An Interview with Hayley Smith from Oxford Scientific Films, Co-Producers of ‘Meerkat Manor’

Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty debuts on BBC America tomorrow at 8pm EST/7pm CST and we here at Nerds That Geek were lucky enough to sit down with Producer Hayley Smith from Oxford Scientific Films, the company that co-produces the Meerkat Manor franchise and here is what she had to say about the saga and the upcoming fifth season of this wildly popular series.

John Betancourt: So, what was it that led to the creation of Meerkat Manor?

Hayley Smith: Well Meerkat Manor was created back in 2004 by the executive producer on this current series, Caroline Hawkins, and it came about because we wanted to create something – we wanted to take natural history to a different place, where we wanted to kind of really play with the dramas that unfold within sociable animals’ families, if you like. We knew there was lots of potential for all the drama. A lot of them are very family orientated dramas and there's people being kicked out, and there’s births happening and rivalries and all sorts of little dramas within the family. And it felt like it was probably the right time to see it on a bigger scale and to see kind of what happens, when you've got quite the territorial families, as well. So, you've not just got one family and all the little dramas that go on within that family, but you've got their neighbors and then their neighbors, and there's always room for squabbles and fights between them. So, yeah, it felt it felt right to do it then and then obviously, we just had a 12-year gap with it. We ran four seasons. And then because it is still so popular globally, we were asked, ‘is it time to do it again?’ We were like: ‘Sure if you think! We'd love to do so.’ Yeah. So, that's how we came to Rise of the Dynasty.

John Betancourt: What was it that motivated the team to spotlight Meerkats, specifically?

Hayley Smith: Yeah, well, I think it was something that we’d come across when we were doing some research for other projects. And I think, again, like I said, it's because they're quite characterful, although they all they all look the same. And they spend most of their time doing that meerkat pose. And they spend a lot of their time just foraging. But actually, there are complexities that you can create from a sociable group, and of course, when we first started filming with them, some of the groups can number up to 50. So, you've got a lot of a lot of characters within these groups – and, I mean, that's an extreme number. They were probably averaging around about the 25 mark at the time when we first began. And what's happened since is that the groups have now become much smaller over the last sort of 20 years. Gradually the scientists have seen them sort of diminish in size. And I think it's partly sort of climate change and how they're adapting to their new worlds. So, I think people seem to love meerkats because of that kind of sitting up and looking around business. So, they're immediately appealing. And, of course, their pups are adorable. So, you know, there's not very much to dislike about them and they don't do anything horrible. I mean, there's some meanness that goes on in terms of the powerplays, but it's not all blood and guts, you know. And so, I just think they're very characterful.

John Betancourt: Well, that image of them sitting up is about as iconic and cute as it gets. Did any of you have any idea though, that this was going to become such a cultural phenomenon? One beloved by so many?

Hayley Smith: Oh, no, absolutely no idea at all. I mean, we were absolutely astounded that people took them to their heart so completely and have watched their antics and followed the dramas and really get involved in the characters and we had absolutely no idea. And then they were running headlines in The New York Times when our matriarch, Flower, died and you suddenly felt, ‘good god, I had absolutely no idea that this happens’. You know, you sit in your office in London, and you send your teams out to the Kalahari and you're all very focused. And then suddenly something like this takes off and no, you can never really anticipate it.

John Betancourt: Now, what kind of challenges have you and the team run into when getting all of the amazing footage and everything else that you all put together for this particular series?

