Eric Goode's 'Monsters of God' Premieres on HBO
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- Eric Goode co-directs HBO's five-part "Monsters of God," profiling exotic reptile dealers Tom Crutchfield, Hank Molt (whom HBO calls a "billion-dollar criminal enterprise"), and Malaysian exporter Anson Wong, nicknamed "the Pablo Escobar of reptiles"
- Bryan Christy's 2008 book "The Lizard King" is the source material, with Christy serving as consulting producer and appearing in the series
- At the premiere Q&A moderated by actor Jason Segel at Vidiots in Los Angeles, Goode said the series takes a "nuanced" view, arguing reptile breeding could ease pressure on wild poachers rather than simply condemning the trade
- Mike Van Nostrand was convicted in 2022 for smuggling illegally-harvested Florida turtles to China, Japan, and other places per the Department of Justice; both he and Crutchfield have served prison time for reptile-related crimes
- Goode stated "law enforcement made a lot of mistakes" and "zoos made big mistakes," with the series implicating both accredited zoos (for knowingly buying from illegal dealers) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Segel compared the series to "Goodfellas" and "Scarface," telling the audience he "watched every episode over two days and was mesmerized"
- Fresh episodes debut on HBO the next four Thursdays and stream on HBO Max
Why it matters: Goode explicitly distinguishes "Monsters of God" from his prior true-crime animal docs, acknowledging "we've made mistakes" and that zoos and federal officials were complicit in the illegal trade. That stance complicates the sensationalized "animal villain" template his earlier work established and shifts scrutiny toward systemic failures in wildlife regulation.
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