Dennis Quaid Joins Peacock’s ‘Joe Exotic’ as Rick Kirkham
Peacock’s limited series Joe Exotic (working title) has cast the titular character’s reality show producer.
Dennis Quaid will play Rick Kirkham, joining a cast that includes Kate McKinnon (big cat enthusiast Carole Baskin), John Cameron Mitchell (zoo owner Joe “Exotic” Schreibvogel), Brian Van Holt (zoo employee John Reinke), Nat Wolff (Joe’s husband Travis Maldonado), and Sam Kelley (Joe’s husband John Finlay).
The series is based on the Wondery podcast, Joe Exotic, hosted and reported by Robert Moor. It follows big cat enthusiast Carole Baskin, who learns that a fellow exotic animal lover, Joe Exotic, is breeding and using his big cats for profit. When she sets out to shut down his venture, it kickstarts a quickly escalating rivalry — and Joe will stop at nothing to expose her checkered past, which he considers her hypocrisy. “The results prove dangerous,” the logline teases.
People started talking about the story of Joe Exotic after the Netflix documentary Tiger King premiered in March 2020. Due to its popularity, in addition to the docuseries, the streaming service released a reunion episode in which Joel McHale spoke with the people involved, including John Reinke, John Finlay, and Rick Kirkham.
Joe Exotic is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. Etan Frankel will write and executive produce under his overall deal with the studio. McKinnon will also executive produce with Wondery’s Hernan Lopez, Marshall Lewy, and Aaron Hart.
Rick Kirkham (Netflix)
Quaid’s TV credits include Merry Happy Whatever, Goliath, Fortitude, and Vegas.
Joe Exotic, TBA, Peacock
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