Development

The concept for Parks and Recreation came together only after producers learned Amy Poehler (pictured) would be available to play the protagonist.

Immediately after Ben Silverman was named co-chairman of NBC's entertainment division in 2007, he asked Greg Daniels to create a spin-off of The Office.^[15][81] Daniels co-created Parks and Recreation with Michael Schur, who had been a writer on The Office. The two spent months considering ideas for the new series and debating whether to make it a stand-alone rather than a spin-off.^[15] According to Daniels, they eventually abandoned the original spin-off plan because they "couldn't find the right fit".^[81] They considered a series about a local government official trying to rebuild a political career following a humiliating public spectacle. They eventually abandoned the idea, though it did end up being incorporated into the backstory for Ben Wyatt late in the second season.^[82][83] After Amy Poehler agreed to play the lead, they decided the series would revolve around an optimistic bureaucrat in small-town government.^[15] Production was delayed to accommodate Poehler's pregnancy.^[84]

The idea was partly inspired by the portrayal of local politics on the HBO drama series The Wire, as well as the renewed interest in and optimism about politics stemming from the 2008 United States presidential election.^[84][85] The staff was also drawn to the idea of building a show around a female relationship, namely Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins.^[27] Reports that Daniels and Schur were developing a show together led to press speculation it would, in fact, be a spin-off of The Office.^[4][86] The producers insisted their new series would be entirely independent. Nevertheless, their concept for it shared several elements with The Office, particularly the mockumentary approach and the encouragement of improvisation among the cast, even though the episodes were scripted.^[15] The series was scheduled as a mid-season replacement,^[84] and was rushed to meet the premiere date of April 9, 2009.^[4] Before the title Parks and Recreation was chosen, the name Public Service was considered, but ultimately rejected because network officials did not want to be accused of mocking the idea.^[87]

Crew

Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios produced Parks and Recreation starting with the first season;^[11] the production companies Fremulon and 3 Arts Entertainment also became involved with the show starting with the second season.^[88] The series was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, who served as executive producers along with Howard Klein. Klein previously worked with Daniels and Schur on The Office, a half-hour NBC comedy Daniels adapted from the British comedy of the same name, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Schur served as the showrunner of Parks and Recreation,^[27] while Amy Poehler and Morgan Sackett worked as producers.^[11] Dean Holland, an editor on The Office, also worked as an editor on Parks and Recreation.^[89] Mike Scully, a former executive producer and showrunner for The Simpsons, joined Parks and Recreation as a consulting producer starting in the middle of the first season.^[90] Allison Jones, who worked as a casting director for The Office, served in the same capacity at the start of Parks and Recreation,^[91] along with Nancy Perkins, for whom the character Ann Perkins was named.^[92] Dorian Frankel became the casting director starting with the second season. Alan Yang, Harris Wittels, and Katie Dippold, all of whom were Parks and Recreation screenwriters, also worked as executive story editors.^[93]

The pilot episode was written by Daniels and Schur, and directed by Daniels.^[94] Daniels also directed the second-season episode "Hunting Trip", while Schur made his directorial debut with the first-season finale "Rock Show", and wrote or directed several other episodes including "Sister City",^[95] "The Master Plan",^[82] and "Time Capsule".^[96]

Poehler wrote three episodes: "Telethon" in season 2, "The Fight" in season 3, and "The Debate" in season 4 (for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series). She also co-wrote "Second Chunce" in season 6, the series' 100th episode, and "One Last Ride", the series finale, with Schur.^[97] Poehler also directed three episodes, "The Debate" in season 4, "Article Two" in season 5, and "Gryzzlbox" in season 7. Other cast members that wrote or directed episodes include Nick Offerman, who wrote "Lucky" in season 4, and directed season 5's "Correspondents' Lunch" and season 6's "Flu Season 2"; while Adam Scott directed season 6's "Farmers Market".

