2 ‘Arrested Development’ Stars Join Lucille Ball Biopic ‘Being the Ricardos’

Two former Arrested Development castmates are reuniting in the upcoming Lucille Ball biopic Being the Ricardos. According to a report by The Wrap, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat have joined the cast of the Amazon Studios original film. After playing Buster and Maeby Bluth for years, both of them are well-acquainted with the name “Lucille.”

Hale and Shawkat were announced as cast members of Being the Ricardos on Tuesday and The Office alum Jake Lacy. They joined the titular stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem and other previously announced cast members J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda. The movie itself is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. It began filming this week, but there is no release date in place yet.

Hale will reportedly play Jess Oppenheimer, the head writer and executive producer of I Love Lucy. Shawkat will play Madelyn Pugh, while Lacy will play Bob Carroll Jr. The two were writing partners who worked on the sitcom in its heyday. Finally, Simmons and Arianda will play William Frawley and Vivian Vance, respectively — the actors who played Fred and Ethel in the original series.

This will be Sorkin’s third time directing a feature film, following the success of his Netflix original film The Trial of the Chicago 7. In a public statement this week, he said: “Being the Ricardos is a drama about the people behind the making of television’s most famous comedy. I’m looking forward to working with Nicole, Javier, J.K., Nina and the rest of our great cast.”

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz became household names playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy from 1951 to 1957. In real life, their relationship was often tumultuous. Being the Ricardos will not shy away from the difficult parts of their relationship, according to their own children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., who have both signed on as executive producers.

“My brother Desi and I signed on because this is a story of our folk’s real-life passionate, tempestuous and complicated relationship and not a recreation of I Love Lucy — no one could do that,” Lucie said. “We felt exploring that relationship could be an enlightening challenge. We asked Amazon for the best and we got it with every hire. Aaron Sorkin has not told this tale as a ‘cradle to grave’ biopic. Instead, he’s chosen to illuminate a snippet of time during an incredibly intense period of their show’s enduring success. The casting choices have all been inspired and Desi and I are so looking forward to seeing what this impressive group of actors make of Sorkin’s delicious script.”