''Josie and the Pussycats'' (formatted as ''Josie and the Pussy Cats'' in the opening titles) is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

based upon the

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.comic book series of the same name created by

Dan DeCarlo Daniel S. DeCarlo (December 12, 1919 – December 18, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for having developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and es ...

. Produced for Saturday morning television by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

, 16 episodes of ''Josie and the Pussycats'' aired on CBS during the 1970–71 television season and were rerun during the 1971–72 season. In 1972, the show was re-conceptualized as ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'', 16 episodes of which aired on CBS during the 1972–73 season and were rerun the following season until January 1974. Reruns of the original series alternated between CBS, ABC, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from 1974 through 1976.CD liner notes: ''Saturday Mornings: Cartoons' Greatest Hits'', 1995 MCA Records This brought its national Saturday morning TV run on three networks to six years. ''Josie and the Pussycats'' featured a young adult all-girl

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

band that toured the world with their entourage, getting mixed up in strange adventures, spy capers, and mysteries. The group consisted of level-headed lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Josie, intelligent bassist Valerie, and air-headed

blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

drummer Melody. Other characters included their cowardly manager Alexander Cabot III, his conniving sister Alexandra, her cat Sebastian, and muscular roadie Alan. The show, more similar to Hanna-Barbera's successful ''

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. The series premiered as part of the network's Saturday morning cartoon schedule on Septem ...

'' than the original ''Josie'' comic book, is remembered for its music, the girls' leopard print

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, an ...

s (replete with "long tails and ears for hats", as the theme song states), and for featuring Valerie as the first regularly appearing female

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

character in a Saturday morning cartoon show. Each episode featured a Josie and the Pussycats song played over a chase scene, which, similarly to ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

'', featured the group running after and away from a selection of haplessly villainous characters.

Series overview

''Josie and the Pussycats'' debuted on the CBS Saturday morning lineup on September 12, 1970, with the episode "The Nemo's a No-No Affair". The animated version of ''Josie'' was an amalgam of plot devices, villain types, settings, moods, and tones from other Hanna-Barbera shows such as ''

'', ''

Jonny Quest ''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction-adventure media franchise that revolves around the titular boy named Jonny Quest, who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–1965 television serie ...

'', ''

Space Ghost Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and Ja ...

'', and ''

Shazzan ''Shazzan'' is an American animated television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1967 to January 20, 1968, and continued in reruns until September 6, 1969 ...

''. Like ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', ''Josie and the Pussycats'' was originally broadcast with a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

. Later home video and DVD releases omit the laugh track.

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

and

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

, however, have aired the show in its original broadcast format with the laugh track intact.

Plot

Each episode found the Pussycats and crew en route to perform a gig or record a song in some exotic location where, somehow, often due to something Alexandra did, they became mixed up in an adventure. The antagonist was always a diabolical mad scientist, spy, or criminal who wanted to take over the world using some high-tech device. The Pussycats usually found themselves in possession of the plans for an invention, an item of interest to the villains, a secret spy message, etc., and the villains chased them to retrieve it. Eventually, the Pussycats would ruin the villain's plans, resulting in a final chase sequence set to a Pussycats song. With the villain captured, the Pussycats would return to their gig or recording session, and the final gag was always one of Alexandra's failed attempts to interfere with the Pussycats' performance or steal Alan away from Josie.

Characters

* Josephine "Josie" McCoy (voiced by

Janet Waldo Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from '' ...

/sung by Kathleen Dougherty) - The red-headed lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and leader of the band. Josie shares an attraction with Alan, the road manager. During the 1970s, the character was known as Josie James. A different actress, Judy Waithe, was originally cast as the voice of Josie. Waithe was dismissed and replaced by Waldo before the show debuted, as her readings of the ''Josie and the Pussycats''-hosted '' In the Know'' interstitials were not to CBS's liking. Though corrected closing titles were later done, some remastered prints of the series credit Waithe instead of Waldo among the voice cast. * Valerie Brown (voiced by Barbara Pariot/sung by

Patrice Holloway Patrice Yvonne Holloway (March 23, 1951 – October 3, 2006) was an American soul and pop singer, and songwriter. Career Patrice Yvonne Holloway was born on March 23, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, the youngest of three children born to Wade ...

