Scripted series · CBS
I Love Lucy
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Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Lucille Ball
Lucy Ricardo
180 eps
Desi Arnaz
Ricky Ricardo
180 eps
Vivian Vance
Ethel Mertz
180 eps
William Frawley
Fred Mertz
180 eps
Philip Ober
Arnold (uncredited)
2 eps
Gale Gordon
Mr. Littlefield
2 eps
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernie Ford
3 eps
Shirley Mitchell
Marion
3 eps
Phil Arnold
Man in Hall
2 eps
Jess Oppenheimer
Sound Man (voice) (uncredited)
2 eps
Hal March
Eddie Grant
2 eps
Hans Conried
Mr. Jenkins
2 eps
Maury Thompson
Script Clerk (uncredited)
2 eps
Myra Marsh
Club Woman
2 eps
Margie Liszt
Betty
3 eps
Will Wright
Mr. Walters
3 eps
Edith Meiser
Mrs. Littlefield
2 eps
Marco Rizo
Marco (uncredited)
2 eps
Vernon Dent
Santa Claus (uncredited)
2 eps
Hy Averback
Charlie Pomerantz
2 eps
Peggy Rea
Susan
4 eps
Herb Vigran
Julie
4 eps
Ruth Perrott
Nurse
3 eps
Parley Baer
Mr. Reilly
2 eps
Ross Elliott
Publicity Man
4 eps
Alberto Morin
Robert
2 eps
Verna Felton
Mrs. Simpsons (uncredited)
2 eps
William Hamel
Headwaiter
4 eps
Irving Bacon
Will Potter
2 eps
June Whitley Taylor
Sally
2 eps
Jerry Hausner
Jerry
7 eps
Dayton Lummis
Mr. Eaton
3 eps
Shepard Menken
Charpontier
4 eps
Richard Reeves
Bouncer
9 eps
Kay Wiley
Woman Shopper
4 eps
Barbara Pepper
Woman Shopper
6 eps
Allen Jenkins
Policeman
3 eps
Bob Jellison
Bellboy
8 eps
Lawrence Dobkin
Maitre D'
3 eps
Elvia Allman
Forewoman
3 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How I Love Lucy actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
I Love Lucy reads strongest on Humour, Character Depth and Bingeability.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
The story
What it's about
Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.
The run
Seasons
6 seasons · 180 episodes.
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
199018 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
195135 episodes
7.4IMDbBest episode · S01E24 The Gossip
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
195231 episodes
8.7IMDbBest episode · S02E26 The Ricardos Change Apartments
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
195331 episodes
8.7IMDb
Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
195430 episodes
8.8IMDbBest episode · S04E28 Harpo Marx
Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
195526 episodes
8.9IMDbBest episode · S05E23 Lucy's Italian Movie
Season 6 · Complete
Season 6
195627 episodes
8.8IMDbBest episode · S06E03 Lucy Meets Orson Welles
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E03
The Diet
To her dismay, Lucy finds out that she's put on twenty-two pounds since marrying Ricky. When one of the girls in Ricky's new show quits, she tricks him into promising, she can be in the show if she fits into the dancer's size twelve costume.
- Directed by Marc Daniels
- Written by Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr.
S01E14
The Amateur Hour
Lucy spends too much money on a dress. So she tells Ricky that she will get a job babysitting in order to pay for it.
- Directed by Marc Daniels
- Written by Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr.
S06E11
Christmas Show
The Ricardos and Mertzes spend Christmas Eve decorating a tree - and remembering moments that led up to the birth of Little Ricky five years earlier.
- Directed by William Asher, James V. Kern
- Written by Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf
S01E15
Lucy Plays Cupid
The Ricardo's neighbor Miss Lewis wants Lucy to deliver a dinner invitation to her grocer. But he misunderstands and thinks the invitation is from Lucy herself.
- Directed by Marc Daniels
- Written by Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr.
S01E02
Be a Pal
Thinking Ricky is losing interest in her, Lucy follows the advice of a book Ethel gave her and takes up Ricky's hobbies.
- Directed by Marc Daniels
- Written by Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr.
S01E16
Lucy Fakes Illness
Lucy pretends to suffer from numerous psychological ailments so that Ricky will feel sorry for her and let her go into show business.
- Directed by Marc Daniels
- Written by Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S00E14
The Dancing Star; Harpo Marx
S00E13
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
S00E16
I Love Lucy Costume & Makeup Tests, presented by Robert Osborne
S00E18
"I Love Lucy: The Very First Show" Remebrances of the original writers
S00E17
"I Love Lucy: The Very First Show" TV Special
- Directed by Ralph Levy, David Steinberg
- Written by Madelyn Pugh, Billy Van Zandt
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Jack AldworthProducer
- Desi ArnazProducer
- Jess OppenheimerProducer
Writing
- Madelyn PughWriter
- Bob SchillerWriter
- Bob WeiskopfWriter
- Bob Carroll Jr.Writer
- Jess OppenheimerWriter
Direction
- William AsherDirector
- James V. KernDirector
- Marc DanielsDirector
Music
- Wilbur HatchOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Paramount Plus PremiumStreaming
- Paramount Plus EssentialStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel Streaming
- Paramount+ Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- Paramount+ Roku Premium ChannelStreaming
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
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1994
Need something lighter afterwards? Start here.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2013
A palate cleanser with real writing behind the jokes.
Young Sheldon
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Need something lighter afterwards? Start here.
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If the world-building is what held you, this is the next map to walk.
Never stop watching
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