Josie and the Pussycats (TV series)

Josie and the Pussycats
Created by	Dan DeCarlo Richard Goldwater
Based on	Josie and the Pussycats by Dan DeCarlo Richard Goldwater
Developed by	Joe Ruby Ken Spears
Voices of	Janet Waldo Sherry Alberoni Casey Kasem Jackie Joseph Jerry Dexter Barbara Pariot Don Messick Cathy Dougher Cherie Moor Patrice Holloway
Theme music composer	Hoyt Curtin William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Production
Producer(s)	Joseph Barbera William Hanna
Running time	21 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor	Taft Broadcasting (original) Worldvision Enterprises (former) Great American Broadcasting (former) Turner Entertainment(former) Warner Bros. Television Distribution (current)
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 12, 1970 – January 2, 1971

Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space
Developed by	Bill Lutz Art Davis Brad Case
Starring	Janet Waldo Sherry Alberoni Casey Kasem Jackie Joseph Jerry Dexter Barbara Pariot Don Messick
Country of origin	U.S.
No. of episodes	16
Production
Running time	21 minutes
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 9 – December 23, 1972

Josie and the Pussycats (formatted as Josie and the Pussy Cats in the opening titles) is an American animated television series, based upon the Archie Comics comic book series of the same name created by Dan DeCarlo. Produced for Saturday morning television by Hanna-Barbera Productions, sixteen 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, sixteen episodes of which aired on CBS during the 1972–73 season and were rerun the following season. Reruns of the original series alternated between CBS, ABC, and NBC from 1974 through 1976. This brought its national Saturday morning TV run on three networks to six years.

Josie and the Pussycats featured an all-girl pop music band that toured the world with their entourage, getting mixed up in strange adventures, spy capers, and mysteries. On the small-screen, the group consisted of level-headed lead singer and guitarist Josie, intelligent tambourinist Valerie, and air-headed blonde 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! than the original Josie comic book, is famous for its music, the girls' leopard print leotards (replete with "long tails and ears for hats," as the theme song states), and for featuring Valerie as the first regularly appearing female black character in a Saturday morning cartoon show. Each episode featured a Josie and the Pussycats song played over a chase scene, which, in a similar fashion to The Monkees, featured the group running after and from a selection of haplessly villainous characters.

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