Netflix and 'Tiger King's' unexpected dominance (Photo by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket ... [+] via Getty Images)

Today ratings tracker Neilsen released their numbers for Netflix NFLX s notorious and binge-inducing docu-series, Tiger King.

To the surprise of no one, Tiger King scored record highs, with 34 million viewers in just 10 days.

Some believe the special benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic, since were staying at home, discovering a new show together and talking about it via phone, email, text and social media. Sheltering-in-place can lead to all of us virtually embracing something as a global community. As a result, Tiger King did indeed go viral. Theres no doubt that the series performed exceptionally well due to most of us waiting out this virus together.

But thats not the real reason behind its massive success.

Others think the show succeeded because its yet another glimpse into the underbelly of America, a celebration of all thats tacky, trashy, criminal and outrageous. They say that in Trumps United States, we shouldnt be surprised that a carnival-barking opportunist like Joe Exotic would capture our national imagination.

Theyre not wrong, but that cant explain how universally popular the shows become, both with Trump supporters and those turned off by the president and his followers.

Some believe the series became such a ratings outlier due to the mix of low human behavior contrasted against the beauty and majesty of exotic cats particularly the 12-foot-long, 600-pound tigers. The series hit home how the tigers are the ones that should be free and these seemingly wild humans were the ones who belonged in cages.

Those whove seen the show know that at least one human does in fact end up behind bars; many predict others featured in the series will soon follow.

This contrast of man versus nature surely contributed to the shows success, but cant explain why the show set records for Netflix, especially with viewers not known for watching nature documentaries.

The answer behind the success of Tiger King is simple yet confounding: Tiger King is an example of excellent storytelling, perfectly designed for streaming.

James Gandolfini accepts one of many awards for the classic cable drama, 'The Sopranos.' (AP ... [+] Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

Since HBOs premiere of The Sopranos, subscription television has become home to what I call closed communities, where taboo things happen.

In example after example, premium cable, basic cable and ultimately streaming built their reputations and grew their audiences by featuring characters in situations unlike anything on free, broadcast TV.

Few among us are familiar with the stress of being a Jersey mob boss (The Sopranos); cooking meth and selling it, while fighting stage IV lung cancer (Breaking Bad); or being a woman performing stand-up in the 60s, in a male-dominated world (Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.)

Network television, after all, is known for featuring what I describe as extraordinary characters in ordinary situations.

Whether with domestic sitcoms, procedural dramas or reality competitions, broadcast TV is our comfort food, nurturing us with programs featuring an idealized view of whats exceptional about some of us, in our everyday lives.

We like whats familiar on broadcast; we demand peculiar and strange when we subscribe.

Some scrunch up their nose at Tiger King and what it may say about America and what it celebrates.They dont get it.

Americans are smart.

Americans know quality content when they see it. They understand and appreciate complex story-telling, unpredictable characters and rich, colorful settings. They love to watch the lengths some of us will go in pursuing our dreams, and the price some pay for such ambition. They want to escape and experience characters that ignore the law, or bend it to their will, consequences be damned.

America loves Tiger King for one, basic reason: its excellent.

This Netflix docuseries is king of the jungle because it embraces and skillfully executes on pay televisions First Commandment: feature a closed community, where taboo things happen.

More here:
Not Just Coronavirus: Why Tiger King Is A Juggernaut For Netflix Its Not What You Think - Forbes