We all remember Parks and Recreation season 2: Leslie was trying to fix the pit. Andy
and April began their triumphant weirdo love story. Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt joined
the merry band of civil servants. But do you remember Mark Brendanawicz?
Paul Schneider played Mark, the Pawnee, Indiana city planner who was a relatively central
character on Parks and Recreation's first season and who had a scrapped romance subplot
with Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope. In the second season, Mark's purpose began to flounder despite
a second, and ultimately crumbled, romance with Rashida Jones' Ann Perkins. During the
Parks and Rec season 2 finale, Mark announced he was leaving city government for a job with
a private-sector construction company...
“You know they offered me a buyout and I took it. And so now I work for Norton Construction.”
...which earned him a new nickname from Leslie, "Mark Brendanaquits”, and he was never heard
from again. Chris and Ben's entrance into Parks and Recreation as guest characters on
season 2 proved to be the perfect gift in disguise to slip Mark's departure past everyone
with few questions asked.
Looking back, there are some mysteries left unsolved. Why have Mark leave at all, and
why did Paul Schneider exit Parks and Recreation and never return?
In short, Paul Schneider left Parks and Recreation because he felt sidelined. Several years after
the fact, the actor opened up about his Parks departure in an interview with Screen Crush,
revealing that he felt he'd been at a creative crossroads with the series' writers after
Mark's character was altered from the first season. The early episodes of Parks and Rec
are rougher and feature more tension and disdain between the characters, just like its predecessor,
The Office. Mark Brendanawicz's character is a relic of that previous style, and he
was reportedly an even less likable character in earlier versions of Parks and Recreation.
A shift in emotional perspective came about as the series continued on, and while it worked
out well for many principal characters, it didn't for Mark.
Schneider said of leaving Parks and Rec,
"That experience was very strange for me. You know, I signed up for a specific character
that was changed in mid-season. And it became a character with a lot less to do. And, all
of a sudden, I was kind of confused and kind of having a lot less to do."
At the time news of Schneider's Parks and Recreation exit went public, series co-creator
Michael Schur teased that the actor would be back for future episodes. He said
in March 2010:
"The goal and the aim is to have him come back as soon as his schedule permits and as
soon as the arcs we're writing call for it. We very much want him back and he has told
us he very much wants to come back in the future. It really is one of those mutually
beneficial situations. And we're hoping we can have him back in season 3."
Schneider revealed in April 2014 that he, quote, “had never been contacted” about
returning, and he wasn’t interested in doing so. At the time, Schneider was also sympathetic
that Parks and Recreation didn't exactly know what it was doing at the outset and was, quote,
"very happy for the experience to be involved," but didn't feel any desire to return to a
world that he didn't "know anything about" once the series actually did find its footing.
The first season of Parks and Recreation opened to so-so critical response, and while the
second season was received better critically, that wasn't reflected in the ratings. Parks
and Recreation was more akin to The Little Sitcom That Could than the iconic series it
is today. If we were Paul Schneider circa 2009 during season 2's production, we might
actually anticipate that Parks and Recreation itself, not just Mark Brendanawicz the character,
wouldn't have much staying power. Might as well get out while you can, right? Many shows
that get to a second season despite being on the cancellation bubble don't ever see
a third season, and there's a chance that Schneider felt Parks and Rec wouldn't last
much longer.
Waiting it out probably would have been the wiser bet in the long run, but Schnieder has
enjoyed plenty of work in the years since leaving Parks and Recreation, though none
of it has achieved the same fame and cultural status as the now-beloved sitcom. And it seems
he's perfectly happy with that.
“I’m sorry I called you Mark Bredanaquits.”
“Don’t ever apologize to me.”
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