The Tiger King. If you've managed to avoid a lengthy explanation from a fellow streamer on why you "just have to watch it", avoided the reviews in almost every major newspaper this week and avoided the debate that followed on its merit as a valuable documentary, well done. Also, sorry for the next couple of paragraphs.
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The seven-part series, which premiered on Netflix on March 20, has been the most watched show on the platform in Australia and the US for more than two weeks.
For those who didn't get the memo, remember when Louis Theroux lived with Nazi families and other outcasts to expose how mad some Americans are? Well, this is a trashier version of that series. Imagine if a polygamous Joe Dirt got into the illegal trade of big cats, meth, murder and US politics. Unsurprisingly, Florida's self-proclaimed Tiger King is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence.
I watched all seven episodes in three days. I'm not usually a huge television watcher, as I generally subscribe to the idea that it's a waste of time. In the current madness though, sitting in bed with my laptop feels more like self-care than self-indulgence. Having a common experience to talk about, other than you-know-what, feels important too.
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With coronavirus cases rising, with free childcare, with testing facilities set to pop up all over the country, there has certainly been a lot to talk about. With the coronavirus being our shared experience right now, it has been hard to think of anything else.
Enter The Tiger King.
In a fortnight of working-from-home productivity guilt, learning-from-home schooling guilt, and exercising-at-home-being-undone-by-eating-at-home-constantly guilt, it's felt good to have spent a couple of hours a night not thinking about any of it.
Everyone who wrote themselves a "to-do during the pandemic" list and has already forgotten said goals should set themselves a new task. Forget learning Spanish, sorting the cupboards or painting the kitchen. Do something you'll actually enjoy, something you usually don't give yourself permission to do. Eat in bed. Call your ex. Watch YouTube clips of children falling off bikes.
When you're done, call your mum or your mates and tell them all about it. They won't think they care, but it'll do them more good than another dissection of the pandemic.
- Alex Crowe is a Sunday Canberra Times journalist.
Alex Crowe
Alex covers science and environment issues, with a focus on local Canberra stories. alex.crowe@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Alex covers science and environment issues, with a focus on local Canberra stories. alex.crowe@austcommunitymedia.com.au
