Arnaz, as president of Desilu, offered Ball an opportunity to return to television in a weekly sitcom. At that time, CBS executives were somewhat dubious as to whether Ball could carry a show without Arnaz, and whether she could follow such a landmark series as "I Love Lucy". It was "never intended for this program to go beyond a single season." This arrangement was "meant to be a stop-gap measure for the beleaguered studio" and that through the sale of this series, Desilu was able to "force the CBS network to invest in and air other upcoming Desilu products." It was a strategy that Ball would use in the future to take control of "The Lucy Show"'s renewal from CBS. With Arnaz's encouragement and persuasion, Ball agreed to do the show, provided that it would be shown on Monday nights (the night on which "I Love Lucy" had aired), and that she would be reunited with Vivian Vance and her writers from "I Love Lucy". CBS agreed to a full season of episodes without a pilot, and "The Lucy Show" premiered on Monday, October 1, 1962, at 8:30 p.m.