Scripted Tiger King TV series will film in Brisbane early next year

Production on the long-awaited scripted Tiger King TV series is set to begin early 2021. 

And according to the Courier Mail, the show will be filmed in Brisbane, which will add millions to Queensland’s economy.

Two other shows, including one with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, will also film in the state over the next 18 months as part of a $19.5 million deal that the Australian Government made with NBCUniversal’s Universal Studio Group.

Federal Arts Minister Paul Fletcher said the productions will add $140 million into the local economy and create jobs for 1,000 cast and crew members and 2,000 extras. 

‘The productions will provide invaluable opportunities for Australian cast and crew, create a pipeline of work for local post-production, digital and visual effects businesses, and engage workers in sectors such as construction, transport, accommodation and hospitality,’ he said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also said that Queensland is ‘one of the safest places in the world to film’.

In August, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming issued a straight-to-series order for Joe Exotic, starring Kate McKinnon as Carol Baskin, in a cross-platform deal.

The limited series will debut on NBCU’s broadcast network NBC, cable network USA Network and new streaming service Peacock in what Deadline called, ‘an unprecedented rollout.’ 

It was first announced back in November 2019, months before Netflix’s Tiger King became a worldwide phenomenon, with McKinnon attached to both star and executive produce. 

The title role of Joe ‘Exotic’ Schreibvogel has not yet been cast at this time.

The series will be based on the true events following Carole Baskin (played by McKinnon), ‘a big cat enthusiast, who learns that when fellow exotic animal lover Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit, she sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry.’

The show’s official description adds that Carole, ‘has a checkered past of her own’ and that ‘Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy.’