Holland also directed about thirty episodes of the series.^[98] Norm Hiscock, a consulting producer,^[93] wrote a number of episodes, including the first-season finale "Rock Show" and second-season premiere "Pawnee Zoo".^[99] Other regular screenwriters included Katie Dippold, Dan Goor, Aisha Muharrar, Harris Wittels, and Alan Yang.^[100] Frequent Parks and Recreation directors include Dean Holland, Randall Einhorn,^[101] Troy Miller,^[102] and Jason Woliner,^[103] with several others guest-directing one or two episodes such as Jeffrey Blitz,^[42] Paul Feig,^[104] Tucker Gates,^[105] Seth Gordon,^[38] Nicole Holofcener,^[106] Beth McCarthy-Miller,^[107] Michael McCullers,^[108] and Charles McDougall.^[109]

Writing

The writers spent time researching local California politics and attending Los Angeles City Council meetings.^[84] Schur said they observed many community hearings were attended only by those opposed, often angrily, to the proposals under consideration. This fact became a major component of town hall scenes and was the basis for the "Canvassing" episode.^[38][91] The writers consulted with real-life government officials such as urban planners and elected officials.^[81][84] Scott Albright, a California city planner, provided direct feedback for the Mark Brendanawicz character,^[19] and the inspiration for Ron Swanson's anti-government convictions came from a real-life encounter Schur had in Burbank with a libertarian government official who admitted, "I don't really believe in the mission of my job."^[84] The concept of turning a construction pit into a park was seen as a device to bring all the characters together working toward a common goal. The writers originally envisioned the pit becoming a park only in the series finale, although those plans were later changed and the pit was filled in during the second season.^[27] While researching whether such a project could realistically last several months or longer, Schur spoke to urban planners in Claremont, California who said it was entirely plausible because they had recently broken ground on a park that had been in various planning stages for 18 years.^[81]

Daniels and Schur wrote the script for the pilot episode in mid-2008.^[15] The original script portrayed Leslie and Mark as slightly less likable than they appeared in the final draft, and they were changed to be more appealing in response to feedback the episode received from focus groups and press tour screenings.^[110] For example, while an early draft of the pilot script had Mark saying he didn't care about Leslie or the pit but would support her plan because he liked Ann Perkins and wanted an excuse to spend more time with her, the finished pilot had Mark backing Leslie because he admired her passion and drive. Schur said the writing staff strove to avoid the type of cynical humor prevalent in most television comedies at the time and wanted the characters to have a genuine appreciation for each other. Schur said of this, "I've never liked mean-spirited comedy. The characters on our show make fun of each other, but not in a biting, angry way. And there's no shortage of conflict in the world of government."^[27] The first-season episodes were written and developed relatively quickly after each other, and Schur said the staff was treating the entire six-episode season as if it were a single television pilot.^[27] Daniels felt due to pre-expectations from viewers familiar with The Office, the first-season episodes were "just about trying to tell people what we weren't", and that the writers had a better understanding of the characters by season two and could better write to their strengths.^[84][111]

During the first season, the writing staff received audience feedback that Leslie Knope seemed unintelligent and "ditzy". Schur said the writers did not intend for Leslie to be stupid, but rather an overeager woman who "takes her job too seriously," so a particular effort was made to present that character as more intelligent and capable at her job starting in the second season.^[28] The staff also decided to move on from the construction pit story arc, having the pit filled in the second-season episode "Kaboom".^[5][85] Although it was originally conceived the pit would only become a park in the series finale, Schur said the plotline was accelerated because early episodes were too focused on the pit and had led viewers to believe the entire show was about filling it in, which was not the writers' intention.^[27] Also starting with the second season, the writers made an effort to be more topical and incorporate current events into their scripts.^[28][56] For example, the episode "Pawnee Zoo" included social commentary about same-sex marriage.^[85][112] "The Stakeout" included a parody of the controversial arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates,^[56] and a sex scandal involving a Pawnee councilman in "Practice Date" mirrored the real-life 2009 scandal of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.^[113]

