The Ricardo Project: An I Love Lucy Podcast

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Grandpa Ricardo is here! Oh wait, that’s Lucy in a fabulous beard. This week, Lucy’s attempts to prove to Ricky how silly he looks…well, let’s just say it Lucy look even more silly.  We talk the awkward cultural appropriation moments, Lucy dressing in a FABULOUS suit and cosplaying as Colonel, and the Mertzes’ fabulous vaudeville show. Please subscribe! N...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! When in doubt, freak your spouse out! Its time for Fred and Ethel Fight, which leads to a Ricardo fight, which leads to…mortal peril?! Plus, did Being the Ricardos get this right? Why did Sorkin choose this ep? I swear I don’t go on too long about it.  Please subscribe! New episodes every Thursday! References: The awkward opening scene: https://www.youtub...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! 10 o’clock in the living room and all’s well! Lucy goes slapstick AND political in the same episode when the gang thinks their new neighbors are foreign agents and get into some pretty zany hijinks that could honestly be pulled from today’s headlines. It's Lucy’s amazing physical comedy mixed with Ricky, Ethel, and Fred buying right into the lunacy....

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Keep jiggling, Peggy! Its time for the Ricardos to team up against the worst possible adversary: horny teenagers. We get some classic Ricky moments and a reminder that Lucy Ricardo is an absolute babe. This is a suer fun bottle episode, even if there’s no Fred or Ethel. Plus, I try a new intro style. Let me know if you like it! Please subscribe!  Referenc...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Lucy wants to be in the show, what else is new? The Ballet is some comic excellence. This episode has everything we love about Lucy Ricardo - physical comedy, misunderstandings, an insistence on being in the show, a pie in the face! Make that two! This is one I loved so much, I got a little intense. Thanks for listening <3  Please subscribe!  Reference...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! It's a Mertz/Ricardo throwdown episode! This week, the Ricardos are too loud and the Mertzes are too grumpy. What follows is one of the most hectic I Love Lucy episodes we've watched yet. Plus, cameos by two Lucy regulars - Hazel Pierce and the very lovely, very tragic Barbara Pepper. Please subscribe!  Shop my Bookshop affiliate link for my fav...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Anyone for tennis? It's my favorite episode of I Love Lucy (so far, but also, probably of all time).  Our beloved Lucy Ricardo is writing a play for her women's club, and it is a true masterpiece.   Lucille Ball's mime work at the start of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrxBL__fkqs The final play: https://www.youtube.com/watch...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Lucy wants a part in Ricky's show, and this time, she decides to "develop a complex" to get it! What follows is a master class (I know, I know, I overuse that term) in comedic character work. She's so good, folks. This episode is super playful and such a treat! Plus, we talk Tallulah Bankhead, who should 100 percent be even more of an...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! The original choice for Ethel Mertz is in the building, and she is nothing like our girl Vivian Vance, but she is a delight and a half! This week, Lucy decides to help her neighbor find love, and things...don't go great. This episode turns into a deeper dive on an unsung pioneer in Hollywood, Bea Benaderet. Please subscribe if you enjoy! Shop my Book...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Welcome to The Amateur Hour, where Lucy Ricardo battles my new nemesis, a child named Jimmy (and another child named Timmy, who is not fully my nemesis). Required disclaimer because the internet loves to take things a bit seriously: I love children, I have nothing against children, but Jimmy is just the worst and I won't apologize for that. We talk f...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Lucy Ricardo is at the top of her game this week as she gets one over on Ricky at a Women's Club event.  This episode is jam packed with so many fun moments, it should be required viewing for any Lucy enthusiast. You get three songs, bad Lucy singing, Ricky being vexxed, Ethel wearing a giant corsage, Fred...existing! Its wonderful! Don't be a H...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Happy New Year! Today we're talking about this...interesting episode. There's a lot to cringe at and a lot to like! Lucille Ball is great even when the material is weird! Parts age really poorly but there is still value! Sitcom logic has never been nuttier! A fantastic article about the history of Apache dance that I quote in this episode: https...