Hayley Smith: Well, last year has been particularly challenging for all sorts of reasons, but mostly, obviously, the Covid pandemic. So, we actually began filming the series back in January of 2020 before we all really knew what was about to happen. So, we had a team out on the ground in South Africa. We'd taken a UK crew out. We'd done about eight weeks’ worth of filming. And then the UK entered lockdown mid-March and we had to pull our team out and we were like, ‘okay now we've absolutely no idea when we might go back.’ So, you end up doing all sorts of plan A, Plan B, plan C thinking, you wonder how far down the alphabet you're going to get. But fortunately for us, we were in a position that come September, we actually took a different approach, and we hired a team of South African cinematographers who had also been working together quite recently, so we gave them the opportunity to go to the Kalahari and keep filming. So that was sort of a challenge in terms of the practicals. Of course, the challenge with the meerkats is their lives moved on. So, we have the characters that we started the season, the series with, we then obviously had sort of a six-month break in proceedings. And without spoiling what happens, I think ultimately it probably played to our advantage because we were able to jump a period of time in their lives, which is traditionally quieter. Seasonally, there’s less action that happens in the South African winter. They don't get as much rain. There's not as much movement between the groups and suchlike. So actually, by picking them back up in September we hit sort of the end of the South African winter, and everybody was desperately waiting for the rains to come, which sort of really gets the breeding season going again. So, those were the kind of challenges we ran into and then I guess we had to just put the edit on hold for a long time. We were supposed to be filming and then editing and these things go out. So obviously the challenge has been getting it still to BBC America's transmission deadline. But even with all of this madness going on… we're there.

John Betancourt: Now that you have a body of work that includes five seasons worth of footage, what are you most proud of when it comes to this entire series?

Hayley Smith: Oh, well, I think. I think the way in which we've kind of really started to understand even more so the characters at play, I mean, we always know, that the dominant female is always in charge. And, you know, she has a dominant male by her side who doesn't do as much, or so you think. Because sometimes they don't do very much at all and sometimes they're more proactive than others. So, I suppose that the fascination – which is not quite pride, but I’ll come back to that – is the growing of the characters and seeing that although they've got a standard set of behaviors, it's like, how do you keep them interesting? And I think I suppose that’s where the pride comes in. Because I think we've managed to keep them interesting, even though it's the same sort of behaviors that they do all the time. There's a limited number, but with a wealth of new characters and everybody has a slightly different take on whether it's aerial predators or how to look after pups and who you leave in charge of them and who's the character that's going to give the power play to the dominant female this time, so I think probably the pride comes from reimagining the same thing, but taking it on differently, depending on who's involved and what their personalities have brought to each of the families. Though, I’m not sure if that entirely answers the question.

John Betancourt: I think it does. Because it’s all about the passion and obviously you and your team are very passionate about this. So, I think that’s perfect. Now, of course… without spoiling anything, what are you looking forward to people experiencing the most when the new season kicks off on Saturday?

Hayley Smith: Well, I think I they'll go on the ‘drama journeys’ with the meerkats. There'll be some surprises along the way to some of our lead characters, even. But I also think that there’s some good humor from them. So, we always like to try and to walk a line between having very dramatic storylines, but also very humorous ones and relatable stories. So, I would say, yeah, watch out along the way, since there’s kind of this drama one minute and then there's tragedy one minute and then there's joy and surprise. So, hopefully we take you through a range of emotions on this new season.

John Betancourt: Oh, I imagine so. If this new season is anything like prior ones it should be enthralling for sure. Now, something that isn’t discussed enough in regard to Meerkat Manor or nature shows in general is what the folks behind the scenes are hoping audiences will take away from their series from a learning standpoint. So, what then are you hoping audiences will take away from this saga, including this new season?

Hayley Smith: Yes, well, we worked very keenly with the scientists that are obviously monitoring these animals all year round. And we very much follow the storylines as we find them and talk to the scientists constantly about always saying the right thing about these animals. Is this legitimate? This is what we saw. What is your take on that and how can we make that part of our storytelling? So, I think I think there is a lot of ‘take out’ information for the new audience. There's obviously, the science. There's been more papers since we began with the four seasons. There's also still been a lot of scientific discoveries over the last 12 years that we've been able to kind of imbue a little bit more in this new season. So, hopefully there's plenty there to take out.

John Betancourt: What’s next for Meerkat Manor after this?

Hayley Smith: Well, we don't know. I mean, we're always hopeful that that they'll take us on for more. But we actually don't know at the moment. But we are halfway through the full season. So, we've got 13 episodes and BBC America will be running the first six in one go. And then they'll take the next seven later this year. So, we are still putting the full season together here. So, we're very focused on that right now.

John Betancourt: Last, before we go, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about Rise of the Dynasty?

Hayley Smith: I don't think so. I think hopefully people would just watch and enjoy it again and enjoy that we nod back to Flower, our great matriarch from the previous series. And obviously, this is moving forward with her great and great, great granddaughters. So, I hope everyone really enjoys it.

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