Every once in a while there is a TV show that you just can’t stop watching and you want to binge it all! One of those shows is Parks and Recreation. The show revolves around the Parks and Recreation department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Deputy director Leslie Knope and her team try to make life better for their fellow Pawnee inhabitants by building parks and holding forums and more. Basically everything a department should do.
The show consisted of seven seasons and starred Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Rob Lowe and more. The show ran from 2009 until 2015 and it was a huge hit.
Over the course of the seven seasons, we see Leslie Knope transform from a Deputy Director to a member of the Pawnee City Council to the national director of parks and eventually becomes the governor of Pawnee.
Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation Deputy Director
Leslie Knope is the main character of the show. Initially she was a straight copy of Michael Scott of The Office. But after actress Amy Poehler told writers to make the character extremely cheerful and ambitious and to focus on her quirks, the character really came into her own. And over the course of seven seasons we see her grow from being an awkward woman who’s looking for approval of her mum and pining for a co-worker into a hardworking, committed woman whose ambitions reached further than the city of Pawnee.
Ron Swanson, Parks and Rec Director
Ron Swanson is one of the breakout characters from Parks and Recreation. Better yet, the character was named the funniest character since Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld. The funny part about Ron is his libertarian views and he works in government. Liberatarians seek to eliminate politics from as many things as possible and let capitalism reign free as much as it can.
Ron has a knack for carpenting, which is based on Nick Offerman’s real life hobby, and created his first chair at the age of five.
Though he is a capable manager, he lets Leslie Knope do all the hard work. But he does recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of his co-workers and will intervene when necessary.
Ann Perkins and Chris Traeger
Ann Perkins is Leslie’s best friend. They met in season 1 when her then boyfriend fell into a pit that was eventually turned into a park.
Over the course of seasons Ann and Leslie grew closer and closer. While Leslie never really found the time for dating, until she met Ben, Ann’s a bit promiscuous having a lot of dates over the course of the show.
Eventually Ann meets Chris Traeger and when asks him to be a spermdonor to fullfill her childwish, the two of them fall in love.
Ann and Chris leave the Parks and Recreation department to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan to raise their children there.
Ben Wyatt
Ben Wyatt joined late in season 2. He joined, along with Chris Traeger , in the penultimate episode of season 2. He is socially awkward but an incredible savant when it comes to accounting. One of the running gags of Parks and Recreation is that Ben accepts an accounting job at Tilton & Radomski Accounting only to leave because a better offer comes by. Much to the disappointment of his co-workers there.
Ben’s exemplary job at getting Leslie Knope elected on the city council eventually led to him getting a job as a campaign manager in Washington.
Although madly in love with Leslie starting in season 3, Chris Traeger’s rules of co-workers dating in city hall is prohibited, made life difficult. Eventually Ben leaves city hall to be able to date Leslie.
More characters from Parks and Rec
Other characters from Parks and Recreation include Donna Meagle, a very mysterious woman who’s hedonistic lifestyle made her an enigma in the office. And what about Jerry Gergich, who was often mocked by his colleagues but little did they know that Jerry was just abiding his time to retirement. Although Jerry’s positive things were never told to his office workers, it is believed that Jerry just acted goofy and silly to not raise any suspicion.
Tom Haverford, played by Aziz Ansari, was the underachiever of the bunch. Often talked about his big ambitions but failed often with his enterprises until he became more serious and created Rent-a-swag. He was eventually bought out, in an act of vengeance, by Dr Saperstein who believed that Tom took his daughter’s virginity and was solely responsible for his son’s bankruptcy of Entertainment 720.
Andy Dwyer and April Ludgate complete the cast. April was an intern for Leslie Knope while Andy was dating Ann Perkins at the start of the show. After Andy and Ann break up, he eventually finds love in April’s arms. Together with their three legged adopted dog Champion, they move to Washington at the end of the series, along with Leslie and Ben.
Parks and Recreation revival
Like with many good shows, talks about a revival come up regularly. The good thing about this cast is that they only want to get the band back together if their TV show creator, Mike Schurrs, has a good story for them. They will clear their schedule immediately. With the current political climate worldwide, a political satire will always have a place on TV but maybe just create a new show instead of reviving this instant classic? I say this with Murphy Brown in mind, the premise was great however the jokes were old. If Parks and rec can do better then by all means, go for it.
Have you watched Parks and Recreation? If so, what do you think of it. If not, would you watch the adventures of Leslie Knope? Let us know in the comments!
