 The group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider specifically for the situation comedy series "The Monkees", which aired from 1966 to 1968.The band's music was initially supervised by record producer Don Kirshner, backed by the songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.The four actor/musicians were initially allowed only limited roles in the recording studio for the first few months of their five-year career as "the Monkees".