The Monkees is an American television sitcom that first aired on NBC for two seasons, from September 12, 1966, to March 25, 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men (The Monkees) trying to make a name for themselves as a rock ’n roll band. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series television and won two Emmy Awards in 1967, including Outstanding Comedy Series. The program ended in 1968 at the finish of its second season and has received a long afterlife through Saturday morning repeats (CBS and ABC) and syndication, as well as overseas broadcasts.
The Monkees were hired to play a Beatles-like band, but the interesting thing is that they kept their actual names, and did in many ways function as a real band. Despite not writing most of their music, they were musicians in their own right. Most of the music was written by Brill Building songwriters but they did write some of their own tracks and Peter Tork rearranged some of the songs written by others. They’ve been written off as a manufactured band but they were superior to the many far more manufactured bands that followed. However, they had differing musical interests so not long after the show's cancellation they went different ways.
This sitcom is one of the best.
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