Starting in the middle of the second season, the writing staff began to draw inspiration from the premise of The Contender (2000). Schur explained The Contender was about a female politician trying to succeed amid intense scrutiny in a political arena dominated by men, which is similar to challenges Leslie Knope occasionally encounters.^[114] The financial difficulties Pawnee experiences during the late second-season and third-season episodes were reflective of the financial crisis facing the nation and much of the world when the episodes were produced.^[25] The introduction of Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt as state auditors visiting Pawnee, and the subsequent government shutdown, were inspired by news reports at a time when a number of states considered a shutdown of schools, parks, and other services due to the global recession.^[21][115] The third season included a seven-episode story arc about the characters organizing a harvest festival and staking the financial future of their department on its success.^[7][116] The festival served as a device to unite the characters, much like the construction pit had earlier in the show. Schur said this was done because the first six episodes were written and filmed early, and the writing staff felt having one concise storyline to tie them together kept the writers focused and, in Schur's words, helped "organize our tired, end-of-the-year brains".^[10][27] For the romance arc between Leslie and Ben in seasons three and four, The Remains of the Day was used as an inspiration, as a story about two people who are forced not to convey their romantic feelings for each other due to a repressive social system, which Schur compared to modern-day government.^[114]

Filming

Like The Office, Parks and Recreation was filmed with a single-camera setup in a cinéma vérité style simulating the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track. Within the context of the show, the characters are being filmed by a documentary crew, the members of which are never seen or heard from on-screen. The actors occasionally look at and directly address the cameras, and in some scenes directly engage the cameras in one-on-one interviews with the documentary crew members.^[15] The episodes were scripted, but the production encouraged the cast to improvise, and dialogue or performances the actors made up during filming often made the final cut of the episodes.^[91][15] Schur said he believes the mockumentary style is particularly fitting for a show about city government because "It's a device for showing the ways people act and behave differently when they're in public and private [and] the difference between what goes on behind closed doors and what people present to the public is a huge issue."^[27]

The Parks and Recreation producers approached each episode as if filming a real documentary. They typically shot enough for a 35 or 40-minute episode, then cut it down to 22 minutes, using the best material.^[42] Due to the improvisational acting and hand-held camerawork, a great deal of extra footage was shot that had to be discarded for the final cut;^[91][117] for example, the original cut of the 22-minute pilot was 48 minutes long.^[91] The producers filmed about nine pages of the script each day, a large amount by U.S. television standards.^[117]

Despite the similarities in the mockumentary style with The Office, Daniels and Schur sought to establish a slightly different tone in the camerawork of the pilot episode. The one-on-one interviews, for example, sometimes feature two separate camera angles on the same person; the footage is intercut to create the final version of the scene. This technique was inspired by The Five Obstructions, a 2003 experimental documentary directed by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth, which Daniels watched at the suggestion of actor Paul Schneider.^[94] Another distinction from The Office is while almost all footage from that show is filmed in a workplace setting, the documentary crew on Parks and Recreation regularly follows the characters into more intimate, non-work settings, such as on dates or at their homes.^[118] Parks and Recreation also makes frequent use of the jump cut technique. For instance, one scene in the pilot episode repeatedly jump cuts between brief clips in which Leslie seeks permission from Ron to pursue the pit project.^[94] Early in the season, editor Dean Holland developed a technique that would be used throughout the series. During a scene in "The Reporter" in which Leslie reacts to quotes read to her by the journalist, Poehler improvised several jokes, many of which were ultimately going to be cut from the episode. Holland thought they were all funny, so he created a brief montage intercutting several of the lines.^[42]

The exterior of the Pawnee government building, and several of the hallway scenes, were shot at Pasadena City Hall.

Principal photography began on February 18, 2009, less than two months before the show premiered.^[119] The show faced early production delays because Poehler was pregnant when she signed on, and filming had to be postponed until she gave birth.^[28][84] The show was filmed in Southern California.^[94] The exterior of the Pawnee government building, and several of the hallway scenes, were shot at Pasadena City Hall.^[94] The parks and recreation department interiors, as well as the City Hall courtyard, were filmed on a large studio set sound stage. The set's windows were outfitted with water systems to simulate falling rain, and the windowsills included fake pigeons.^[91][108] The set also includes four hallways that make up the hospital setting where Ann Perkins works as a nurse.^[118] The construction pit featured throughout the first and second seasons was dug by the episode's producers at an undeveloped property in Van Nuys, a district of Los Angeles. The producers went door-to-door in the neighborhood, seeking residents' permission for the dig.^[94] The pit was guarded 24 hours a day.^[120] Scenes set in playgrounds and elsewhere outdoors were filmed on location in Los Angeles.^[38][94] Most scenes set in locations outside the usual Parks and Recreation settings were also filmed in Los Angeles-area locations. For example, public forum scenes in the pilot episode were filmed in one of the city's middle schools,^[94] and a town meeting scene in the episode "Eagleton" was shot at the Toluca Lake Sports Center in the Toluca Lake district of Los Angeles.^[62] Other Eagleton scenes were also shot at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, located in San Marino. Elaborate festival setting and corn maze sets featured in "Harvest Festival" was filmed at a real-life festival setting at Los Angeles Pierce College, a community college in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.^{[121][122][123]} Schur said an aerial shot of the harvest festival at the end of the episode was the most expensive shot in the entire series.^[121]

