One Of The Best Sitcoms Ever Is Coming To Blu-Ray For The First Time – With Long-Lost Footage
If you've ever wanted to be able to yell "Luuuucy, I'm home!" to your own "I Love Lucy" box set, then you're in luck. The classic 1950s sitcom that followed real-life spouses Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as their fictional counterparts, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, is coming to home media in a whole new way, courtesy of Paramount. The series was wildly popular during its era and has left its stamp on pop culture ever since — it's honestly hard to find a comedy series that hasn't referenced "I Love Lucy" or been influenced by it in some way. The series is deeply beloved and made a massive impact on television history, and this new box set is sure to delight fans both new and old.
"I Love Lucy" ran for six seasons, starring Ball and Arnaz alongside the Ricardos' neighbors, Ethel and Fred Mertz (played by Vivian Vance and William Frawley). Series guest stars could be truly notable, including golden age dramatic actor Rock Hudson and even the Duke himself, John Wayne. The Blu-ray set will contain all six seasons of the classic series, along with some newly remastered special features and even a newly colorized and never-before-released version of the "Lucy and the Loving Cup" episode.
The complete I Love Lucy Blu-ray collection is coming soon
According to a press release by Paramount, the Blu-ray set will feature not only the entirety of "I Love Lucy," but also the remastered "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" and a newly colorized version of "Lucy and the Loving Cup," a season 6 episode in which Lucy gets her head stuck in Ricky's prized trophy. There are some incredible new features in the set, including missing footage restored to "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" and original cast commercials. There have been a great deal of remasters, most notably to the opening and closing credits, many of the original cast commercials, and three long-lost "flashback" scenes used to introduce repeat episodes. There's also a segment from a 1959 CBS fall preview special featuring Ball and Vance that's available for the first time on home media, and the colorized "Lucy and the Loving Cup" episode that's never been released (until now).
In addition, the set features previously released content like the original series pilot, remastered from the original 35mm kinescope, "I Love Lucy: The Movie," audio commentaries on select episodes, broadcasts of "Lucy on The Radio," flubs, a slide show, cast bios, photo galleries, and production notes for the first two seasons.
The complete "I Love Lucy" Blu-ray set will be available to purchase at media retailers on November 5, 2024.