Which improvised scene nearly got Chris Pratt fired? And what
show did Adam Scott leave behind to become Ben Wyatt? Come with us back
to Pawnee and learn the secrets behind "Parks and Recreation."
"Parks and Recreation" co-creator Greg Daniels is also the man responsible for
bringing "The Office" from British TV to American audiences. After turning that show into a hit,
Daniels was tasked with pitching a new series — so he recruited Michael Schur, a producer and writer
for "The Office," to assist. According to The New York Times, the new show wasn't always supposed
to be about a parks & recreation office in a small Indiana town. It was almost a spinoff that existed
in the same universe as "The Office," given its early casting of "Office" alum Rashida Jones.
Everything changed once Amy Poehler joined the show. Fresh off of her run as the longest-serving
female cast member on "Saturday Night Live," the comedian completely changed the trajectory
of Daniels and Schur's planned project. Given her popularity, they decided to put Poehler
at the center of their new mockumentary. Where the show would take place was another question.
Following the 2008 presidential election, Daniels and Schur felt inspired by the
country's growing optimism in regards to politics. Barack Obama had run for
president on a campaign of hope and change, and managed to win. They decided to craft their new
series around Poehler's character of Leslie Knope, an optimist working in public service.
"What I hear when I'm being yelled at is people caring loudly at me."
The role of Leslie in "Parks and Recreation" was written specifically with Poehler in
mind — production was even delayed to accommodate her pregnancy. At the start of the show,
Leslie is the deputy director of the Parks Department in Pawnee, Indiana,
a fictional town whose absurdity rivals that of Springfield from "The Simpsons." It isn't
uncommon for a sitcom to take its time finding its footing, and during the six-episode first season,
Leslie was unfavorably compared to Steve Carrell's Michael Scott from "The Office."
One of the biggest criticisms of Leslie's portrayal in the first season was that her
character came off as incompetent — or as some critics put it, "ditzy." According to co-creator
Schur, their intention was for Leslie to be smart, although perhaps a little naive,
something that didn't initially come across to audiences. Seemingly against all odds, the show
was renewed by NBC for a second season, allowing the writers time to improve the character.
As the show went on, Leslie became more than a punching bag for other
characters — that role went to Jerry. Leslie's optimism doesn't make her naive;
it makes her inspiring. By the end of the series, she's come a long way from the
overly eager park director of the pilot. She's a politician, a leader, and a mother all at once.
"What about bringing Mark on board?" "Which Mark?"
"Which Mark? Mark Brendanawicz. Which Mark…"
Fans of the show's later seasons may have forgotten about Mark Brendanawicz, played
by Paul Schneider. Don't worry — the writers did too. This character, a city planner and on-again
off-again romantic interest of Leslie's, was in the main cast during the first season. However,
according to Michael Schur, they always planned to have Mark's appearances become
rarer as the show went on, to reflect the reality of the careers of city planners.
The end of Season 2 of "Parks and Recreation" coincided with Schneider's departure from the
series. Schur claimed that this was in line with their plans for the character,
but the decision was also influenced by Schneider's increased success in films
like "Bright Star" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." Despite Schur's
claims that Schneider would return for guest appearances, though, that never came to pass.
Despite Mark's importance to the show in the first two seasons,
the character is never mentioned after his departure from Pawnee — not even by
Rashida Jones' Ann Perkins, who dated Mark during the second season. Schneider didn't
return for the show's final season, and told the press that he wasn't interested.
Nick Offerman's mustachioed Ron Swanson is one of the true breakout characters of
"Parks and Recreation." He's the polar opposite of Poehler's Leslie Knope — deadpan, masculine,
and stoic. However, the differences between the two characters goes beyond personality.
Swanson is an outspoken libertarian with a strong opposition to big government,
which puts him at odds with Knope's desire for bureaucratic change in Pawnee. This has some
basis in real-life U.S. politicians, according to the series' co-creators.
As Michael Schur has told it, Swanson's opposition to government control is based
on a libertarian government official the creators met while doing research for
the show. When Schur pointed out the contradiction between the official's
political stance and their office of duty, their response apparently was —
"I don't really believe in the mission of my job."
"I like saying no. It lowers their enthusiasm."
This made for the perfect opportunity to cast Offerman,
who was favored by Schur and Daniels after the actor missed out on a part in "The Office."
Many aspects of Ron Swanson's personality were inspired by Nick Offerman himself.
