Lucyyyyyy, you’re home.
I Love Lucy, an early Emmys darling and winner of both the 1953 and 1954 award for Best Comedy, made its grand return to the awards show on Monday night.
As part of a series of sketches and presenter reunions designed to pay tribute to television history, Tracee Ellis Ross and Natasha Lyonne joined host Anthony Anderson to recreate the famous chocolate factory scene from the beloved comedy series.
Ross, dressed as Lucy in her factory uniform, joked with Lyonne, who quipped about how Ross went “all in.”
“I always do,” Ross replied, then asking Lyonne to call her Lucy, not Tracee. Lyonne pulled out a hat identical to Ethel’s on I Love Lucy. Anderson came out to give them directions, but they waved him off saying they had seen the show.
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Natasha Lyonne, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Anthony Anderson. FOX
But as the chocolates starting coming out at a rapid speed, Ross and Lyonne noticed they didn’t have any prop papers to attempt to wrap up the chocolates. “I guess we’ll just skip straight to this part,” Ross said, before scooping a stash of chocolates straight into her blouse. Lyonne and Ross then preceded to shove chocolates in their mouths and clothes. Anderson eventually interrupted them and then directed them to announce the winner of Best Comedy Series, a prize which went to The Bear.
The comedically rich moment stems from the first episode of season 2 of I Love Lucy, titled “Job Switching.” When Ricky (Desi Arnaz) and Fred (William Frawley) get annoyed with Ethel (Vivian Vance) and Lucy’s (Lucille Ball) spending, the couples decide to trade jobs — the girls will go to work while the guys stay home and do the housework.
Vivian Vance and Lucille Ball on ‘I Love Lucy’. Everett Collection
Ethel and Lucy find employment working a conveyor belt at a chocolate factory, but have disastrous results as they end up shoving chocolates in their mouths and their uniform hats when they struggle to keep pace with the belt.
The moment has become an iconic signature of I Love Lucy, and it has been recreated several times, including by Nicole Kidman and Nina Arianda in Being the Ricardos and by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel stars Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein in our very own EW cover shoot.
But the sweetest version remains the original.
