‘I Love Lucy’ first hit the CBS airwaves on this day in 1951 to begin its six-year, 180 episode run.
The show starred Lucille Ball and her real-life husband Desi Arnaz as Lucy navigated life as a housewife in New York City. It was the most-watched show in the country for four of its six seasons and won five Emmys.
While the show ended in 1957, a spinoff first known as the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show and then as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour ran for three more years.
In 2012, ABC News named ‘I Love Lucy’ the greatest TV show of all time. In fact, I Love Lucy is the only show in television history that has never stopped broadcasting since airing its first episode. Reruns of the show have been popular around the world after the show ended.