Be About? 

While Goode and Chaiklin were responsible for the making of the docuseries, Passage, Exotic’s fourth and current husband, told ET that neither filmmaker is involved in the new episode. “They were not a part of this,” he said.

In an earlier interview with Andy Cohen, Passage said “it’s going to be a live episode, kind of like a reunion.” He continued by saying that he only spoke with one of the producers for a little while about it, adding that it’s “more like a talent interview.”

Though it’s probably being taped in real-time, Lowe revealed that they “we’re filming” on Sunday, April 5 -- and nothing was streamed to the public at that time. 

Netflix is known to gather subjects or stars of its projects for follow-up interviews that have been posted to YouTube or social media. It’s possible that this is the case -- or it could be another, formal episode added onto the Tiger King series despite the filmmakers not helming the new footage.

Who Is Participating? 

When Lowe revealed that a new episode was reportedly coming, he said “we’re filming” it. The “we” here likely means Lowe and his wife, Lauren Dropla. But given that there are so many wild personalities that participated in the original docuseries, we can’t imagine it would just be those two.

Baskin’s rep, however, told ET the Big Cat Rescue owner and her husband, Howard, “have not been approached about a new episode and would not participate if asked.” And Passage said in an interview with Cohen that “Netflix didn’t contact me to be part of that.” 

Meanwhile, the main subject is behind bars, currently serving out a 22-year prison sentence for a failed murder-for-plot attempt against Baskin and other federal wildlife violations. Though, Netflix did recently get him on video phone for a brief follow-up interview, which could be included in the new episode. 

In the interview, which was conducted on March 22, Exotic says he’s through with his intense feud with Baskin. “I'm done with the Carole Baskin saga,” he said. “It's now time to turn the tables and Joe get out of jail a free man and exonerated from all these charges.”

Passage confirmed to ET that “the people who are producing this and working with Netflix to do it” have reached out about getting Exotic in the episode. But production was supposed to wrap on the same day that he gets out of isolation. “So, I mean, he’s probably not going to be involved,” Dillon said. “What kind of reunion is it going to be without the Tiger King?”

Considering that Exotic nor Baskin are participating, “the auxiliary characters are going to be the main focus,” Passage added. As for Passage himself, he has no interest in being in the episode. “ I really don’t care to see Jeff Lowe,” he said. “Let me just be completely honest. I don’t wanna be anywhere near the man. I want nothing to do with him.”

When Does It Come Out? 

Lowe posted his announcement on Saturday, April 4, saying that it “will be on next week,” while Dillon confirmed that production had to wrap by Thursday, April 9. If that’s the case, Netflix typically likes to debut new programming on Fridays. So our educated guess is that anything new to the streaming platform would be released on Friday, April 10. 

What About the Other Specials?

Given that Netflix has yet to confirm anything -- nor respond to any of ET’s requests for comment -- it is possible that the new episode is actually the upcoming Fox special, TMZ Investigates: Tiger King -- What Really Went Down?, airing Monday, April 13. The one-hour special exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage. 

In addition to the Fox special, Investigation Discovery recently announced it is working on a “definitive sequel” to Netflix’s Tiger King docuseries, called Investigating the Strange World of Joe Exotic, which will be helmed by Exotic himself. The new special, which does not have a release date, will purportedly include exclusive, unseen footage and the unveiling of “secrets only Joe knows.” 

ET's Original 'Tiger King' Interviews  

In the meantime, ET has video-chatted with Antle, Finlay, Lowe and Passage to get their inside perspective on the making of the Tiger King docuseries. Check out their interviews below: