Nicolas Cage to play Joe Exotic in upcoming series

This would be the first time the actor would have a regular role in a TV series

Nicolas Cage will be playing the notorious Joe Exotic from Tiger King, in a scripted series, reported Variety. The eight-episode series is being developed by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios.

The plot of the upcoming series is based on the Texas Monthly article Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild written by Leif Reigstad.

This would mark the first time Cage would appear as a regular on a TV show. Over the course of his career, the actor has received critical acclaim winning an academy award for the film Leaving Las Vegas and a nomination for Adaptation. Among is other popular films are Con-Air, Lord of War, Face/Off, and the National Treasure. More recently he lent his voice to the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. His upcoming films include The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Pig.

CBS TV Studios optioned the article in June of 2019. This is the second series that has been announced. The first one was announced last year that would have Kate McKinnon play Carol Baskins.

 

Joe Exotic and Carol Baskins became household names after the Tiger King docuseries was released on Netflix back in March. According to Variety, the series is estimated to have reached an audience of 34.3 million unique viewers in its first 10 days of availability.