Being the Ricardos

"A revealing glimpse of the couple's complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers' room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy."[1]

The project was first announced in September 2015, with Cate Blanchett announced to star as Lucille Ball and Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay.[2] The film would be acquired by Amazon Studios in August 2017.[3]

Production was originally given a tax credit to film in California in November 2019,[4] and producers were revealed to be meeting with directors in January 2020.[5] However, by January 2021, Blanchett had dropped out of the project, with Nicole Kidman in negotiations to replace her and Javier Bardem in negotiations to portray Desi Arnaz. Sorkin, having enjoyed the experience of directing The Trial of the Chicago 7, had elected to serve as director himself.[6] The casting of Kidman was met with some controversy on social media, to which Lucie Arnaz spoke out in defense of Kidman's casting.[7] In February, J. K. Simmons and Nina Arianda were cast to portray William Frawley and Vivian Vance respectively.[8]

Filming began on March 29, 2021, in Los Angeles, with Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and Clark Gregg added to the cast.[9][10] The production canceled filming at Chateau Marmont due to backlash against the establishment.[11] In September 2021, Sorkin stated that the film was in post-production.[12]

The film premiered in New York City on December 7, 2021.[13] The film was released in a limited release exclusively in the United States on December 10, 2021, prior to streaming globally on Prime Video on December 21, 2021.[14]

• Being the Ricardos at IMDb