'I Love Lucy' to Receive TV Academy's First Legacy Award
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- "I Love Lucy" will receive the Television Academy's first-ever Legacy Award on Sunday, Sept. 6, during night two of the three-part 78th Emmy Awards celebration.
- The Television Academy announced the Legacy Award in January to recognize programs that have made a "profound and lasting impact on audiences and remain relevant to society, culture and the industry," with candidates selected by the Special Awards committee and voted on by the Board of Governors.
- TV Academy chair Cris Abrego said the series' "creative ambition, technical innovation and groundbreaking approach to the business of television established a blueprint that continues to influence our industry 75 years later."
- "I Love Lucy" ran on CBS from 1951 to 1957, winning two series Emmys for Best Situation Comedy (accepted by Desi Arnaz as executive producer) and two Best Actress Emmys for Lucille Ball.
- Ball and Arnaz ran Desilu Productions, described as "a dynamo of early scripted television," with Ball inducted into the TV Academy Hall of Fame in 1984 and Arnaz in 1991.
- The award will be presented during the more scripted-focused second evening; an edited version of the first two nights airs on FXX Sept. 12, and the live 78th Emmys broadcast on NBC and Peacock on Sept. 14, hosted by Mariska Hargitay.
Why it matters: By inaugurating a new award category with "I Love Lucy," the Television Academy is enshrining the 1950s sitcom — and its creators' business innovations like syndication and studio ownership — as the official yardstick against which future Legacy Award recipients will be measured.
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