The Plot Thickens
TCM
Our sixth season is Cleopatra, a six-episode series about one of the most expensive and infamous movies ever made. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Cleopatra should have been a smash. Instead, it was a shoot plagued by medical emergencies, climate disasters, nervous breakdowns, and the most scandalous love affair to ever hit a movie set. Join host Ben Mankiewicz as he digs through his own family stories to understand how it turned out so badly for his Oscar-winning uncle. Cleopatra starts July 17.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 25, 2022 • 33min
Bonus Episode: Carol Burnett, Kate Flannery and Kate Micucci
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to three celebrity fans about how they were influenced by Lucille Ball, Lucy’s incredible talent for physical comedy, and why I Love Lucy is still beloved today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 11, 2022 • 32min
Bonus Episode: Aaron Sorkin
Ben Mankiewicz speaks to Aaron Sorkin, the writer-director of Being the Ricardos, about what drew him to Lucy’s story, Lucy and Desi’s intense relationship, and the danger they faced when HUAC thought Lucy was a communist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 21, 2021 • 26min
Bonus Episode: Lucie Arnaz
More from Ben Mankiewicz's fascinating interview with Lucie Arnaz, who speaks about working with her mom, growing up on the RKO studio lot, and what made I Love Lucy special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 14, 2021 • 58min
Twilight
Lucy sinks into a depression after the failure of her newest show and becomes a reclusive, fiercely competitive backgammon player. Yet she's still revered, and following a memorable final appearance at the Academy Awards, her heart gives out. As the memorials pour in, the public clamors to learn everything about her life, while those closest to her wonder if they ever really knew her at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 7, 2021 • 48min
Boss Lady
Escaping Hollywood after her split, Lucy heads east for a chance to star on Broadway. There she meets a new man, a Borscht Belt comedian with a bad toupee and even worse business sense. The new couple returns to Hollywood when Lucy takes on a surprising new role: as the first female head of a major studio. But she still prefers acting, and makes plans to return to the big screen – with disastrous results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 30, 2021 • 55min
The End of Desilu
Lucy and Desi's studio expands as they buy the RKO lot and produce new shows under the Desilu banner. The strain of running an empire takes its toll, and Desi falls further into gambling, drinking and philandering as a refuge from work. Lucy doubles down on her career, but after shooting a tearful final episode of her signature TV show, her marriage reaches its breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 23, 2021 • 43min
Red Scare
At the height of Lucy’s popularity, the government kicks off a political investigation that threatens to ruin her career. Why had Lucy registered as a communist 20 years earlier? On the verge of her being blacklisted, Desi goes on the offensive to save his wife and their livelihood. But his infidelities soon become tabloid fodder, and their love affair begins to crumble in full view of the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 16, 2021 • 53min
I Love Lucy
With a TV deal from CBS, Desi assembles a ragtag team of collaborators to make a new kind of program, one that would rewrite the rules of television. And they do it while hiding Lucy’s newest surprise: after ten years of trying, she’s about to have a baby. The result is the biggest hit in TV history, one that showcases Lucy's fearlessness and comic timing, and she becomes beloved by millions of fans from coast to coast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 9, 2021 • 49min
Desilu
From the start, Lucy and Desi fight as fiercely as they love. After a spur-of-the-moment elopement, the newlyweds buy a small ranch north of Hollywood and call it “Desilu.” They suffer miscarriages and career setbacks, which causes Desi to take his band on the road – where he frequently cheats on his wife. Lucy considers divorce, but when a TV offer comes in, she uses her stardom to keep Desi by her side. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 2, 2021 • 47min
Desi
Forced from his native Cuba by violent revolution, 17-year-old Desi Arnaz is a stranger in a strange land. Armed with an appetite for girls and gambling, Desi sparks a dance craze in the nightclubs of Miami and sweet-talks his way into New York society. After a syphilis scare threatens his Broadway debut, his ambition leads him to Hollywood, where his head is turned by an older actress named Lucy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