) - The band's bassist and backup singer; most often shown playing tambourines. The voice of reason in the group, Valerie is highly intelligent and a mechanical wizard. During the 1970s, the character was known as Valerie Smith. * Melody Valentine (voiced by

Jackie Joseph Jackie Joseph (born November 7, 1933) is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her role as Jackie Parker on ''The Doris Day Show'' (1971–1973) and Audrey in '' The Little Shop of Horrors'' (1960), as well as a supporting role i ...

/sung by Cherie Moor) - The band's drummer and backup singer and a stereotypical

dumb blonde Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blonde-haired people. Sub-types of this stereotype include the " blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable, but less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blo ...

. What Melody lacks in intellect she makes up for in heart; to wit, her perpetual sweetness and optimism. Her ears wiggle whenever there is danger. During the 1970s, the character was known as Melody Jones. * Alan M. Mayberry (voiced by

Jerry Dexter Jerry Dexter (April 18, 1935 – June 21, 2013) was an American actor and radio presenter best known for playing teenage boys and young men in animated television series for Hanna-Barbera Productions from the late 1960s to the 1980s. Early life, ...

) - The group's tall, blond and muscular

roadie The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This ca ...

and Josie's love interest. * Alexander "Alex" Cabot III (voiced by

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

) - The group's manager, highly identifiable by his brightly-colored mod wardrobe, sunglasses, and idiotic promotion schemes; he is the twin brother of Alexandra. Alex is an admitted coward but, in sharp contrast to his sister Alexandra, is good-hearted. Alex and Valerie have a slight attraction to one another at times. He also seems to be attracted to Melody. Alex physically resembles

Shaggy Rogers Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. He is generally depicted as an amateur detective, cowardly, lazy, and the long-time best friend of his equally cowardly dog, Sco ...

in Scooby-Doo. In ''

The New Scooby-Doo Movies ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' is an American animated mystery comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is the second animated television series in the studio's '' Scooby-Doo'' franchise, and follows the first incarnation, ' ...

'' crossover episode "The Haunted Showboat", Casey Kasem voices both Alex Cabot and Shaggy Rogers. * Alexandra Cabot (voiced by Sherry Alberoni) - The only girl who is not a Pussycat band member of Josie's trio but still a member of the group, identified by her long black pony-tailed hair with a white streak through the center of it, similar to a skunk or a

polecat Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities ...

. (Her bizarre appearance is an unexplained holdover from the comic book, where Alexandra had very limited supernatural powers, and this was the mark of the witch.) Intelligent but also selfish, generally mean-tempered, grouchy and bullying, Alexandra is Alex's twin sister. She appears to have no identifiable role with the band nor any reason for associating with it, other than the fact that she is Alex's sister and ally who tries to be the leader. She is constantly bitter and jealous of the band's success without her, believing that she should be "the ''real'' star of the band" and that the band's name should be "Alexandra's Cool-Time Cats", and she constantly plots to steal the spotlight (and Alan's affections) from Josie only to have every scheme fail in humiliating fashion, though she can be a good dancer. Despite her jealousy, she remains very loyal and does care for the group, and will usually fight with them against villains, using her brash personality to intimidate the opposition. Alexandra frequently saves the lives of her teammates, frequently rescuing the clueless Melody from falling into a villainous trap. Alexandra is the only character who "breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

" and addresses the audience in "soliloquy" fashion, often in jealousy over Josie. * Sebastian Cabot (voiced by

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

) - Alexandra's snickering cat, whose black and white fur resembles Alexandra's hair and whose utterances sound the same as another Messick-voiced character,

Muttley Muttley is a fictional dog created in 1968 by Hanna-Barbera Productions; he was originally voiced by Don Messick. He is the foil to the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly, and appeared with him in the 1968 television series ''Wacky Races'' and its 1 ...

