The Partridge Family was the '70s successor to the Monkees. Both were totally fictional rock/pop "bands" produced by Screen Gems, the television branch of Columbia Pictures. While the Monkees (TV series and band concept) were styled as mid-'60s counter-culture zaniness à la the Beatles' film Hard Days Night, the Partridge Family was strictly wholesome with traditional family values despite the lite quasi-hip tone of the show. The top-rated series first-aired on ABC from 1970 to 1974, premiering September 25, 1970. Besides the face and voice of David Cassidy ,one of the other draws of the show was the uncanny deadpan timing of Danny Bonaduce as Danny Partridge and the simmering neurosis of the group's manager Reuben .