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! We're back! Sorry for the delay while I recovered. This week, Lucille Ball is wailing as Lucy Ricardo thinks Ricky has been drafted. When Ethel thinks Fred is going too, Ricky and Fred jump to the only logical conclusion - that the girls are pregnant. What could possibly go wrong? Thanks for listening, please subscribe if you haven't already. Ha...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! I'm still sick, but that can't stop me from spiraling into a mild depression over this episode! This week, we talk growing up and realizing how sad this episode really is. We reflect on the marriage between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and how sometimes loving someone just isn't enough. There's brief mention of WandaVision, and an even...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Welcome to a bonus episode where I review Being the Ricardos - what worked, what didn't, and what I (and my non-Lucy watching husband) thought of the first movie about Lucille Ball ever to grace the screen. Thank you for listening, please subscribe and rate this podcast. We'll be back Friday for our regularly scheduled programming. Support the s...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Welcome to the Fred Mertz Appreciation Episode. So sorry for the scratchy voice this week! I was a bit under the weather. Thank you for listening! Please subscribe if you enjoyed. Support maternal healthcare and work to end the maternal mortality crisis. Get in touch: Instagram: @thericardoproject Email: thericardoproject@gmail.com  Support the show Shop...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Lucy is appalled at Ricky's messiness, and I don't blame her! The Ricardos square off in classic I Love Lucy style, with Lucy getting the upper hand as a bear hunting, chicken farming, itchy nightmare. It's fantastic, and made me so happy. Let's talk Lucy Ricardo as a rebel against the 1950s "housewife" stereotype. She's...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Get out the ouija board, because spooky season is still here! Today we're talking numerology, horoscopes, and the fact that Ethel is a Leo?! This episode made my little heart sing - we really get to see the ensemble coming together. Its the first sign of the show being what made it special - watching Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and D...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! This week, Lucy dons her iconic Professor character, and we get another great example of the Arnaz family chemistry. This episode is as funny as it is non-sensical. Side thoughts include some dark ponderings on why this episode isn't as famous as the Classic Lucy Moments, and the origins of Babalu. Show Notes: Miguelito Valdes, the real Mr. Babalu Lu...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! This episode, I Love Lucy welcomes their most steadfast guest star into the fold, and plays some serious Noises Off territory. Discussion includes the Tramp archetype, playfulness, and Ethel's perfect suit. This one is such a joy, despite walking through some uncomfy territory. Let's break it down! Get in touch: Instagram: @thericardoproject Ema...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! It's the original first episode of I Love Lucy! Did it deserve to be bumped to 4th? Is this one just SO macabre? What about that super queer moment?! We love a true crime Lucy. Get in touch:  Instagram: @thericardoproject Email: thericardoproject@gmail.com Support domestic violence survivors: https://csaj.org Support the show Shop my Bookshop affilia...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Lucy tries to lose weight far too quickly to have an opportunity to be in Ricky's show. What should be problematic by any year's standard turns out to be my new favorite episode of the show? Who am I?! Get in touch: Instagram: @thericardoproject Email: thericardoproject@gmail.com Support transpeople every day: https://www.glitsinc.org/donate  Su...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! The teaser for Aaron Sorkin's "Being the Ricardos" came out last week, and it looks...like a movie.  Get in touch and tell me how excited you are about this one:  Instagram: @thericardoproject Email: thericardoproject@gmail.com Support badass women like Lucille Ball continue to change Hollywood so Aaron Sorkin isn't the person writing...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! This week, the theme is being uncomfy with the fact that this show is from 1951. Plus loving Lucy's glitter dress. Get in touch: IG: @thericardoproject Email: thericardoproject@gmail.com Honor Desi Arnaz and help send medical supplies to Cuba: https://www.directrelief.org/place/cuba/  Support the show Shop my Bookshop affiliate link for my fave books...

Send us a text or a question or a thought! Happy 70th anniversary to the very first episode of I Love Lucy! We're talking Lucy and Ethel being the real couple of I Love Lucy, Desi Arnaz singing in Spanish and how that was pretty dang radical, and, of course, the conundrum of a human man that is Fred Mertz. Get in touch: IG: @thericardoproject Email: thericardoproject@gmail.com Honor Desi Arna...