Toward the end of production on the second season, Poehler became pregnant again and the producers of the show were forced to go into production on season three early and film an additional six episodes to accommodate not only Poehler's pregnancy, but also a projected September 2010 air date.^[97][124] After the episodes were already filmed, NBC opted not to put the show on the fall schedule and instead delayed the premiere of the third season until the beginning of 2011.^[25][124] This allowed for the network to run its new comedy, Outsourced, in two-hour comedy schedule block rather than Parks and Recreation.^[125][126] The schedule change meant that all sixteen episodes from the third season were filmed before any of them were shown;^[124] the rest of the episodes, starting with the seventh, were filmed in the fall of 2010.^[127][128] NBC chief executive officer Jeff Gaspin said this move was not a reflection on Parks and Recreation, and suggested the extended hiatus would not only have no negative effect on the show, but could actually build anticipation for its return.^[125] The move proved frustrating for the cast and crew of Parks and Recreation,^[6][129] although Poehler also pointed out it gave them additional time to go back and re-edit episodes or shoot and add new material.^[122][127]

Music

The producers hired BMI as music consultants to find a theme song. With less than three weeks until the show first aired, BMI sent out a mass e-mail to a slew of composers, giving them five days to submit an entry. According to the terms of the submission request, the only compensated composer would be the winner, who would receive $7,500 in exchange for the release of all rights to NBC.^[130] The winning entry was written by Gaby Moreno and Vincent Jones.^[94] Michael Schur said this theme song was chosen because producers wanted something that would immediately make the viewer associate the music with the series and the characters.^[131] He said Moreno and Jones' song "does a really good job of explaining what the town is like. (The) credits do a really good job of establishing it's just sort of a normal, every-day town in the middle of the country."^[91] Due to its realistic mockumentary-style cinematography technique, Parks and Recreation does not use composed background music.^[94]

Several songs were written for the show to be performed by Chris Pratt's character, Andy Dwyer, and his band within the show, Mouse Rat. Pratt sings and plays guitar in the band himself, while the drums are played by Mark Rivers, the guitar by Andrew Burlinson, and the bass guitar by Alan Yang, a screenwriter with the show.^[19] Rivers also wrote most of the music performed by Mouse Rat.^[132]

Pratt and the other band members played live during filming of the episode, rather than being pre-recorded and dubbed later.^[133] One song featured in "Rock Show", called "The Pit", chronicles Andy's experience falling into a construction pit and breaking his legs.^[19] Pratt wrote "Ann", a ballad about Ann Perkins, featured in the episode "Boys' Club".^[133] Schur wrote the lyrics to "November", a song featured in "The Master Plan" about April Ludgate.^[82] In the episode "Woman of the Year", Andy claims every song he writes includes either the lyrics, "Spread your wings and fly", or "You deserve to be a champion." As a result of that joke, every Mouse Rat song featured in the series since then has included one of those two lyrics.^[82] In the episode "Telethon", Andy plays the song "Sex Hair", about how one can tell whether someone has had sex because their hair is matted.^[134][135] In "Li'l Sebastian", Andy performs a tribute song called "5,000 Candles in the Wind", so-called because Leslie asks him to write a song like "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John, only 5,000 times better.^[136] The song was performed by the show's cast in the 2020 reunion special.^[132][137]

