Was It True That 'My Little Margie' Was A Copycat of 'I Love Lucy?'

[Brian Damage]

I never saw this show, but I think I heard somewhere that this show was a copy of Lucy. Is that true?

[Zoneboy]

I don't think it was a copycat, both starred successful females in lead roles but that's about it.

[Brian Damage]

I don't think it was a copycat, both starred successful females in lead roles but that's about it.


Thanks Charles

[Stuck In The '70's]

I think your thinking about I Married Joan. That was considered more of a copycat to I Love Lucy.

[Brian Damage]

I think your thinking about I Married Joan. That was considered more of a copycat to I Love Lucy.


I think you may be right! oops! Thank you Sonny! :) :blush:

[Hazel Anyday]

I Married Joan was very similar to I Love Lucy, but there are some that believe that I Love Lucy was actually a copy of I Married Joan, Joan was also a very funny comedic actress like Lucy and was a very physical performer like Lucy too. Both shows were about a whacky wife who came up with whacky schemes to either fool her husband or teach him a lesson. Or the husband came up with schemes to trick his wife and teach her a lesson. Then one or the other would discover the trick and would turn the tables with a counter-trick. Joan Davis died at a young age in the early '60's and didn't live long enough to become the legend that Lucy was proclaimed to be. In fact, I believe Joan Davis was the real originator and deserving more of the title legend. I Married Joan was very funny and if it wasn't on before I Love Lucy it certainly was on at the very same time.

By the way, My Little Margie was about a daughter and a father living together not a husband and wife but it was similar in that each one would get the other in trouble. It was similar to I Love Lucy in this respect, Margie was always and I do mean in every single episode either Margie or the father would come up with a whacky scheme to get him or herself out of trouble or to teach her father or daughter a lesson. It really became a major formula used throughout the series. What happened in every show was the father or Margie would think of some scheme or trick to teach the other a lesson, then in mid-scheme/trick the other either Margie or the Father would discover that they were being tricked then they would pull another counter-trick on the other to teach him/her a lesson. I mean every episode followed this formula. Lucy only came up with whacky schemes sometimes, it wasn't the focus of every show.

[LittleRickyII]

How could I Love Lucy be a copy of I Married Joan when I Love Lucy was on the air a full year before I Married Joan? NBC put I Married Joan on the air in response to the success of I Love Lucy on CBS. Heck, even the title of the show sounds like a copy of I Love Lucy! Joan Davis was reportedly very envious of the popularity of I Love Lucy. I've seen many episodes of I Married Joan and personally don't think it holds up well at all. The scripts were usually beyond absurd and would often have Joan doing goofy things just for the sake of having her do goofy things, without providing her any motivation to do those things. The I Love Lucy writers, on the other hand, carefully crafted scenarios where, no matter what crazy situations Lucy got into, the viewer always knew and understood why she was doing what she was doing. Also, the characters and relationships on I Love Lucy were very believable, whereas on I Married Joan, they seemed cartoonish.

I Married Joan also struggled in the ratings: During the each of the three seasons it was on the air, I Love Lucy was consistently the number one show, but I Married Joan failed to make it into the Top 30 it's first and third season; the second season was the only year it made the Top 30 and it only managed 25th place.


I Married Joan was very similar to I Love Lucy, but there are some that believe that I Love Lucy was actually a copy of I Married Joan, Joan was also a very funny comedic actress like Lucy and was a very physical performer like Lucy too. Both shows were about a whacky wife who came up with whacky schemes to either fool her husband or teach him a lesson. Or the husband came up with schemes to trick his wife and teach her a lesson. Then one or the other would discover the trick and would turn the tables with a counter-trick. Joan Davis died at a young age in the early '60's and didn't live long enough to become the legend that Lucy was proclaimed to be. In fact, I believe Joan Davis was the real originator and deserving more of the title legend. I Married Joan was very funny and if it wasn't on before I Love Lucy it certainly was on at the very same time.

By the way, My Little Margie was about a daughter and a father living together not a husband and wife but it was similar in that each one would get the other in trouble. It was similar to I Love Lucy in this respect, Margie was always and I do mean in every single episode either Margie or the father would come up with a whacky scheme to get him or herself out of trouble or to teach her father or daughter a lesson. It really became a major formula used throughout the series. What happened in every show was the father or Margie would think of some scheme or trick to teach the other a lesson, then in mid-scheme/trick the other either Margie or the Father would discover that they were being tricked then they would pull another counter-trick on the other to teach him/her a lesson. I mean every episode followed this formula. Lucy only came up with whacky schemes sometimes, it wasn't the focus of every show.