Starting Sunday, March 3rd, television viewers and fans of The Monkees can relive the iconic music and psychedelic high jinks of the Emmy Award–winning series from its very first episode, now on MeTV, America’s No. 1 classic television network.

Following an overwhelming response to MeTV’s Peter Tork tribute this past Sunday, The Monkees will join MeTV’s groovy counterparts, The Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island, on the network’s Sunday afternoon lineup, airing at 5PM | 4C and 5:30PM | 4:30C.

The Monkees originally aired from 1966–68, employing avant-garde film techniques like improvisation, jump cuts and breaking the fourth wall. The series earned two Emmy Awards in 1967 for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy.

Inspired by the Beatles’ classic films A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, the made-for-TV pop band soon rose to international stardom. The beloved cast included the late Peter Tork, who passed away on February 21, as the band’s "loveable goof," keyboardist, bass guitarist and eventual songwriter.

See Also

Hey, hey, can you pick the missing lyrics from the Monkees theme song?

To round out the foursome, Micky Dolenz was cast as the "funny" drummer, Michael Nesmith as the "deadpan" guitarist and former child actor Davy Jones was the resident "teen heartthrob" and lead vocalist.

"The Monkees is a truly memorable series, the first TV comedy of the 1960s to showcase musician characters with original popular music that charted, combined with zany comedy and the teen heartthrob phenomenon," said Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co. "Our recent tribute to Peter Tork sparked a significant amount of positive viewer feedback and delivered a very large national audience. Adding The Monkees as part of our Sunday afternoon line up alongside The Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island gives our MeTV audience even more to cheer about."

In spite of being dismissed by critics for their "Hollywood" beginnings, the Monkees’ music struck a chord with the emerging youth culture, catapulting the group into one of the most influential bands of the decade and birthing "Monkeemania" — a flurry of merchandising and record sales. A young Jimi Hendrix even opened for them on tour.

In 1967, the band sold 35 million albums, reportedly twice as many as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined, and songs "Daydream Believer," "I’m a Believer" and "Last Train to Clarksville," all reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

In the late 1980s, the Monkees experienced a resurgence in popular culture and embarked on several reunion tours. After the 2012 death of Davy Jones, the surviving members released Good Times! in 2016 and earned their first Top 20 album in 25 years. Overall, the Monkees have sold over 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the bestselling groups of all time.