Executive Meddling: Valerie owes her entire existence to this, as Dan DeCarlo recalls in an interview in the book American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960s. When the comic was about to be retooled into one about a traveling band, editor John Goldwater insisted to him that Pepper should be removed due to him having a problem with how sharp-tongued she was, saying that "At Riverdale, everyone respects authority, respects everyone," note how he felt about Alexandra and Alexander's antagonism is anyone's guess. DeCarlo noted that Josie and her friends didn't even live in Riverdale at the time, but didn't press the issue. Valerie was then introduced, and the rest is history.
Archie Comics knew a good setup when they had one. A story about a redheaded hero being fought over by a blonde and a brunette, while having a brunette rival and a quirky, dark-haired best friend.
The comic itself underwent many retools in response to pop-culture trends. In 1968, due to the popularity of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, the comic became a Laugh-In clone, even using catchphrases directly borrowed from the show.
Cartoon
Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: Some references have "The Nemo's a No-No Affair" as the first episode. This was probably the first produced episode; "A Greenthumb Is Not a Goldfinger" was the first to air on CBS on September 12, 1970.
No Export for You: The animated adoption was only released in North America, Latin America, Ireland and non-English-speaking European countries.
Filmation was originally approached to do the Josie and the Pussycats cartoon. It made sense as Filmation had also produced two other animated adaptations of Archie Comics titles: The Archie Show and Sabrina and The Groovie Goolies. However, Filmation ultimately turned down the show due to their workload.
to Lauren Faust (although whether she was involved or not is unclear), there was a pitch in 2016 that would've rebooted the show with a supernatural twist. Tara Strong, Kari Wahlgren, and Grey Griffin seem to have been cast as the girls.