Kate McKinnon wants all you cool cats and kittens to reconsider everything you think you know about Joe "Exotic" Maldonado-Passage and Carole Baskin.
The Saturday Night Live star plays Carole in Joe vs. Carole, Peacock's new Tiger King-inspired limited series. And she's hoping to convince viewers to take another look at the cat-crazy pair. "We really wanted people to understand what had happened in their lives that led them to these points, and why the heck they were so darn obsessed with cats."
Fans roared for Netflix's Tiger King, which documented wild cat enthusiasts Joe and Carole and their, er, different ways of doing things. The new series will detail their bitter rivalry and the events that led to a wild murder-for-hire plot that landed Joe in prison.
You can also expect to see why Joe "toughened up," says John Cameron Mitchell, who plays Joe.
"Some people get battered down by life or they go into the closet," the actor told E! News. "He kind of imitated the bully that beat him up when he was a little boy.
Of course, the series wouldn't be complete without Carole's loyal husband, Howard Baskin, plays in everything. He'll be portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan, who echoed Kate's sentiments about Joe vs. Carole showing a new side to the real-life people involved.
"I think any time you have a character, a damaged character—and both of these people are—you have a better understanding of who they are today based upon what you may have learned about the past," Kyle told Daily Pop. "And I think it humanizes people."
Joe vs. Carole is now streaming on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)