International

In Australia, Parks and Recreation aired on Channel Seven's digital channel, 7mate.^[148] In Canada, the series was simsubbed in most areas on City.^[149] In India, it airs on Zee Café.^[150] In the Philippines, it airs on Jack TV.^[151] In South Africa, the show airs on Pay-TV operator M-Net.^[152] In the UK, the show began airing on BBC Four in 2013. The first three seasons aired on this channel^[153] before moving to Dave in the summer of 2015, starting with season 4.^[154]

Syndication

In March 2011, Universal Media Studios announced its intentions to sell the syndication rights to Parks and Recreation. Comedy Central, FX, and Spike were all described as possible contenders to buy the syndication rights.^[155]

Syndicated episodes have aired on multiple cable networks including NBCUniversal owned Esquire Network (after relaunching from Style) and WGN America.^[156][157] The pilot episode also served as the first official broadcast of FX sister network, FXX, when it launched on September 2, 2013, followed by an all-day marathon, marking the first time the NBC comedy appeared off-network.^[158] The series debuted on Comedy Central in the United States on January 21, 2019, and select episodes were available to stream on their website and app.^[159] Comedy Central has the rights to air Parks and Recreation through 2024.^[160] In June 2020, the show also began airing on IFC in the United States.^[161]

Streaming

By 2018, Parks and Recreation was available for streaming on Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.^[162] Viewership on Hulu increased by 32% in 2017 over the previous year.^[163] According to Nielsen data, Parks and Recreation was one of the ten most-streamed shows on Netflix in 2018 based on time spent watching.^[164] Analytics from Jumpshot measured Parks and Recreation as the show with the third most views for 2018.^[165]

In September 2019, it was announced that Parks and Recreation would leave those services for Peacock, NBCUniversal's then-forthcoming streaming service, in October 2020.^[166] Variety reported the streaming deal was worth nine figures.^[160] A limited number of rotating episodes were also available through the Comedy Central app and website.

2020 special episode

In April 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, NBC announced they would air a new, special episode of the series, centered on Leslie trying to stay connected with the other current and former residents of Pawnee during social distancing. The series' cast returned for the special, which benefited Feeding America's COVID-19 response. The special episode aired on April 30, 2020.^[167]

According to Schur, the special took about three weeks to complete. Morgan Sackett, who previously directed episodes of the series, was asked to direct, and many of the original writers on the series (including Megan Amram, Dave King, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Matt Murray, and Jen Statsky) created the script in three days. The cast members were sent camera rigs and iPhones to record their parts, taking four days to do so. The visual effects team from the series The Good Place (also created by Schur) provided visual effects on the special to help "make it look like not everyone was just sitting alone in their houses staring at their computers".^[18][168]

Critical response

The first season of Parks and Recreation started to receive criticism before the premiere episode aired. According to a March 18, 2009 report that was leaked to writer Nikki Finke, focus groups responded poorly to a rough-cut version of the pilot.^[84][181] Many focus group members felt the show was a "carbon copy" of The Office. Some found it predictable, slow-paced, and lacking in character development; others said the show lacked strong male characters, particularly a "datable" lead.^[181] Schur insisted the pilot had been completely re-edited at least four times since the focus groups described in the report were held.^[81] Nevertheless, the early feedback left many critics and industry observers skeptical about the show's chances of success.^[13][84]

After it aired, the first season received generally mixed reviews; it holds a Metacritic score of 58 out of 100.^{[170][182][183]} Many critics said the series was too similar to The Office,^[84][4][13] and several commentators said Knope too closely resembled Michael Scott, the dimwitted protagonist of The Office. Some critics said the show's characters and overall tone were too mean-spirited in the early episodes,^[85][184] and although reviewers praised various cast members in individual episodes, some said the supporting characters in general needed to be more fully developed and provided with better material.^[185][186] The season finale "Rock Show" received far better reviews, with several commentators declaring that Parks and Recreation had finally found the right tone both generally and for the Leslie Knope character in particular.^[28][187]

