What do you call unscripted TV featuring lunatics — when you’re not calling it “C-SPAN,” that is? If the phrase “reality television” comes to mind, dismiss it as insufficient right away. Abandon, too, the staid moniker “docuseries.” HBO’s Ren Faire, available now in its full, three-episode glory, is too unruly a beast for such a tame description. Tiger King meets Game of Thrones meets Succession, the show surveys eccentricity, greed, and fanaticism to an extent rarely seen before in “authentic” programming. Real or otherwise, this is the most intoxicating world we’re likely to behold on screen this year.

Set at the sprawling Texas Renaissance Festival, Ren Faire tells the story of George C. Coulam, the festival’s octogenarian founder, owner, and “king.” Lord not only of TRF but of incorporated Todd Mission, Texas, Coulam rules all with an aging fist of iron. As the show opens, “King George” has become burdened by his crown and is looking to offload it onto one or more of his court jesters.