CBS Bringing Back Two Classic Shows for the Holidays

CBS is bringing back two television classics for the holiday season on Dec. 22.

Up first is the I Love Lucy Christmas Special. The network will continue its annual tradition of airing the colorized version of “The Christmas Episode,” which first aired on Christmas Eve, 1956. The episode was thought to be lost for decades, but was recovered in 1989.

Next up is a newly-colorized version of “The Fashion Show,” which first aired on Feb. 28, 1955. In this episode, Lucy gets to spend $100 on a dress at a fashionable store in Beverly Hills, where she runs into movie star wives. The real-life wives of Gordon MacRae, William Holden, Fan Heflin and Forrest Tucker appeared in the episode.

After the Lucy hour, CBS will air two colorized episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, hand picked by creator Carl Reiner himself to highlight the best of Dick Van Dyke and the late Mary Tyler Moore.

“I picked two of the funniest episodes we did, and I remember them fondly because they both showcased our wonderful Mary. I treasure her memory,” Reiner said in a statement.

The first episode will be “My Blonde-Haired Brunette,” which debuted on Oct. 10, 1961. That will be followed by “October Eve,” which aired on April 8, 1964.

“In ‘October Eve,’ I got a chance to perform on the show as someone other than Alan Brady, and I loved the character of Carpetna the artist as soon as I read it,” Reiner old CBS. “When I saw it in color, it was better than I ever dreamed it could be.”

Here’s CBS’ schedule for Dec. 22:

I Love Lucy Christmas Special

8:00 p.m. ET: “The Christmas Episode”

8:30 p.m. ET: “The Fashion Show”

The Dick Van Dyke Show

9:00 p.m. ET: “My Blonde-Haired Brunette”

9:30 p.m. ET: “October Eve”

You can find CBS’ complete holiday special schedule here.