Season two was better received and holds a Metacritic score of 71 out 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^{[172][188][51]} Several publications declared it among the best shows of 2009 including the Los Angeles Times,^[189] the Chicago Tribune,^[190] Time,^[191][192] Entertainment Weekly,^[193] GQ,^[194] New York magazine,^[195] The Star-Ledger,^[196] the San Francisco Chronicle,^[197] the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,^[198] Paste magazine,^[199] IGN,^[200] and TV Squad.^[201] Several reviewers called the second season one of the most impressive comebacks in television history.^{[187][202][203]} Some reviewers said the supporting cast was now working with better material and that Amy Poehler's character had improved and become less over-the-top and more human than in the first season.^[127][182] Others praised the decision to drop subplots from season one that risked becoming stale, like Leslie's long-standing crush on Mark,^[85][183] as well as the decision to fill in the pit during the second season, which some commentators said freed the show up for more stories and better scripts.^[5][85]

The critical acclaim continued into the third season, which holds a Metacritic score of 83 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".^[174] Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club said although he considered Parks and Recreation the funniest sitcom on television during its second season, "it somehow got even better" during the third.^[27] Henry Hanks of CNN called it "a near-flawless season".^[204] In TIME magazine's 2012 year-end top 10 lists, Parks and Recreation was named the top TV series.^[2]

Parks and Recreation featured on the February 11, 2011 cover of Entertainment Weekly, which called it, "the smartest comedy on TV." The magazine included an article called "101 Reasons to Love Parks and Recreation."^[205]

Poehler said the first season struggled in part due to extremely high expectations from comparisons to The Office. After the first season ended, she said, "I think it was something we had to work through in the beginning, and I'm kind of hoping we're on the other side of that and people will start to judge the show on its own, for what it is and realize it's just a completely different world in a similar style."^[206] Likewise, Schur said he believed much of the early criticism stemmed from the fact audiences were not yet familiar with the characters, and he thought viewers who revisited the episodes would enjoy them more with a better understanding of the characters.^[27]

Poehler received wide praise for her performance from the beginning of the series; several reviewers, even those who did not enjoy the show, said her talent, timing and likability helped elevate the series above some of its flaws. Daniel Carlson of The Hollywood Reporter, who felt the season needed some time to mature, wrote that Poehler was its strongest element and that "she proves instantly she's got the comic intelligence to carry a series like this one".^[207]

Nick Offerman received particularly strong praise for his minimalist and understated performance as Ron Swanson, whom many considered the show's breakout character. Steve Heisler of GQ magazine wrote that Offerman's role as Ron Swanson was a major part of the show's "creative resurgence".^[208] By the end of the second season, the character had taken on a cult status;^[129][209] Jonah Weiner of Slate magazine declared Swanson "Parks and Recreation's secret weapon".^[85]

Reviewers also consistently praised the performances by supporting actors Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford and Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer. Jonah Weiner of Slate said he did not enjoy the first season, but that "the brightest spot was Aziz Ansari as Leslie's subordinate Tom Haverford. In Ansari's hands, Tom came wickedly alive as a faux player".^[85] Scott Meslow of The Atlantic said Ansari "has somehow found a way to make Tom petulant, sexist, and materialistic without ever being unlikable."^[210] New York magazine writer Steve Kandell said, along with Ron Swanson, Andy Dwyer usually steals the episodes he appears in.^[211]

Cultural and political impact

In 2019, Parks and Recreation was ranked 54th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.^[212] Vox and the Rolling Stone both named Parks and Recreation as the television show that "defined" the cultural zeitgeist of the Obama Presidency.^[213]

Alan Sepinwall wrote in Rolling Stone:

Few series in recent memory have been as clearly tied to a moment — and, specifically, a presidential administration — as Parks and Rec. The show's belief in the power of government to make people's lives better — and, more broadly, in the obligation members of a community (be they friends, family, or, as Ron Swanson once put it, "workplace proximity associates") have to help one another in times of need — made it the standard-bearer for the hopefulness of the Obama era.^[214]

The conservative political magazine National Review argues;

Even television shows that are legitimately funny, such as NBC's Parks and Recreation, are designed to flatter the sensibilities of those in charge. In Parks and Rec, self-proclaimed nerds and wonks have adopted liberal bureaucratic functionary and occasional elected official Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) as one of their own. Her overeager chirpiness and her constant ability to one-up her hyper-libertarian boss mark her as a role model for those who believe that government is a force for good rather than a necessary evil.^[215]

