Carole Baskin is sharpening her claws as she prepares yet another attempted takedown of Joe Exotic — even as her competition sits behind bars.
The big cat rescue owner-turned “Tiger King” star-turned “Dancing with the Stars” contestant has a new project: a two-part Discovery+ docuseries in which Baskin and her husband, Howard, “get their hands dirty and investigate the treatment of big cats, often coming into direct confrontations with dangerous operators.”
“ ‘Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight’ documents Baskin and her team as they investigate the property for lingering evidence of animal trafficking and abuse treatment, revealing many shocking moments along the way,” Discovery announced Thursday.
Exotic’s niece, Chealsi, will also help Baskin, providing “firsthand knowledge” from her years working at the G.W. Zoo during her childhood.
“This is a unique opportunity for audiences to come ‘behind the scenes’ with us for an unfiltered look at how we expose the cub petting exploiters and roadside zoos we feel are mistreating animals,” Baskin said in a statement.
“This is our real-life work within a dangerous world, and viewers will see it comes with our people being threatened, guns pointed at us and the bad guys shooting at our drones.”
Last June, a judge awarded Baskin ownership of the G.W. Zoo after Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin, as well as several animal abuse charges.
“ ‘Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight’ reveals Carole’s story in her own words,” Amy Introcaso-Davis, executive vice president development and production factual programming at Discovery, said in a statement. “Viewers will see this larger-than-life personality in the fight for her beloved big cats’ lives as she uncovers and stops the exploitation of these animals.”
“Cage Fight” will also include Baskin’s “investigators and most trusted Big Cat Rescue volunteers” carrying out their own missions to explore illegal zoo tours and animal abuse at roadside zoos, leading them “on a trail to a former drug dealer in Miami,” according to Discovery.
The series debuts on Nov. 13.
