On this day, 1951: 'I Love Lucy' premieres on CBS
On Oct. 15, 1951, the sitcom I Love Lucy first aired on CBS, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, The Hollywood Reporter and HISTORY reported. The Hollywood Reporter called it a comic triumph the day after. The show's writers later recalled in TIME that it reached No. 1 in the ratings within six months.
On Oct. 15, 1951, "I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS, starring Lucille Ball and her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, The Hollywood Reporter and HISTORY reported.
Ball played Lucy Ricardo, a restless housewife whose schemes often landed her in trouble, HISTORY reported. Arnaz played her bandleader husband, Ricky. Vivian Vance and William Frawley played their neighbors and landlords, Ethel and Fred Mertz.
The Hollywood Reporter's review ran the day after the premiere. It called the show "a comic triumph of the first order" and said it "should bounce to the top of the ratings heap in no time at all."
The review called Ball "America's No. 1 comedienne in her own right." It said Arnaz was "the perfect foil for her screwball antics."
Not every critic agreed at first, according to an essay by the show's writers in TIME. Daily Variety said the show needed work, and the New York Times said it had "promise." TIME called it "a triumph of bounce over bumbling material."
But the show was in the Top 10 when ratings came out, and six months later it reached No. 1, the essay said.
The writers recalled watching the first episode, "The Girls Want to Go to a Nightclub," over dinner with Ball, Arnaz and others.
The show also changed how TV was made, HISTORY reported. In the early 1950s, most shows were broadcast live from New York, the writers wrote in TIME. Ball and Arnaz wanted to stay in California, so the show was shot on film with three cameras in front of an audience.
CBS said that would cost too much, the writers wrote. So Ball and Arnaz took a pay cut and in return got the rights to the films. The Hollywood Reporter's review said the show proved that good TV comedy "CAN be done on film."
Because it was saved on film, the show is believed to be the first TV series widely shown in reruns, starting in 1955, HISTORY reported. It ran until 1957 and won four Emmy Awards from 20 nominations.
What we know: I Love Lucy premiered on CBS on Oct. 15, 1951, and reached No. 1 in the ratings within six months.
What we don't: How many people watched the first episode.
Where outlets agree The Hollywood Reporter and HISTORY both report that I Love Lucy premiered on CBS on Oct. 15, 1951.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.