TV historian and archivist Stu Shostak, the subject of this doc, started in Hollywood by handing out tickets to Norman Lear sitcom tapings to people in Hollywood and then started doing the audience warm-ups for All In The Family, Silver Spoons and One Day At A Time.

After learning that entertainment legend Lucille Ball was hosting question and answer classes at a college nearby, Stu transformed his encyclopedic knowledge of her career into becoming an essential part of her small inner circle, acting as her archivist and as an assistant to her husband Gary Morton.

After Ball passed away, Shostak pioneered what we know now as podcasting. His internet shows — all about the classic years of TV — became a success, as did a series of I Love Lucy conventions. It was at one of these conventions that Stu would meet the love of his life, Jeanine Kasun, a music teacher and fellow Lucy super-fan.

That’s where the story of Stu’s life takes a turn, as he must navigate the health care system to keep Jeanine alive after she suffers a brain aneurysm.

With appearances by Tony Dow (Leave it to Beaver), Michael Cole (The Mod Squad), Ed Asner (Lou Grant), Butch Patrick (The Munsters), Margaret O’Brien, Geri Jewell, Beverly Washburn, Wink Martindale and many more stars of television, this movie invites you into Stu’s life, in good times and bad, to give you a full picture of what it’s like to be someone that has gone from fan to friend of so many Hollywood stars.

Director C.J. Wallis also made another TV culture doc, Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much, and does a great job of layering footage, interviews and real life moments to create an intriguing narrative.

Stu’s Show is available on all major media platforms from Upstream Flix.