Fred and Ethel are portrayed as Lucy and Ricky's friends on the series and live in the same building in NYC. But how do they know each other?

The series is set in an apartment building in New York City, and the Mertzes are the apartment owners, renting it out to Lucy and Ricky. When conceiving of the series, the writers decided the young couple of Lucy and Ricky needed an older couple for them to play off of, which is why they created the Mertzes.

Asked by Tom Cohen · Last updated 5 years ago · 139.4K views