Why has The Monkees TV show endured? Micky Dolenz explains its secret

25 March 2025, 11:31

Forget about The Monkees' songs – the TV show continues to find fans in the 21st century.

Everyone knows that The Monkees were assembled fist and foremost as the cast for a TV show.

Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith were put together by NBC for an on-screen life that lasted just 58 episodes over two seasons.

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The group survived and outgrew the show that birthed them, releasing nine studio albums till their first split in 1970.

The Monkees released another four records during various reunions till their final demise in 2021 with the death of Michael Nesmith. Other founding members Pete Tork passed away in 2019 and Davy Jones died in 2012.

Whether it was the work made with songwriters like Neil Diamond or Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, The Monkees' incredible music back catalogue never went away.

What's been more surprising is the enduring success of The Monkees TV show, which has enjoyed successful re-runs on CBS, ABC, MTV, MeTV and many other channels, most recently popping up in the UK on Rewind TV.

"It was about a fictitious band that wanted to be the Beatles, or the Stones, or whoever," last surviving Monkee Micky Dolenz told The Guardian of the show.

"That struggle for success is a classic theme in Hollywood movies and Broadway shows."

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He added: "It was more like a little Marx Brothers musical on television than a band – a little romp, laughing, singing, music, shtick. John Lennon first made that comment, 'The Monkees are like the Marx Brothers.'

"He was absolutely right. And the comedy wasn’t topical, nor was it satirical. So it stands up, it has legs."

Beyond the TV show, The Monkees made their big screen bow with the psychedelic Head, which was co-written by Jack Nicholson.

"We were looking to move on: we didn't want to make a film that was a feature-length Monkees episode where Davy falls in love and the girl's uncle is a crook and we have to save him and we sing her some songs.

"So Head was a little bit stream-of-consciousness. When they first screened the movie, it was not a typical screening.

"They had 'movieolas', with one of the five reels of the film in each and the idea was you could start watching the movie from any point on any reel. It was a very, very '60s idea."