Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’ Emerges as Ferocious Binge Hit Amid Pandemic Viewing Spike

(Image credit: Netflix)

Current theatrical movies are available for $20 or less on Google Play, Amazon, Vudu, Apple TV and other transactional locations. AMC is winding down the final season of Better Call Saul, and HBO just finished running its latest batch of Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes.

As Americans stay locked indoors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been stuff to watch beyond the very active cable news cycle. But the Netflix docu-series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem & Madness has emerged as an unlikely hit.

Netflix hasn’t released viewership metrics for the seven-part show, which follows the antics of Joe Exotic, an Oklahoma-based gay polygamist, gun-toting aspiring singer and breeder of exotic pets who has been sent to prison since production ended. 

Described by Netflix as “a jaw-dropping true tale of con artists, polygamy, rivalry and revenge,” Tiger King has emerged as a go-to, not-so-guilty, bing-watching pleasure for out-of-work major league ballplayers and celebrities alike. 

Indeed, Tiger King has ranked for over a week as  “No. 1 in the U.S. Today,” in the new ranking feature Netflix just began publishing last month. 

And as Variety reported this morning, Tiger King has a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes—the highest rating for any current Netflix show. 

Also read: Streaming on Connected TVs Up 24%, Comscore Finds

Tiger King has, to a degree, become the programming face for the overall surge in viewing for streaming content that has emerged as consumers in the U.S. and Europe hunker down at home amid the pandemic. 

According to Comscore, for the period of March 1 through March 16, streaming hours via connected TVs in the U.S. were up 24% compared to a year ago, and hours streamed using a streaming box or stick are up 16%.

Netflix controlled 37% of that consumption, Comscore said. 

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!