, but he also serves as the loyal pet sidekick of the group (in one episode he uses his sense of smell to track the rest of the group like a dog). He enjoys being mean and sometimes appears to go to the enemy's side, but usually only to trick the villain so he can have a chance to help the group escape. He sometimes uses his claws to pick locks. Alexandra sometimes recruits Sebastian to pull dirty tricks on Josie, but even these tricks usually backfire. Sebastian occasionally "breaks the fourth wall" and snickers to the audience. In ''

'' crossover episode "The Haunted Showboat", Messick voiced both Sebastian and Scooby-Doo at the same time. Sebastian's odd nature is a holdover from the comic book where he was a witch's familiar, possessed by the mind of a powerful warlock ancestor of Alexandra. He has the same name as a 20th-century character actor and a 15th-16th century naval explorer. * Bleep (voiced by

) - Bleep appears only in '' Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space''. He is Melody's blue fluffy pet alien with pink extremities and makes a "bleep" sound (thus his name) which only Melody can understand. Bleep can also generate invisible sound waves from his mouth and eyes.

Voices

Speaking voices

- Bleep, Sebastian the Cat, Gas Station Attendant, Scorpion's Henchman, Aquar *

- Josie * Barbara Pariot - Valerie *

- Melody *

- Alan, Laser's Henchman *

- Alexander Cabot III, Delivery Man, Aquar's Henchman * Sherry Alberoni - Alexandra Cabot

Singing voices

Band members only

* Cathy Dougher - Josie *

- Valerie * Cherie Moor - Melody

Production and development

Origins

During the 1968-69 television season, the first

Archie Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

-based Saturday morning cartoon, ''

The Archie Show ''The Archie Show'' (also known as ''The Archies)'' is an American musical animated sitcom television series produced by Filmation for CBS. Based on the Archie Comics, created by Bob Montana in 1941, ''The Archie Show'' aired Saturday morning ...

'', was a huge success, not only in the ratings on CBS, but also on the ''Billboard'' charts:

The Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' song "

Sugar, Sugar Sugar, Sugar is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was originally recorded by the Archies – a fictional band of studio musicians linked to the 1968–69 US Saturday morning TV cartoon ''The Archie Show'', inspired by the Archie C ...

" hit the #1 spot on the ''Billboard'' charts in September 1969, becoming the number one song of the year. Animation studio

wanted to duplicate the success their competitors

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

were having with ''The Archie Show''. After a failed attempt at developing a teenage-music-band show of their own called '' Mysteries Five'' (which eventually became ''

Scooby-Doo, Where are You! ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. The series premiered as part of the network's Saturday morning cartoon schedule on Septem ...

''), they decided to go to the source and contacted Archie Comics about possibly adapting one of their remaining properties into a show similar to ''The Archie Show''. Archie and Hanna-Barbera collaborated to adapt Archie's '' Josie'' comic book into a music-based property about a teenage music band, adding new characters (Alan M. and Valerie) while dismissing others.

The music

In preparation for the upcoming cartoon series, Hanna-Barbera began working on putting together a real-life Josie and the Pussycats girl group, who would provide the singing voices of the girls in the cartoons and also record an album of songs to be used both as radio singles and in the TV series. The Josie and the Pussycats recordings were produced by La La Productions, run by Danny Janssen and Bobby Young (a pseudonym for Bob Engemann of The Lettermen vocal group). They held a talent search to find three girls who would match the three girls in the comic book in both looks and singing ability; early plans, which did not come to fruition, called for a live-action Pussycats segment at the end of each episode. After interviewing over 500 finalists, settled upon casting Kathleen Dougherty (Cathy Dougher) as Josie, Cherie Moor (later known as Cheryl Ladd) as Melody, and

as Valerie. According to Janssen's recollections in his liner notes for the Rhino compilation CD, when he submitted his suggested studio singers, he was unaware that the three characters in the Archie comic book were Caucasian and all the program's production elements had been created to reflect that. He said that he could not go back to Patrice Holloway and take her out of the trio for that reason. "They were very nice about it," Janssen said, but he told them he would leave the project and happily return for another one in the future. In the meantime, Hanna-Barbera, Archie Comics and CBS replaced the long-established character of Pepper with African-American Valerie to keep Patrice Holloway and hired Barbara Pariot as the speaking voice, as Janssen later learned. While Hanna-Barbera was already producing the series, Archie Comics introduced Valerie in December, 1969. The Valerie character was the first black female character on a regular Saturday morning cartoon series. ''

The Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterp ...

