Already, Tiger King season 2 is repeating Netflix's biggest true crime mistake, one already seen with season 2 of Making a Murderer. The first season unexpectedly took audiences by storm and became one of the buzziest shows around for a while, with everyone trading theories about the people and events involved. Soon, all of Hollywood jumped on the Tiger King train, with multiple series and movies in development. At one point, even Nich0las Cage was attached to star as a fictionalized version of Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel, the so-called Tiger King, in a series before Amazon nixed the project; an NBCUniversal series is still going ahead with John Cameron Mitchell in the titular role.
On its own end, Netflix moved quickly to greenlight a second season. The first season aired in April 2020 and Tiger King season 2 was already in production and filming by the summer of 2020, just a few months later. Recently, the streaming platform announced that season 2 will drop on Netflix on November 21 of this year, just in time to binge over a long Thanksgiving weekend. This alacrity in turning the second season around may on the surface seem like a good sign, but it's actually why it likely won't be nearly as well-received as the first season.
Netflix is making the same mistake with Tiger King season 2 that it already made with Making a Murderer season 2. The latter series chronicled the twisting story of Steven Avery, a man who was wrongly convicted for murder and served 18 years in prison before being released, only to later be arrested again and rightfully convicted in 2007 for the murder of Teresa Halbach. The first season was gripping as it was filmed over the course of ten years, with the documentarians able to craft a compelling and complex story. However, upon the success of the first season, Netflix hurried to greenlight a season 2 and it was poorly received, being rushed and inconsequential. The same issue is about to plague Tiger King season 2. Filming alone took over five years for the first season, which was necessary in order for the team to get a full picture of the story unfolding. Filming to release of season 2, however, will only be a year and a few months in total. Just as with Making a Murderer season 2, there will be nothing to update with Tiger King season 2 and the result will be a lot of pointless filler.
The end of Tiger King season 1 ends with Joe Exotic being convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme and sentenced to 22 years in prison. It's unclear what story the second season could possibly tell seeing as how he's been in prison since. The release date teaser hints that the first season "barely scratched the surface," but it's hard to imagine it will have anything new to offer audiences. As the target of Joe Exotic's hit and Tiger King season 1 star Carole Baskin said, "I don’t know how they put out a Tiger King 2 when Joe Schreibvogel’s [aka Joe Exotic] in jail and I’m refusing to be played again," and later referred to it as a "dumpster fire," so she certainly won't be involved.
That said, it's entirely possible Tiger King season 2 could focus on supporting character Doc Antle. Last November, he was charged with two felony counts of wildlife trafficking and 13 other misdemeanor charges related to animal cruelty and potential violations of the Endangered Species Act, along with two of his daughters. So is another season 1 supporting character, Jeff Lowe, whose zoo is also in trouble with the law for violating the Endangered Species Act and Animal Welfare Act. But the season 2 release date teaser also appeared to show a brief shot of Joe Exotic in jail, so it appears much will revolve around him and his attempt to fight his conviction, which, frankly, makes for boring television.
It should also be remembered that Tiger King season 1 was released in the first full month of the pandemic, when people were trapped at home and absolutely starved for something, anything, to entertain them while adjusting to the boredom of lockdown. It's entirely possible it will prove to have been falsely inflated interest. November will reveal all when Tiger King season 2 is released.