The Characters of Netflix's 'Tiger King,' Ranked From Best to Absolute Worst

Image via Netflix

Who?: Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park employee who had his arm ripped off

Easily the coolest, most likable character in this whole damn Tiger King universe. Saff was calm, cool, and collected throughout the show; even after getting his arm ripped off by a tiger, Saff was still about his business. While the rest of the characters were a continuous mess of who the fuck knows what, Saff was just chilling, taking it all day-by-day. You have to admire that level of chill, especially in such trying times. I hope Saff is doing OK. We salute you. —ZF

Who?: Former employee at Greater Wynnewood Animal Park

Cowie was just an all-around boss, honestly. Many have spoke on him being one of the few who actually seemed to give a shit about the animals at the Park, even if it was scary AF seeing him fill up a gas tank with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Working there for five years, he was privy to a lot, even testifying at Joe Exotic's trial that Joe had killed tigers in the park to make space for new animals. Cowie has a no-nonsense approach to speaking on what went down at the Park, and for that, we commend him. —khal

Who?: Joe Exotic's campaign manager

Talk about a damn legend. Dial didn’t show up until later in the show when Joe was getting into politics, but he left his mark. I mean, when Josh said, “Fuck the Feds,” I felt that. This guy may have only been in a few episodes, but man, I really felt bad for him. Not only did Travis shoot himself right in front of Josh, but he had to try and get Joe elected as Governor. Imagine putting “Joe Exotic’s Campaign Manager” on your resume. —ZF

Who?: Former manager of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park

"Animal people are nuts, man. And I might be one of them people, I don't know, but they're all half-out there, man. They're crazy." The realest statment spoken in Tiger King came from John Reinke early-on in the first episode of Tiger King, and should've set us up for the subsequent journey we took (spoiler: it didn't). Reinke was just a guy. Dude had lost his legs before even showing up at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, but he was a trooper, and kept it pushing. The real key was that Reinke had been around long enough to not only have a stolen Hummer sold to him (allegedly), but he had all of the info, so he was one of the more reliable sources in a documentary full of, well, nutty animal people. —khal

Who?: Joe Exotic's video producer

While Kirkham isn't trash compared to the folks who occupy the back-end of this ranking, you have to have some level of creep in you to point a camera at all of Joe Exotic's rantings and still stick around for the ride. Money talks, sure, but there was a lot of fuckery going on that Kirkham, who's story (which includes being addicted to crack while working on Inside Edition) is deeper than what we saw on Tiger King. Not holding his past against him, but he's obviously been trained to expose insanity, which places him closer to the middle of the ranking than others. —khal

Who?: Joe Exotic's husband

We’re getting deeper into the weeds now and to a point where nobody is really considered a “good guy” in this story. John Finlay, who was one of Joe’s husbands, seemed alright when the show started. He was a bit happy, in my opinion. Like none of it was his problem. By the end, I was convinced he was just using Joe throughout, especially after he left him for a woman. Some true heartbreak. —ZF

Who?: Joe Exotic's husband

Travis' story might be the most tragic of the entire series. He came to the Park fairly young, and while it was hard to tell why he was first into what Joe Exotic was selling, he dug it enough to marry the guy along with John Finlay. A lover of guns (shooting them, pointing them at people) and drugs, it'd be his infatuation with the former that spelled his demise, as a conversation about a gun not firing because the clip wasn't in it turned to be his fatal last mistake. The aforementioned Dial had to see this first hand (the video of Dial's reaction might've been the most bugged out thing in the documentary, surprisingly), but it's the fast-and-hard lifestyle of Travis' that is remembered most. —khal

Who?: The "Tiger King" and (former) owner of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park

And now we arrive at the man, the myth, the legend, Joe Exotic. He was probably the hardest person to rank for this, because I genuinely liked him for the most part during the show. He was just trying to run his zoo and let people know that Carole probably killed her husband. But still, Joe is on the wrong side of this list because it’s pretty clear he did some shady shit and probably killed some tigers. For that, Joe is rather low on the list, but still ahead of some other very shitty people. —ZF

Who?: The guy on the jetski who set the whole sting on Joe Exotic in motion (and allegedly sold a stolen Hummer)

The only thing this guy has going for him is that awesome jet ski montage that was for some reason included in the documentary. I’m honestly not sure why he was even involved in this. He just had some money from running strip clubs and then decided to jump in the zoo business. There honestly seems like a lot of overlap between the strip club industry and the private zoo industry. Maybe too much. Anyways, this dude snitched, so this is where he falls. —ZF

Who?: The guy who was brought in to save the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (and who'd sneak baby tigers into Vegas hotels in suitcases)

We’re now in what I like to call “The Big 3 of Shitty Zoo People.” (Yes, that name is trademarked by me.) Jeff Lowe came on later in the show, but he was an awful dude. Not only was he carrying tigers in suitcases in Vegas, but he was openly trying to bang his future nanny. Just an all-around terrible person who stole a zoo and then proceeded to act like he had money when he actually didn’t. Also, you can never really trust anyone who wears a hat over a bandana. That’s just the rule. —ZF

Who?: Big Cat Rescue owner (and Joe Exotic's nemesis)

Let’s start this off by saying that Carole Baskin probably killed her ex-husband. Do we really even need to write more? Not only did she likely feed her husband to a tiger, but she’s also a huge hypocrite. She’s going in on Joe for running a zoo while (basically) doing the same exact thing. While I don’t agree with Joe’s tactics to get back at Carole, I definitely feel where he is coming from. She’s full of shit. Did I mention that she probably fed her husband to a tiger? —ZF

Who?: The founder and director of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.)

And now we come to Mr. Doc Antle. He edged out Carole Baskin for this spot, but it wasn’t an easy decision—because, ya know, Carole probably killed her husband. Anyways, Doc Antle is definitely doing tons of shady shit at his zoo and possibly running a full cult. Like, when the woman said that she got a boob job just so she could get some sleep, I knew that this guy was a maniac. There’s also some strong evidence that he’s doing shady shit with his tigers and other animals. He surely can’t be trusted, I don’t care how many pictures he takes with The Undertaker. I’m calling for a full investigation of Doc Antle. Please get it done, FBI. —ZF