'' drummer Pete Jones had been the first black male to appear on Saturday mornings a year earlier, but Pete's voice was not spoken by an African-American. Hanna-Barbera did cast Valerie's speaking voice accordingly and Danny Janssen cast her singing voice, setting the historic precedent. Of the songs that were broadcast, Patrice Holloway sang lead on the series' theme song, "You've Come A Long Way, Baby", "Voodoo", "It's All Right With Me", "The Handclapping Song", "Stop, Look And Listen", "Clock On The Wall" and "Every Beat Of My Heart". Holloway was the primary lead vocalist on "Roadrunner" which also features verses sung by Kathleen Dougherty and Cheryl Ladd. Ladd sang lead on "Inside, Outside, Upside-Down", "Dream Maker", "I Wanna Make You Happy", "The Time To Love", "I Love You Too Much", "Lie! Lie! Lie!" and "Dreaming". According to songwriter/vocal arranger Sue Sheridan (known as Sue Steward at the time), Dougherty felt she was stronger on harmony than lead and ceded her spotlight to Ladd. Essentially then, Josie was the group leader but Valerie and Melody provided the trio with its singing voices.

Theme song

The show's theme song, titled "Josie and the Pussycats", was written by Hoyt Curtin,

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

(under the pseudonym "Denby Williams") and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian ...

(under the pseudonym "Joseph Roland"). The theme song was based on melodies from an incidental tune that had been played on various Hanna-Barbera cartoons since ''

The Jetsons ''The Jetsons'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It originally aired in prime time from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963, on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication, with new episodes produced ...

''. A cover of "Josie and the Pussycats" performed by Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donelly is included on the 1995

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits'', produced by Ralph Sall for

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

. The theme song was also covered on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

for the 2001 live-action film based on the comic book series.

''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space''

In September 1972, a sequel

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

series titled ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' debuted on CBS. This version of the series launched the characters into outer space; the opening credits sequence shows the group taking a promotional photo at the launch site of a new spaceship. (It is unclear whether they were the ship's assigned crew, or simply publicity guests.) A jealous Alexandra, elbowing the cast aside in order to steal the spotlight from Josie yet again, stumbles and causes a domino effect so that they are all jerked inside, accidentally triggering the launch sequence which sends all into deep space. Val knows how to pilot the vessel. Every episode centered on the Pussycats encountering a strange new world where they would encounter and often be captured by various aliens-of-the-week before escaping and attempting to return to Earth. No matter what the scenario, Alexandra remains determined to stop Josie from getting too close to Alan. A typical ending for an episode is that they meet a wise benevolent person who reprograms the ship's course for Earth, only to have a clumsy action by Alexandra (or occasionally Melody or Alex) set the ship on the wrong trajectory once again. Musical numbers and chaotic chase sequences were set to 10 all original newly recorded songs specifically written as "featured performances" with Music & Lyrics by ASCAP songwriter Richard Moyers, who was signed for the sequel by Roger Karshner, Hanna-Barbera's new "Musical Development Director" and Produced by Hanna-Barbera's in-house Musical Director Hoyt Curtin. All recordings were done by studio professionals known as "The Wrecking Crew" at Whitney Recording Studios, Glendale, CA for this spin-off as with the original. ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' also added the character of Bleep, a pet-sized fluffy alien adopted by Melody, who was the only one who could understand the creature's language (he only says "Bleep" repeatedly) and numerous other alien animals encountered. Bleep and Sebastian fluctuate between being competitors or good friends throughout the series, with

providing the non-verbal chattering of both pets. The series' premise in similar to ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' (1965-1968), particularly that series' third season where the formerly marooned ship was allowed to visit a new planet each week a la ''Star Trek''. Alexandra's role parallels that of Dr. Zachary Smith - both are unpleasant characters, often at odds with the rest of the crew, whose blunders caused the initial loss in space. Bleep is similar to Debbie the Bloop, Penny Robinson's pet who was played by a

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative t ...

in a costume. The 16 episodes of ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' were re-run for the 1973–1974 season until January 26, 1974, when CBS cancelled it and ordered no more new ''Josie'' episodes from Hanna-Barbera. ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' contained a laugh track as well, but utilized an inferior version created by the studio.

