A former magazine executive who switched career paths to become the head of a donkey sanctuary in Mendocino County is returning to the world of media, this time in front of the camera, as the star of a new reality television program, “Donkey King,” which debuted nationwide earlier this month.
Ron King, who co-founded the 75-acre Oscar’s Place ranch in Hopland in 2021 with Phil Selway, now leads a team of more than 20 full-time employees who take in donkeys surrendered by owners or headed to auctions to be butchered for their hides.
So far, the nonprofit has saved more than 400 donkeys, rehoming them to vetted adopters or letting the animals live out their lives on the ranch and another recently acquired property in Potter Valley.
King came up with the idea for the 17-episode series, airing Saturday mornings on ABC, after the nonprofit was featured in a CBS TV segment in 2023.
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Ron King, co-founder and CEO of Oscar’s Place donkey adoption center and sanctuary in Hopland, produced and stars in a new reality TV series, “Donkey King,” about his nonprofit’s work. The series, which debuted Jan. 3, airs Saturday mornings on ABC, check local listings. (Johnny LaVallee)
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Ron King, co-founder and CEO of Oscar’s Place donkey adoption center and sanctuary in Hopland, produced and stars in a new reality TV series, “Donkey King,” about his nonprofit’s work. The series, which debuted Jan. 3, airs Saturday mornings on ABC, check local listings. (Johnny LaVallee)
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King, who was let go from an executive position at Time Inc. in 2017 amid the media corporation’s restructuring, first read about the animals’ plight in a 2019 article on the British news site The Guardian about the donkey population being “decimated” by demand for their hides to make a gelatin-based traditional Chinese medicine. That article and a TikTok video by a Bakersfield woman who rescues donkeys moved him to act, he said in a 2021 Press Democrat article.
In a phone call Tuesday, King said that a 2021 article in The Press Democrat first generated widespread interest in his operation.
After that story, other outlets, including The Washington Post and Oprah Daily, published pieces about Oscar’s Place. The ranch received another boost in 2023 when a segment aired on “CBS Mornings.” The coverage prompted a flood of donations, showing King the power of television to raise awareness and funds for his work.
“In the world of animal welfare, there are thousands of charities that are all targeting the same people for donations. They’re out there finding donors, and we decided to switch our approach to let donors find us,” King said. “By being on TV, we allow people who want to support donkeys or us to reach us.”
In addition to raising awareness and funds for the nonprofit, King said the goal of “Donkey King” is to change the narrative around donkeys.
“For whatever reason, people don’t hold donkeys in high regard; they think they’re stubborn and stupid,” King said.
Instead, King said donkeys are more like dogs. “They’re emotional and they’re amazing.”
Searching for a production company to work with, King said most people wanted “The Real Housewives of Mendocino County.”
“That’s not who we are,” he said.
Finally, he teamed with Salt Lake City-based Monument Productions, which King said “captured the heart” of the nonprofit’s work.
Shot over the past three years, “Donkey King” premiered Jan. 3 on ABC stations across the country. The weekly series is part of the station’s Weekend Adventure programming block. Each week’s episode will also be available to watch for free at donkeyking.com after the broadcast.
Each episode follows a different rescue donkey.
In the debut episode, Oscar’s Place takes in a beloved mini donkey named Hoorah from a woman who can no longer care for him. During the episode, Hoorah transforms from a stressed outsider to a welcomed member of the donkey family with the help of the dedicated staff at the ranch.
King said the staff was mainly excited to have camera crews following them around for weeks at a time during filming.
“It’s an ongoing joke with the staff, like the first time I sat them down and told them they needed to sign a talent release (a form allowing the series to use their image), they were like, ‘I never thought when I answered a Craigslist ad to scoop poop at a donkey ranch that I’d need a talent release,’” King said.
While King acknowledges that running an animal welfare nonprofit is not always easy, he said the series will showcase the group’s success stories and share his hopeful, positive attitude toward helping animals.
“I want to be the Ted Lasso of reality television, I want people to feel good,” he said, referencing the Apple TV series about an American football coach recruited to lead a down-and-out British soccer team and known for its warm-hearted characters. “The idea is that you can exhale, sit back, and we’re going to give you 30 minutes of joy.”
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