Nicolas Cage Takes His First TV Role Since 1981

Almost 40 years after appearing in unsuccessful ABC pilot Best of Times under the name Nicolas Coppola, Nicolas Cage is returning to the small screen. Cage will play zoo owner Joe Exotic in an eight-part series based on the same Texas Monthly article as Netflix docuseries Tiger King, the AV Club reports. The series, being produced by Imagine Television and CBS Television Studios, "will live in the lion's den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation," reports Variety.

American Vandal showrunner Dan Lagana will serve as writer, showrunner, and co-executive producer, per the Hollywood Reporter. Tiger King has been a massive hit for Netflix, and the Cage series isn't the only upcoming project looking at the eccentric zookeeper: Kate McKinnon will play animal rights activist Carole Baskin in a series based on the "Joe Exotic" podcast, and Rob Lowe said last month that he is working with director Ryan Murphy on their own version of "this insane story." (Baskin was reportedly tricked into giving a video interview.)