Episodes

''Josie and the Pussycats'' (1970–1971)

''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' (1972)

Home media

A VHS videocassette of ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' containing three episodes was issued by Worldvision Home Video in 1983. A second video cassette, ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space Volume 2'', was released in 1985. Two VHS volumes of ''Josie and the Pussycats'', each containing four episodes of the original 1970 series, minus the laugh tracks, were released by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

(Hanna-Barbera had been sold to

Turner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner ( ...

in 1991, with Turner merging with

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

six years later) on April 10, 2001 to coincide with the release of the live-action film. A ''Josie in Outer Space'' episode, "Warrior Women of Amazonia", was featured in a clip/episode collection of Hanna-Barbera on VHS, released in the UK. A ''Josie and the Pussycats: The Complete Series'' two-DVD box set was released in Region 1 (the United States, Canada, and Japan) on September 18, 2007. All 16 episodes, again minus the laugh tracks, were included, as well as a half-hour documentary on the life and career of Dan DeCarlo. The first episode of the series, "The Nemo's A No No Affair", is featured on the DVD compilation ''Saturday Morning Cartoons: The 1970s Volume 1'' released on May 26, 2009. On October 19, 2010,

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inten ...

released ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1 as part of their

Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...

of Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. Both ''Josie and the Pussycats'' and ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' are available on the

and

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

streaming services, with the latter featuring the series in remastered HD copies. Warner Archive released the HD versions of ''Josie and the Pussycats'' on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on November 3, 2020, and ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' on April 13, 2021.

Reception

''Josie and the Pussycats'' was named the 100th best animated series by entertainment website IGN, which referred to ''Josie'' as an amusing show for the way in which it combined elements from ''

'' and ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

''.

After cancellation

''Josie and the Pussycats'' made a final appearance as animated characters in a guest shot on the September 22, 1973, episode of ''

'', "The Haunted Showboat". Early production art for Hanna-Barbera's 1977 "all-star" ''

Battle of the Network Stars ''Battle of the Network Stars'' is a series of competitions in which television stars from ABC, CBS and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of 19 of these competitions were held between 1976 and 1988, all of which were aired b ...

'' spoof '' Laff-A-Lympics'' featured Alexandra, Sebastian, Alexander, and Melody among other Hanna-Barbera characters as members of the "Scooby Doobies" team, but legal problems prevented their inclusion in the final program. In 1976,

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping, software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation and education markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with a distribution c ...

published a children's book based on the ''Josie and the Pussycats'' TV show, ''Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats: The Bag Factory Detour''. The original ''Josie and the Pussycats'' series was re-run on

Saturday morning for the 1975–1976 season and weekdays in syndication from 1977 to 1982. In the mid-1980s, both series, along with a number of other 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, were on board USA Network's ''Cartoon Express''; they would next appear on

in 1992, where all 32 episodes were run in the same time slot. Both programs, as of March 3, 2014, are in the library of

(Turner Broadcasting's archive cartoon channel).

Spin-offs and spoofs

In 2001, Cartoon Network began airing a ''Josie and the Pussycats'' short called "''Musical Evolution''" that featured the Pussycats performing their theme song through the various eras of popular music, including pop,

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

-like heavy metal,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, and

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

. Different animation styles are used for each era. That same year, the characters were adapted into a

live action film Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

. The film starred

Rachael Leigh Cook Rachael Leigh Cook (born October 4, 1979) is an American actress and model. She has starred in the films '' The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1995), '' She's All That'' (1999), and '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), and in the television series '' Into ...

as Josie,

Tara Reid Tara Donna Reid (born November 8, 1975) is an American actress. She played Vicky in the films '' American Pie'' (1999), '' American Pie 2'' (2001), and '' American Reunion'' (2012), and Bunny Lebowski in '' The Big Lebowski'' (1998). In 2013, s ...

as Melody, and

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama '' Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include ''He Got Game'' (1998), ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...

as Valerie.

