If you weren't alive to catch it the first time ‘round, we're sure you've seen at least one rerun of I Love Lucy on Nick at Nite.
And who can't help but love the funny, fumbling, firecracker redhead Lucille Ball played on the hit show?
This Saturday would mark Ball's 100th birthday and this year is also the show's 60th anniversary, so as we look back on the life of one of the first funny women on TV, we can't help but wonder which modern actress is best equipped to fill Lucy's accident-prone shoes?
Ellie Kemper, Laura Prepon or Emma Stone?
Laugh-inducing gingers unite!
Stone is the obvious pick, with her girl-next-door appeal and good looks that, like Lucy, get overshadowed by her goofy, sometimes dorky personality. In Easy A, Emma played the sweet but unmemorable girl in high school who finds her inner seductress by pretending to be dorky dudes' hot girlfriend, while in Crazy, Stupid, Love it's that same nice-girl naïveté that wins over Hollywood's hottest bachelor, Ryan Gosling. Ricky and Lucy 2k11, anyone?
And while Prepon cut her comedy chops for eight years on That '70s Show, the actress will be back on TV this fall playing another funny lady, Chelsea Handler, in the television adaptation of Chelsea's book, Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. While the verdict is still out on whether Prepon can master the role of booze-filled babe, we have a feeling the newly blonde actress has a raunchy comedian buried in there somewhere. But can she stomp grapes with the best of ‘em?
Another Lucy contender? Ellie Kemper. After winning over TV audiences as the totally sweet but almost annoyingly innocent assistant on The Office, Kemper proved she had some serious chuckle chops in the comedy blockbuster of the summer, Bridesmaids. While Ellie has mastered the sweet-as-pie gal you take home to mom, making out with chicks on planes as she did in the all-female flick was a new raunchy role for the redhead. Not so Lucy and Ethel, but regardless, we loved it!
And whatever happened to Debra Messing, the actress once accurately dubbed Lucy's successor?!
We had high hopes for the Will & Grace star and Lucy dead ringer! But alas, looks like Deb's role as real-life wife and Starter Wife star are messing with her funny bone these days.
So which redhead is Lucy's new runner-up?