The two share a lot in common, such as their love of woodworking and the saxophone. When
casting Swanson's antagonistic ex-wife Tammy II, it was Schur's idea to bring
in Offerman's real-life spouse: "Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally. It's safe to say the show
wouldn't be what it is without Offerman's dry humor stealing every scene he's in.
It's hard to imagine "Parks and Recreation" with a different cast,
especially since most of the characters were designed with certain actors in mind. At least,
that's what happened with Aubrey Plaza's role of April Ludgate. At a Q&A with the cast at
the Paley Center, Michael Schur recounted how the show's casting director, Allison Jones,
sent Plaza to him with the preface that she was the "weirdest girl she'd ever
met." It only took one meeting for Schur and Daniels to be sufficiently intrigued.
Plaza's account of the meeting is a little different — she
claims she wasn't aware she was auditioning for anything. Still,
it inspired Schur to write a scene between Leslie and an assistant named "Aubrey." The character,
over the course of developing the pilot, evolved into April, the parks and recreation department's
apathetic intern with a morbid sense of humor. April, along with Ron Swanson,
became one of the show's breakout characters and launched Plaza's career into the A-list.
It's not hard to see how Plaza's personality inspired the character. Like April,
she seems to relish uncomfortable situations, often making use of the deadpan humor that
turned April into a fan favorite. Any interview between Aubrey Plaza and Conan O'Brien can give
fans of "Parks and Recreation" an idea of how that first meeting with Schur might have gone.
"My mother has all my baby teeth in her underwear drawer."
"...what?"
Before Chris Pratt became Star-Lord, the wisecracking leader of Marvel's "Guardians of
the Galaxy," he broke out as the dim-witted Andy Dwyer on "Parks and Recreation." The character
debuts in the pilot as the boyfriend of Rashida Jones' Ann, whose legs are broken after he falls
in the empty construction pit that the first season centers around filling. As it turns out,
their breakup at the end of that season was meant to be the end of Andy's time on the show.
Fortunately for Pratt, the producers liked the character so much that he was promoted from
guest star to main cast for Season 2. In order to allow him to bump into other members of the cast,
Andy was given a job as a shoe shiner at city hall. An early idea from the writers
would have seen Andy eventually become mayor of Pawnee by the end of the series,
since everybody who meets him loves him. Sadly, this idea never came to fruition,
but Andy did take on several other jobs throughout the show, serving as Leslie's
campaign assistant and the host of "The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show."
Despite Pratt's growing fame during the early 2010s, Andy's presence on the show was never
compromised. In between shooting "Guardians of the Galaxy" along with films like "Zero Dark Thirty,"
Pratt gained and lost weight in order to keep Andy's body shape. According to Pratt, Andy's
weight became vital to his character, underscoring Andy's misplaced confidence in how fit he is.
"So the only thing you did was stop drinking beer?"
"Yeah, I lost fifty pounds in one month."
"How much beer were you drinking?" "Haha, I know, right?"
Leave it to Chris Pratt to have more fun on set than everybody else. Often, his improvisations
made it onto the show — assuming that his co-stars didn't immediately burst out laughing. One of
those unscripted moments, however, almost cost him his job. The scene in question was filmed
for the Season 2 episode "Kaboom," in which Andy shows up to Ann's house completely naked
under the mistaken belief that she wants him back — but Leslie answers the door instead.
On the day of filming, Pratt recognized that Poehler wasn't reacting the way she
would if she actually saw Andy naked — so he surprised Poehler
in his birthday suit. This ended up being the take they used on the show,
meaning that millions of people watched her genuinely react to Pratt's nudity.
When telling this story on talk shows like Graham Norton, Pratt has recounted
how the take led to a formal letter from NBC executives reprimanding him for the
incident. According to Pratt, he has the letter framed and hung in his home office,
but it was enough to keep him from flashing any other cast members... as far as we know.
Prior to playing accounting whiz and former kid mayor Ben Wyatt, Adam Scott was known for
supporting roles in comedies like "Step Brothers" and "Knocked Up" — and he got himself the lead
role of Henry on the Starz sitcom "Party Down." The series had a lot of Hollywood names involved
in its production, including Paul Rudd, "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas, and Fred Savage.
Unfortunately, the show was doomed after two of its stars, Scott and Jane Lynch,
moved on to other projects. Lynch joined the cast of "Glee," while Scott was offered the role of Ben
Wyatt at the end of the second season of "Parks and Recreation." He joined the show alongside Rob
Lowe's Chris Traeger, and his character later began dating Leslie. Ben becomes a central
member of the "Parks and Recreation" family, but that wasn't what drew Scott to the part.