DiC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production com ...

, which had produced cartoon adaptations of Archie properties in the 80s, 90s, and early-2000s, had originally set out to create a cartoon based on the band (mainly in the wake of the 2001 film), before it was scrapped. The 2004–2007 Comedy Central animated TV series ''

Drawn Together ''Drawn Together'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein and premiered on Comedy Central on October 27, 2004. The series is a parody of '' The Surreal Life'' and follows the misadventures of the housemat ...

'' featured a character named Foxxy Love. An African-American mystery-solving musician, she was a direct parody of the ''Josie and the Pussycats'' character Valerie Brown. Several episodes of ''

Speed Buggy ''Speed Buggy'' is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on CBS from September 8, 1973, to December 22, 1973. With the voices of Mel Blanc, Michael Bell, Arlene Golonka, and Ph ...

'', a later Hanna-Barbera show, had similar plots to some ''Josie and the Pussycats'' episodes, specifically the two ''Josie and the Pussycats'' episodes "A Greenthumb is Not a Goldfinger" ("Island of the Giant Plants" in ''Speed Buggy'') and "X Marks the Spot" ("Out of Sight" in ''Speed Buggy''), and the ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'' episode "Warrior Women of Amazonia" ("The Hidden Valley of Amazonia" in ''Speed Buggy''). The ship from ''Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space'', along with other iconic ships, appears as space debris in the ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

'' episode " Mobius Dick". In 2016, ''Josie and the Pussycats'' was rebooted as a comic book. This update features a new version of the origin of the band, where struggling musician Josie joins up with her roommate Melody and Valerie, a veterinarian's assistant, to start the Pussycats, despite the jealousy of Josie's former best friend Alexandra. The 2017 live-action TV series '' Riverdale'' featured Josie and the Pussycats as African-American students at Riverdale High School, portrayed by

Ashleigh Murray Ashleigh Monique Murray (born January 18, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She portrayed Josie McCoy, the lead singer of the band Josie and the Pussycats, on the CW television series '' Riverdale''. Murray reprised this role in the '' R ...

( Josie),

Hayley Law Hayley Law (born November 18, 1992) is a Canadian actress and singer, known for her portrayal of Valerie Brown in the CW drama series '' Riverdale'', Lizzie Elliot in the Netflix science fiction series, '' Altered Carbon'', and Tess in the da ...

(Valerie) and

Asha Bromfield Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'ord ...

(Melody). Murray later co-starred in the ''Riverdale'' spin-off '' Katy Keene'' starting in 2020 as an adult Josie, with Lucien Laviscount as Alexander and

Camille Hyde '' Power Rangers Dino Charge'' and its second season ''Power Rangers Dino Super Charge'', is an American children's television series that airs on Nickelodeon. It is the 2015 and 2016 entry in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise. The show follows the ...

as Alexandra. Bleep appears in '' Jellystone!'' voiced by Jim Conroy. He visits Jellystone in "Mr. Flabby Dabby Wabby Jabby" and his self-titled episode. In the latter, Bleep befriended

Cindy Bear Cindy Bear is a cartoon character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. She is one of the primary supporting characters of the Yogi Bear franchise as well as a regular in the stable of frequently appearing Hanna-Barbera animated personalities. C ...

and is shown to get vicious if given something that has hot sauce on it.

References

External links

* http://www.dandecarlo.com Creator Dan Decarlos Website * *
Archie Comics' Josie and the Pussycats homepage

at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on October 22, 2016.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Josie and the Pussycats (Tv Series) Josie and the Pussycats 1970 American television series debuts 1972 American television series endings 1970s American animated television series 1970s American musical comedy television series American children's animated comic science fiction television series American children's animated musical television series American children's animated space adventure television series Animated television series about teenagers Animated musical groups CBS original programming English-language television shows NBC original programming Teen animated television series Television series about fictional musicians Television series by Hanna-Barbera Television series created by Joe Ruby Television series created by Ken Spears Television series set on fictional planets Television shows based on Archie Comics