Parks and Recreation was an NBC half-hour comedy that ran from 2009 to 2017. The series was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur who had previously worked together on The Office. Like The Office, Parks and Recreation is a mockumentary-style series, following the Parks and Recreation Department's employees in the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana. The series ran for seven seasons before coming to an end. Although, Parks and Recreation later regrouped for a special reunion episode in April 2020.
What Was Parks and Recreation?
Parks and Recreation primarily focused on Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), the deputy director of Pawnee's Parks and Recreation Department. Knope was an ambitious and passionate woman who was completely dedicated to her profession. Around her was a diverse group of characters, including her boss Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), her best friend Rashida Jones (Ann Perkins) and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) who started the series dating Ann, but ended up married to April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza). Tom (Aziz Ansari), Donna Meagle (Retta) and Garry "Jerry" Gergich (Jim O'Heir) also helped to round out the main cast.
The other three cast members to note are Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, who only appeared in the first two seasons of the series before he left the show. At the end of Season 2, Adam Scott and Rob Lowe joined the cast as Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger respectively. Many fans believe these transitions helped make Parks and Recreation the success it ultimately became.
The series focused on the Parks Department professionally and personally, documenting their relationships, as well as professional successes and setbacks. The gang also dealt with Pawnee's unique residents as they planned large-scale and small-scale projects around the city. The show also included many real-life political figure cameos, such as the then Vice-President, and current President, Joe Biden.
Why Parks and Recreation Ended
Parks and Recreation started and ended with shorter seasons. The reason for this was intentional, and not a result of the network canceling the series. Schur and Poehler both agreed that Leslie's story had reached its natural conclusion for the premise of the series. The show was called Parks and Recreation and the intention was to focus on the small town department. However, by the end of Season 6, Leslie had moved on to the National Government level along with several other characters who had grown out of their humble beginnings.
Despite the fact it was nearly canceled numerous times as a result of low ratings, Parks and Recreation managed to push forward to its intended conclusion and wrap up on its own terms. By being able to end at a specific, predetermined time, the writers and actors resolved their character arcs. The seventh season included a three-year time jump that allowed the writers to set their characters in their final destination without breaking too far from the original form of the series. This is evident in the finale when each character gets their own flash forward through their lives. Parks and Recreation also had a special reunion episode in 2020 that revealed how the characters were spending their time during the global COVID-19 pandemic.