Since the future of "Party Down" was up in the air when "Parks" came calling,
Scott has said it was an easy choice to make. That's especially due to the fact that "Parks
and Recreation" was one of his favorite TV shows at the time. The feeling was mutual
with the showrunners — Scott was their number one choice to play Ben. As for "Party Down," it took
thirteen years, but the show was finally revived and broadcast in 2023 — with Adam Scott included.
Rob Lowe made his "Parks and Recreation" debut alongside Adam Scott in the Season 2 episode
"The Master Plan." His character of government auditor Chris Traeger is positive, energetic, and
health-conscious to an absurd degree, making him a perfect foil for characters like Ron and April.
"If I keep my body moving and my mind occupied at all times,
I will avoid falling into a bottomless pit of despair."
While the role garnered Rob Lowe heaps of praise,
it wasn't always the plan for him to join the main cast.
Chris was meant to be a guest spot for Lowe,
who was initially slated to appear at the end of Season 2 as well as the first six
episodes of Season 3. Between Seasons 2 and 3, though, Lowe signed on to join the main cast.
The addition of Lowe as a series regular was fruitful for Ann Perkins. Rashida
Jones' character had gone through many flings throughout the show — but through Chris Traeger,
Ann found an endgame, and their relationship was well-received by critics and audiences alike.
Comedian and future voice of Sonic the Hedgehog Ben Schwartz portrayed one of
the most popular recurring characters on "Parks and Recreation." He originally met
with creator Michael Schur for a different role, a potential love interest for Leslie
Knope. Though he didn't land the part, the character of Jean-Ralphio Saperstein,
an obnoxious friend of Aziz Ansari's Tom Haverford, was created just for Schwartz.
"Yeah, no, listen, I don't like all this negativity,
man. Why don't you turn that frizown upside-dizzity, huh?"
The more Ben Schwartz appeared on "Parks and Recreation," the more fans fell in
love with Jean-Ralphio. Eventually, the character's family members made appearances,
including his sister Mona-Lisa, played by Jenny Slate, and his father, played by Henry Winkler.
As Jean-Ralphio, Schwartz often improvised his lines, stealing every scene in the process.
Schwartz is no stranger to improv: he came up through Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and even
had a long-form improv show with "Silicon Valley" star Thomas Middleditch. Several blooper reels
from "Parks and Recreation" showcase Schwartz's ability to make his co-stars break character.
Few "Parks and Recreation" pairings seemed as unlikely as Andy Dwyer
and April Ludgate. Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza's chemistry together was undeniable,
but Michael Schur didn't consider them as a couple until the Season 1 finale, "Rock Show." In a brief
moment improvised by Plaza, April is the only one who understands Andy's taste in music.
"I don't really like to define it."
"So, undefinable rock." "You know, again,
the term 'rock' I think defines it." "I totally get what you mean."
The characters got another chance to bond in the Season 2 episode "Hunting
Trip," which found the two alone in the office while the rest of the staff goes
on a hunting trip together. While Andy is still lamenting his breakup with Ann,
April gives him a hickey as a way to make her jealous. This moment becomes the impetus for the
pair's "will-they-won't-they" story throughout the rest of Seasons 2 and 3. April and Andy
get married in Season 3 after dating for a month, which is perfectly in character for both of them.
As the series went on, Andy and April's relationship became a highlight for many
fans. The two were especially hilarious when they role-played as their alter egos,
Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole. April also helped Andy check off items on his bucket list,
such as holding $1,000 in cash in his hands and becoming an action star. They may not be
the most functional adults, but the pair sure do have a delightful relationship.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho babe, you had a crush on me! That's embarrassing!"
"We're married." "Still!"
"Parks and Recreation" came to an end in 2015 after seven seasons, but the show has lived on
through the growing popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. The fanbase
has remained active on social media as well, and the cast often speaks fondly about the
show in hindsight. This persistent popularity led to "A Parks and Recreation Special," a
one-off episode filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, catching up on the characters in
quarantine. Leslie and April also appeared on "Saturday Night Live" in January of 2023.
This did not go unnoticed by NBC when they launched their own streaming service,
Peacock. According to Deadline, NBCUniversal paid approximately nine figures to move "Parks
and Recreation" over to Peacock from Netflix. The actual cost is apparently
not even close to what they paid for "The Office," which was upwards of $500,000,000.
The show's stars may have gone on to other projects,
but they and their fans can always come back to Pawnee, Indiana.