HBO Max's five-part documentary series *Monsters of God*, which premiered on 6 August 2026, explores the murky world of illegal reptile trafficking, following smugglers, collectors and federal agents involved in a multibillion-dollar black market for creatures such as king cobras, bush vipers and Komodo dragons. The series comes from Eric Goode, the director behind *Tiger King* and *Chimp Crazy*, and matters because Goode reveals he is not a detached observer but a lifelong reptile enthusiast who has personally traded with figures featured in the documentary, giving the film an unusually intimate perspective on its subject matter.

The series features characters including snake handlers, airport couriers smuggling turtles, zookeepers flouting the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and a Malaysian smuggler dubbed "the Pablo Escobar of reptiles," alongside the federal agents pursuing them. Goode, whose fascination with turtles began at age six, admits to having ordered contraband reptiles by mail from "Lizard Whisperer" Tommy Crutchfield. Since 2005 he has run the Turtle Conservancy, a charity operating a 90-acre breeding compound in Ojai, California, alongside conservation projects in Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines, aimed at protecting species threatened by the trade he once fuelled.