Ready or not, Tiger King is back for a second season

Plus: Marvel’s Hit-Monkey debuts and Kaitlyn Dever tells us what to expect from Dopesick’s season-one finale

By Saloni Gajjar | November 17, 2021 | 6:00am

TV Lists Spider-Man

Ready or not, Tiger King is back for a second season

Joe Exotic in Tiger King season 2 Photo: Netflix

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Wednesday, November 17. All times are Eastern.

Top picks

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, And Madness (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): Like it or not, we’re getting more of this Netflix docuseries. The show debuted at the start of quarantine in 2020, automatically becoming the most-talked about TV of last year, despite how messy all of its subjects’ really are. All this viral meme-ing has willed a second season into existence, so Netflix can grab more eyeballs as audiences catch up to Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, et al. The new season will consist of five episodes. Look out for additional coverage on the site later this week.

Regular coverage

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow (The CW, 8 p.m.)
Riverdale (The CW, 9 p.m.): Charles Bramesco is dropping in on the season-six premiere.

Season’s streaming

Christmas Flow (Netflix, 3:01 a.m.): Just in time to cozy up for the holidays, this French rom-com is about an unexpected Christmastime romance between a tenacious journalist, Lila (Shirine Boutella), and a famous rapper, played by French-Canadian singer Tayc.

Finales

Dopesick (Hulu, 12:01 a.m., season-one finale): Danny Strong’s adaptation of Beth Macy’s best-selling book comes to an end after eight sprawling episodes loaded with emotion and great performances. Dopesick’s narratives haven’t always been easy to follow, but they are worth the effort, especially for stars like Kaitlyn Dever, who spoke with The A.V. Club about working on shows that move the needle, like Dopesick and Netflix’s Unbelievable. “Seeing the impact Unbelievable had on its audience, it really opened my eyes to what you’re able to do with storytelling,” Dever says. “It’s so fulfilling to be a part of a show like Dopesick. We’re talking about a serious issue that needs to be discussed, and it’s allowing people to feel seen.”

Dever plays Betsy Mallum, who, though she doesn’t have a direct real-life analogue, is an amalgam of the many people who lost their lives to opioid use. Betsy’s story continues in the finale, thanks to her mother Diane (Mare Winningham) and Dr. Sam Finnix (Michael Keaton). Dever describes Keaton, her frequent scene partner, as a legend: “I was so nervous, honestly, to be in a scene with him, let alone the many scenes that I had to do with him.”

Betsy and Finnix’s bond makes up a big part of the show’s emotional core, which Dever says is thanks to the honest approach they both took to their performances, especially Keaton. “He is so truthful with his acting and I think that was very beneficial with our scenes,” she says. “It felt like I knew him for 30 years—or I guess not 30 years, [laughs] because I’m not 30 yet. I just felt like I’ve known him my whole life.”

Whether or not you’ve followed the story of the real-life Sacklers, who ultimately got what amounted to a slap on the wrist for fueling the opioid crisis, the Dopesick finale will still dismay you. It’s the lack of accountability, Dever says, “that’s so shocking about all of this.” Strong has said his goal with the show was to put the Sacklers on trial in the court of public opinion. Dever hopes the big takeaway will be “more compassion towards victims of opioid addiction and to recognize that this is one of the most important stories impacting our culture. I think it’s important that people are really seeing this and just learning from it and understanding a little bit better what went on.”