Plot Synopsis

A group of meerkats struggles to survive in the Kalahari with all the love, squabbling, self-sacrifice and rivalry found in any family. Animal Planet aired the U.S. premiere of the series on Friday, June 9, 2006 at 8pm ET with back-to-back episodes.

On Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 8pm ET, Discovery Family premiered the 90-minute special "The Monarchy Begins," the first of two specials that retell the original story with a DOWNTON ABBEY influence. Narrated by famed British actor Rupert Graves, these two specials bring viewers back inside the upstairs/downstairs drama and intrigue of the manor. These highly social and emotionally complex creatures stand at just one foot tall and weighing in at two pounds -- but don't let their small stature fool you. Meerkats are tough enough to kill a cobra and can thrive in one of Earth's hottest and driest locales, Southern Africa's Kalahari Desert. At the center of the manor and the Whiskers is feisty matriarch Lady Flower, who rules with an iron paw. Full of rich characters and uniquely relatable themes and storylines -- including deception, intrigue, love and loyalty -- these specials capture every facet of meerkat life told from an imaginative perspective.

"The Monarchy Under Attack," the second DOWNTON ABBEY-influenced special, premiered on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 from 8-9:30pm ET/PT on Discovery Family. In the finale of this two-part event, there's trouble brewing for the noblest meerkat family of them all -- the Whiskers. Old enemies -- the Lazuli -- and new enemies -- the Commandoes -- are on the offensive and there's battle brewing in the Kalahari.
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On Thursday, February 18, 2021, BBC America announced that actor Bill Nighy is set to narrate MEERKAT MANOR: RISE OF THE DYNASTY, the new installation of the MEERKAT MANOR series. The 13 half-hour episodes will premiere this summer as part of BBC AMERICA's Wonderstruck programming line-up. MEERKAT MANOR: RISE OF THE DYNASTY continues the compelling saga of the heartstring-tugging, dramatic tale of survival revolving around three families of meerkats who are descendants of the legendary meerkat matriarch, Flower. Neighbors and rivals who share a bloodline are forced to compete for food and resources in an environment that is undergoing a great deal of change: the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.