Original episodes of The Monkees will begin airing on AXS TV on April 7th as part of the channel's "Retro Night" block, according to Mortystv.com. All 58 episodes of the '60s classic will run in HD on Friday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Sole-surviving band member Micky Dolenz said in a statement announcing the show's latest cable run: "The Monkees sitcom was truly ahead of its time and paved the way for countless series and bands throughout the decades and still is. I am so pleased that AXS TV is featuring it in their 'Retro Night' lineup. I hope that it will continue to inspire and entertain new generations of viewers for years to come."
Micky Dolenz told us that it was crucial that The Monkees TV show never portrayed the group as the hit act they were in real life: ["One of the important, I think, elements of The Monkees, the decision the producers made, which I think was very wise; on the television show the Monkees were never successful. We were always struggling for success. That's what endeared it (to) so many people, so many kids around the world that were in their garages and basements, playing and singing and trying to be a band and trying to make it. And that's what The Monkees was about."] SOUNDCUE (:23 OC: . . . Monkees was about)