NEED TO KNOW
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Monsters of God explores the billion-dollar global reptile smuggling industry and its impact on wildlife conservation
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The five-part HBO series was directed by Tiger King filmmaker Eric Goode and premieres Aug. 6
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The documentary highlights obsessive collectors, smugglers and law enforcement battling the illegal exotic animal trade
A thrilling new wildlife documentary is on the way.
PEOPLE has the exclusive trailer for the HBO documentary series Monsters of God, which explores the “dark and violent underworld” of exotic reptile smuggling and the unethical methods used to supply these rare animals to zoos across the U.S.
The five-part series — directed, written and executive produced by Tiger King and Chimp Crazy filmmaker Eric Goode and produced by Jeremy McBride — looks at key figures in the animal trafficking industry and the billion-dollar global criminal enterprise it has spawned, along with the wildlife officers trying to stop the smugglers.
“Most people fear reptiles. A few are fascinated. And a handful will stop at nothing to have them,” the series synopsis reads. “Collectors call it ‘the fever’ — the relentless drive to chase what is bigger, rarer, deadlier. That fever created a billion-dollar criminal enterprise that spanned six continents over 50 years.”
The trailer begins with one reptile owner holding a giant cobra while standing on a deck outdoors. “I’m married to these animals, but I’m most intimate with my King Cobra,” he says.
“Jurassic Park made everyone want to have their own dinosaur in their house,” another reptile enthusiast says.
One man says of reptile smuggling, “The American zoos would pay crazy prices, and they were all very competitive with each other, so I was able to exploit that.”
‘Monsters of God’ showrunner and producer Jeremy McBride (left) and director Eric Goode at SXSW in March.
Credit: Robby Klein/Getty for IMDb
Goode, 68, rose to fame after the release of the hit 2020 Netflix docuseries Tiger King, which followed the out-of-this-world story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, and his ties to big cats, big feuds and even bigger revelations.
In Monsters of God, the filmmaker and conservationist focuses on his “first love, reptiles, in the dark and gonzo underworld of exotic animal smuggling,” the synopsis continues, adding. “As he digs deeper, he uncovers an empire built on obsession, filled with smugglers, collectors, and the animal cops trying to stop them.”
“The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion–dollar industry, but most people have no idea the reptile trade is a big part of it,” Goode says. “It’s a world I’ve been involved in my entire life. I am a reptile guy, obsessed with the forbidden, the rarest of the rare, willing to pay almost anything. It’s been a lifelong fascination.”
“It’s a story about obsession, and the most personal story I’ve been able to tell,” he adds. “In many ways, it’s my story.”
Monsters of God premieres Aug. 6 on HBO Max.
Read the original article on People
