'Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation' Debuts Tonight From The Kalahari

The night for ‘Meerkat’ fans has arrived. “Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation” debuts tonight (Friday) at 9pm (EST) on Animal Planet. The debut of the new show comes after a lot of news for the ‘Meerkats. If you've never watched this docu-soap opera, consider these themes as your driving force to watch, TiVo or DVR it Friday: family, power, struggle, drama, love, sex, betrayal, danger, fear, politics, mother nature's fury and an extraordinary production concept. So... what else can I say to help convince you to watch?

SPOILER ALERT: One of their own died in April 28… while crossing the road in the Kalahari. Rocket Dog was the victim. It will not be mentioned in this season of the show because production had already completed. We will see the drama next season.

• Sean Astin is being replaced by Stockard Channing as narrator.
  WHY WAS ASTIN LET GO? From the Rocky Mountain Nerws: "We just decided that since we were starting fresh, with a new generation, that we would look at everything. Sean was great, but he was part of the Flower era. We thought, we've got the next generation, let's look for someone new to tell the story. We thought it would be interesting to hear it from a female's perspective. The way she tells the story is very different. The stories that unfold are a lot funnier this year, and only in a way that a female could tell it. You've got three females battling it out in the Kalahari, with a lot of other females. It makes a point of why the next generation is different." If you missed it, Whoopi Goldberg narrated the movie. Astin remains the best of the three in my humble Meerkat Manor-loving opinion.
• The new series debuts after a great movie last week that celebrated the life of Flower, the once great leader of the Whisker
• Flower died in the ls.ast series after a snake bite. It was a very sad time for fans of the series.
• Watch for a LIVE BLOG of the show's debut Friday night. Come back here while you watch,

There is quite a bit of media coverage today about the Meerkat premiere. Check out the coverage. Washington Post: Death Knocks (Again) At 'Meerkat Manor'...Sun-Sentinel.com: Gen X Meerkats...Los Angeles Times: Meerkat Stars Enter The Next Generation of Drama...Los Angeles Times: Meerkat Preview...Reality TV: Meerkat Preview

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