‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’ Recap – ‘Episode 1: New Beginnings’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’.
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It is definitely safe to say that the Meerkat Manor saga is nothing short of a global phenomenon. For when this series hit the airwaves in 2004, it simply took the world by storm and people from all walks of life were eager to tune in to learn more about these gentle and cute creatures and share in their adventures. In fact, the series was so downright captivating, that it actually created an international superstar in Flower. Who enthralled audiences everywhere with her dynamic leadership and wonderful mothering skills. But sadly, she passed away whilst defending her family, and her death was so powerful and surprising that even the New York Times took the time to cover the end of her life and in a way, her passing seemed to prepare the world for the end of this franchise since it faded from the airwaves after the fourth series.

But we live in an era where people thoroughly enjoy sequels that offer a quality follow up after time has passed and after twelve long years away from the Whiskers family of the Kalahari, BBC America and Oxford Scientific Films decided now was the time to team up to continue the story of these little cuties by way of the new series, Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. A show that is generational in nature since it follows Flower’s descendants and well, when we return to the Kalahari in, ‘Episode 1: New Beginnings’, what we come to discover about her legacy is quite surprising and heartwarming. For two of her descendants, great-granddaughter Swift and great, great-granddaughter Flint… have become matriarchs of their own respective clans. For Swift continues to lead the Whiskers Family and Flint handles the Hakuna Matata Clan and this opening chapter to a new era of storytelling takes the time to inform us, that these two clans are on fascinating paths. 

Because it turns out that Swift not only led the Whiskers Clan back from the brink of a potential end during hard times, but she’s settled them into a wonderful part of the Kalahari where they can thrive. For there is plenty of food to be found in their respective territory and plenty of quality shelter as well and that has also allowed for Swift… to give birth to a great many pups and get the clan’s numbers moving in the right direction again and it was simply wonderful to see that Flower’s leadership skills and tenacity are still on display in this clan, honoring her memory for certain, and speaking of honoring the past… that is something that Flint is doing as well since she too exhibits those traits. But her journey won’t quite be as easy as Swift’s… since the settlement for the Hakuna Matata Clan isn’t quite as luxurious. 

In fact, theirs is quite harsh. For the food isn’t exactly plentiful here and the clan must work hard to find it on a consistent basis, and while their shelter is adequate, raising pups in this particular setup isn’t exactly easy either. For there are a great deal of males in Flint’s clan, and while they do indeed do their best to watch over the young ones of this family, boys will be boys, leaving an extra workload on the remaining ladies at Flint’s side. Which means that poor Flint must work twice if not thrice as hard to keep her hearty clan going… but she really is making it happen. Because she simply won’t give up or back down when it comes to the challenges that head her family’s way and that made for a satisfying storyline, since one cannot help but feeling anything but pride over the fact that another descendant of Flower is able to make wonders happen with minimal resources surrounding her.

But truly, what makes this series premiere so worth our while, is the sheer fact that it has plenty to teach us about the Meerkat. For we get to learn a lot about how they rear their young in this tale, and it was simply incredible to learn that all the females in a clan can produce milk for the pups, and it was also quite amazing to learn a little more about the mating habits of the Meerkat and how ‘Roving Romeos’ are a big key to getting another generation of these sweet little babies to be born. But most important of all when it comes to this premiere, is that it feels like we never left the Kalahari, since we are immediately sucked back into the wonder of this world in a matter of seconds. Which means that Oxford Scientific Films and producers/writers Caroline Hawkins and Hayley Smith deserve a round of applause for recapturing the magic of what makes this series so great and truly, this reviewer is looking forward to seeing what incredible adventures and challenges await a new generation of Meerkats in the weeks to come. Until next time.

To learn more about the making of ‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’, check out our interview with Series Producer Hayley Smith, right here.

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