U.S. News & World Report commented on the series finale:

Parks and Recreation never lost the Obama-like belief in government powered by goodwill and consensus. But the obstructionism of the Obama years made this vision seem fantastical, stoking a desire for hardheaded partisans who would get things done.^[216]

Time magazine's television critic James Poniewozik argued:

Parks became network TV's best and brightest sitcom by embodying the slogan that all politics is local....But there's a big idea in Parks' small-scale vision. In the frame of today's politics, it might be a liberal notion, but it's one that for much of the 20th century was centrist, and even championed by Republicans like park lover Teddy Roosevelt: that we need government to do things the private sector can't or won't, like preserving public spaces.... Parks argues not only that we need our neighbors' help but that helping makes us better ourselves; it's in the small-town, populist tradition of Friday Night Lights and It's a Wonderful Life.^[217]

Ratings

Parks and Recreation struggled in the Nielsen ratings throughout its entire run on NBC.^[27] The series premiere was seen by 6.88 million viewers,^[218] which media outlets described as a strong opening, comparable to the average Nielsen ratings for 30 Rock, another Thursday-night show on NBC.^[218][239] Viewership declined every week over the rest of the season,^[84] culminating in a season low of 4.29 million viewers for the final episode.^[219] Parks and Recreation ended the first season with an overall average rating of 5.97 million viewers, ranking 94th in a list of 193 network shows for the 2008–09 television season.^[220] Low viewership presented a greater challenge for Parks and Recreation because NBC now trailed CBS, ABC, and Fox in the ratings, and the move of comedian Jay Leno from The Tonight Show to a variety show in NBC's 10:00 pm weeknight slot left less room on the network's primetime schedule.^[15] At the end of the season, members of the cast and crew were stressed because they did not know whether the show would be renewed.^[240][241]

Although Parks and Recreation achieved critical success during the second season, the show continued to suffer in the ratings.^[85] By December 2009, the average episode viewership was 5.3 million viewers, which was lower than the average ratings for other Thursday-night NBC comedy shows like Community's 6.5 million viewers, 30 Rock's 7.3 million, and The Office's 10.1 million.^[85] For the overall second season, Parks and Recreation had an overall average viewership of 4.6 million viewers, making it the 108th ranked network series for the 2009–10 season.^[223] The poor ratings continued into the third season, which ended with an overall average rating of 5.1 million viewers, the 116th ranked network series of the 2010–11 television season.^[226] Michael Schur partially attributed the continually low viewership to a decline in ratings for NBC in general, as well as changing viewer trends due to a large number of available channels.^[27]

Despite the generally low ratings, Parks and Recreation was renewed for a sixth season on May 9, 2013.^[242] NBC had a financial incentive to continue the series, as it owns the distribution rights via its NBCUniversal Television Distribution company: the sixth season put the series over the 100 episodes milestone, making it more viable for syndication.

Accolades

Mike Schur accepts the Peabody for Parks and Recreation. He is joined on stage by Retta, Jim O'Heir, Aubrey Plaza, Aziz Ansari, Adam Scott, Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards.

In 2010, Amy Poehler was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in the second season. Also that year, Parks and Recreation was nominated for the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Nick Offerman for his work in the second season.^[244][245] The second-season premiere episode, "Pawnee Zoo", won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Individual Episode (in a Series without a Regular LGBT Character).^[246][247] Also in 2010, Parks and Recreation received two nominations from Entertainment Weekly's EWwy Awards: Best Comedy Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Offerman.^[248]

In 2011, Parks and Recreation was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and Amy Poehler received her second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.^[249][250] In June 2011, Parks and Recreation was nominated for three awards for the inaugural Critics' Choice Television Awards: Best Comedy Series, Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Poehler, and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Nick Offerman.^[251][252] Also that month, Parks and Recreation was nominated for four TCA Awards: Program of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Offerman and Poehler. Offerman hosted the TCA Awards ceremony that year.^[253]

In January 2014, Amy Poehler won her first Golden Globe award for her portrayal of Leslie Knope. Poehler co-hosted the ceremony with Tina Fey.

Special

In April 2020, the cast reprised their roles for a special episode that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[167] It first aired on NBC and raised funds for Feeding America.