Still Loving Lucy: 5 Essential Ways Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Changed The Television Industry Forever.

Kendall Rivers
5 min readOct 27, 2024
Lucy and Desi: The ultimate power couple. Image Source-Bettmann Archive.

Television has seen many innovations thanks to countless people from Norman Lear and Aaron Spelling to Dick Wolf and Shonda Rhimes. Two of the most influential of all were the iconic golden age power couple Lucy and Desi Arnaz. If it weren’t for these two television, specifically the sitcom genre, would’ve never been the same. Here are five ways that Lucy and Desi changed the television industry forever.

I’d like to dedicate this one to my good friend and fellow classic tv addict Jessica Kosinski who has written many fine pieces on various legendary classic tv shows and films.

5. They gave television its first pregnancy storyline and tropes.

“When pregnant with her second child, The Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters prohibited depictions of pregnancy on the air due to its sexual suggestiveness. According to Time, Arnaz was dismayed by the suggestion that Ball hide her pregnancy, asking “What is so wrong if she has a baby in the show as Lucy Ricardo?” After negotiations, the producers decided that on the day Ball delivered her son Desi Junior, her on-air persona would do the same — although the word “pregnant” would never actually be used. For many, Ball was a symbol of changing times. Audiences celebrated

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Kendall Rivers
Kendall Rivers

Written by Kendall Rivers

Kendall is a screenwriter who’s a huge fan of classic tv and movies. He enjoys creating good stories and characters. https://www.facebook.com/kendall.rivers.3

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