On October 15, 1951, I Love Lucy premiered on CBS with an episode about Fred and Ethel Mertz’s wedding anniversary. 75 years later, Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel remain some of television’s most recognizable characters.
But the show almost looked very different. CBS had concerns about casting Desi Arnaz, a cigarette company helped get the series on the air, and the familiar heart-shaped opening wasn’t even part of the original broadcasts. Here are a few things you might not know about how I Love Lucy got its start.