Trivia / The New Monkees

• Cancellation: A combination of low ratings, lack of hit songs, backlash from Monkees fans, and the original Monkees filing a lawsuit wound up getting the show pulled after thirteen episodes.
• Disowned Adaptation:
  • The Monkees were upset that another group was using their name, and filed a lawsuit that was settled out of court.^note As luck would have it, The New Monkees were recording their album at the same time and in the same studio complex where Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork were recording the Monkees reunion album Pool It!. To prevent a confrontation, The New Monkees were booked under a fake name.
  • Micky Dolenz was offered a chance to direct on The New Monkees but declined because he said that the scripts he saw were awful. His own hostility was directed towards the concept and the producers behind it and he said that he was very sympathetic to the cast because they were just young performers hoping to advance their careers.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Basically the only way anyone can watch the show now. At least as of right now, only the first episode is available on YouTube. Your only other option is to take your chances with a sketchy streaming site.
• Promoted Fanboy: All four members were huge fans of The Monkees, which is obviously why they went to audition for The New Monkees.
  • Played more straight in 2018, as Micky Dolenz apparently buried the hatchet and performed karaoke for charity with Dino Kovas and Marty Ross. The following year, Dolenz briefly joined all 4 New Monkees to perform "Last Train To Clarksville" during the New Monkees' 30th anniversary reunion in Hollywood.
• What Could Have Been: Tom Scharpling, who later gained fame as a television writer and the host of The Best Show, auditioned for The New Monkees but did not get a part. In his autobiography, Scharpling said he was ultimately glad he didn't get the role because "The show was awful and the music was terrible and the whole endeavor was over within a year."

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