I Love Lucy debuted one year before IMJ in 1951. IMJ debuted in 1952 and ran until 1955. There were similarities but at that time networks were looking for that basic domestic scenario with a comedic/kooky wife. The difference with Joan was that she did not have the benefit of a brilliant supporting cast, although Jim Backus was just terrific as her husband and showed his versatility throughout the series. Both shows shared director Marc Daniels who left Lucy to direct Joan for a season. Some plot lines were similar. Some were taken from their respective radio shows. So sometimes a situation may have appeared on Lucy first and then was reworked and seen again on Joan, and other times Joan had it first (like the Barbecue) and was reworked and later appeared on Lucy. There was a bit in the Career episode of Joan that was lifted and later used in an episode of The Danny Thomas Show. One of the writers of Joan's episode that involved an inflatable raft reworked his own material and it appeared again in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show (and also The Patty Duke Show). They all "borrowed" from each other. Thanks for watching!

@@ciroandsteven2407 Thank you.

This and "Joan's Curiosity" are among our favorites! Thanks for watching!

Don't believe the negative comments. The roster of actors she employed on IMJ is a testament to her loyalty to actors she had worked with in vaudeville as well as Radio and Films. Sometimes she gave people she knew even a small part so they could be employed in an industry that had forgotten them. Sherwood Schwartz said "she was a tough broad." She had to be. She was footing the bill. What was the harm in having a writer on set in case something wasn't working. It was his assumption that every line she was given was golden. She most likely wanted a writer on set so that the new line could be implemented right away and there wouldn't be a break in filming. In her 20 plus years of vaudeville, radio and movies combined she knew what was funny for her and what wasn't. And why shouldn't she have a better line if there was one to be had? I might add that during the filming of "George White's Scandals" in 1945, she won a million dollar radio contract. Not too shabby! Men in those days just didn't like a woman in charge, and some of them still don't today. Thanks so much for watching.

Yes, it is hard. But, do Keto living and intermittent fasting...lots of eggs, wild caught salmon, 100% grass fed beef, avocados. You can stay on it life-long.

She's that way in every episode in which she appears!

In the episode "Joan's Curiosity," we see a package addressed to them in "Lawrence, CA"

You're very welcome!

I noticed that too! Even Rob and Laura Petrie had twin beds years later.