New Monkees is the name of both an American pop rock music group and a 1987 syndicated television show featuring the group.

Overview

Background

The 20th anniversary of The Monkees TV series in 1986 generated enough interest that New Monkees, a full reboot of the earlier series with none of the original members of The Monkees involved, was conceived later that year, and launched the following year. The show was distributed by LBS Communications in association with Coca-Cola Telecommunications. Straybert Productions, headed by Steve Blauner (a former partner of original Monkees producers Robert Rafelson and Bert Schneider), served as the project's producers. The group's members were Jared Chandler (guitar and vocals), Dino Kovas (drums and vocals), Marty Ross (bass and vocals), and Larry Saltis (lead guitar and vocals). As it had been with the original Monkees, each had to pass a grueling set of auditions. Unlike the previous series, however, musical ability was a key factor in the selection process. Ross, a multi-instrumentalist, had earlier been signed to CBS Records, with his former band The Wigs.

Revived interest

On November 11, 2017, all four New Monkees attended a 30-year reunion organized by Amy Collen. They were interviewed for the podcast Deep Dish Radio with Tim Powers, and performed a few songs. On February 16, 2019, the New Monkees performed a concert (arranged by Jodi Ritzen) at the Pig 'n Whistle restaurant and bar in Los Angeles, with an appearance by the original Monkees' Micky Dolenz.

Cast

List of episodes

Stations

The New Monkees was distributed to independent stations and network affiliates by Colex Enterprises, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures Television and LBS Communications Inc. The series was rerun in Australia in 1990.

Album

New Monkees - Warner Bros. Records (released 1987) Track listing: Side 1: Side 2:

Single (45 RPM)

Warner Bros. Records (released 1987) Track listing:

Yulesville By Various Artists (Warner Bros. Records)

B8 "What I Want (For Christmas)"