150-572: The fifth season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network, from September 20, 2012 and concluded on May 2, 2013. This season consisted of 22 episodes. It stars Amy Poehler , Rashida Jones , Aziz Ansari , Nick Offerman , Aubrey Plaza , Chris Pratt , Adam Scott , and Rob Lowe , with supporting performances from Jim O'Heir and Retta . Season 5 focuses on Leslie Knope ( Amy Poehler ) and her staff at
300-714: A Golden Globe Award win for Poehler's performance and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy , and a Peabody Award . In Time ' s 2012 year-end lists issue, Parks and Recreation was named the number one television series of that year. In 2013, after receiving four consecutive nominations in the category, Parks and Recreation won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy . The first season focuses on Leslie Knope ,
450-560: A Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Musical or Comedy Series in 2014 and a Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012. She and Fey won the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for co-hosting SNL . Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts , to school teachers Eileen and William Poehler. Poehler credits her father with encouraging her to break social protocols and take risks. She has one younger brother, Greg , who
600-528: A "sweet, merit-badge-obsessed girl scout". The character of Bessie was inspired by a character Poehler performed doing improv. Season 1 averaged 3.1 million viewers and ranked as one of the top five animated programs in television. Nickelodeon renewed the show for a second season. In 2009 and 2010, Poehler earned Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program . She has been an executive producer on series such as Difficult People and Broad City . In 2014, Hulu ordered
750-557: A 100% fresh rating on the ratings aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes . As of December 28, 2020, the rating remained at 97%. In June 2016, BBC America announced it is developing a scripted series called Zero Motivation . The project is being executive produced by Brooke Posch and Poehler. Poehler is an executive producer on the upcoming series Three Busy Debras , a comedy series being produced for Adult Swim that stars Mitra Jouhari , Alyssa Stonoha, and Sandy Honig. In addition to serving as an executive producer, Poehler also provides
900-557: A 96% approval rating with an average score of 8.7 out of 10 based on 24 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Heartfelt yet hilarious and snarky yet good-natured, Parks and Recreation remains one of the best sitcoms around and only continues to improve". Amy Poehler received her fourth consecutive nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series . Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation (also known as Parks and Rec )
1050-527: A blind script to any staff, she would be hired." Poehler's writing of "The Debate" was recognized with nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Comedy . In addition to writing "The Debate", Poehler also directed the episode. Additionally, she directed the episodes "Article Two" (season five) and "Gryzzlbox" ( season seven ). Poehler and Fey co-hosted
1200-479: A campaign, she realizes she must break up with Ben to avoid scandal. Ben and Leslie restart their relationship and Ben sacrifices his job to save Leslie from losing hers, due to Chris' policy against romantic relationships in the workplace. The Parks Department volunteers to become her campaign staff, with Ben as Leslie's campaign manager. Leslie's campaign faces myriad setbacks against her main opponent, Bobby Newport, and his famous campaign manager Jennifer Barkley. In
1350-515: A celebrity ambassador for Worldwide Orphans Foundation, traveling to Haiti in 2013. The following year, Poehler joined Michelle Obama in Miami to celebrate the four year anniversary of her Let's Move! youth health initiative. Poehler's memoir, Yes Please , was published on October 28, 2014. She explained in a promotional interview with National Public Radio (NPR) that she was "used to writing in characters and not really writing about myself... it
1500-406: A character who would later kiss Jones at some point in the series; he was cast instead as Ron Swanson . Rob Lowe was introduced as Chris Traeger alongside Scott and was originally expected to depart after a string of guest appearances, but later signed a multi-year contract to become a regular cast member. He departed from the series in the season six episode, "Ann and Chris", returning in
1650-496: A construction pit and breaking his legs. Pratt wrote "Ann", a ballad about Ann Perkins, featured in the episode " Boys' Club ". Schur wrote the lyrics to "November", a song featured in "The Master Plan" about April Ludgate. 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
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#17328452460291800-519: A consulting producer starting in the middle of the first season. Allison Jones , who worked as a casting director for The Office , served in the same capacity at the start of Parks and Recreation , along with Nancy Perkins, for whom the character Ann Perkins was named. 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. The pilot episode
1950-591: A deal with Chris and Ben to bring back the Pawnee Harvest Festival, but if the festival fails the Parks Department will be eliminated. After weeks of planning, the festival becomes a tremendous success through Leslie's efforts. Later, Chris returns from Indianapolis to become Pawnee's acting city manager, while Ben also takes a job in Pawnee. April and Andy start dating and, only a few weeks later, marry in
2100-532: A district of Los Angeles. The producers went door-to-door in the neighborhood, seeking residents' permission for the dig. The pit was guarded 24 hours a day. Scenes set in playgrounds and elsewhere outdoors were filmed on location in Los Angeles. 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
2250-513: 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 , while Amy Poehler and Morgan Sackett worked as producers. Dean Holland , an editor on The Office , also worked as an editor on Parks and Recreation . Mike Scully , a former executive producer and showrunner for The Simpsons , joined Parks and Recreation as
2400-539: A half-hour sketch-comedy series on Comedy Central in 1998. Along with other members of the comedy group, Poehler is a founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre . In 2001, Poehler joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live ( SNL ) as a cast member . From 2004 until 2008, she served as co-anchor of the show's news parody segment, Weekend Update . Poehler left SNL halfway through her eighth season to star as Leslie Knope in
2550-458: 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. The set also includes four hallways that make up the hospital setting where Ann Perkins works as a nurse. The construction pit featured throughout the first and second seasons was dug by the episode's producers at an undeveloped property in Van Nuys ,
2700-589: A member as part of its 2017 class. Poehler is a fan of the Beastie Boys . She has a role as a disgruntled cafe patron in the music video for the group's song " Make Some Noise ", which was nominated for the MTV Video of the Year in 2011. Poehler wrote a chapter in the Beastie Boys Book that reviews 17 of the group's music videos. In the chapter, Poehler states, "Beastie Boys mean a great deal to me. Their music
2850-418: A member of the improv comedy troupe My Mother's Fleabag. She graduated from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in media and communications in 1993. Poehler's time studying improv in college inspired her to pursue comedy professionally. After graduating from college, she moved to Chicago , where she took her first improv class, taught by Charna Halpern at ImprovOlympic . Early on, Poehler worked as
3000-508: A member of the regular cast in the fourth episode of season seven. Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios produced Parks and Recreation starting with the first season; the production companies Fremulon and 3 Arts Entertainment also became involved with the show starting with the second season. 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 ,
3150-569: A number of impressions, including Hillary Clinton , Dakota Fanning , Avril Lavigne , Michael Jackson , Kim Jong-Il , Nancy Grace , Kelly Ripa , Katie Couric , Sharon Stone , Sharon Osbourne , Julia Roberts , Britney Spears , Madonna , Paula Abdul , Courteney Cox , Dolly Parton , Dennis Kucinich , Ann Coulter , Nancy Grace , Pamela Anderson , Christian Siriano , Rosie Perez , Catherine Zeta-Jones , Martha Stewart , Anna Nicole Smith , Paula Zahn , Norah O'Donnell , Lindsay Lohan , Marcia Cross and Farrah Fawcett . Beginning with
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#17328452460293300-410: A projected September 2010 air date. 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. This allowed for the network to run its new comedy, Outsourced , in two-hour comedy schedule block rather than Parks and Recreation . The schedule change meant that all sixteen episodes from
3450-469: 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." 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
3600-428: 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." Due to its realistic mockumentary-style cinematography technique, Parks and Recreation does not use composed background music. Several songs were written for the show to be performed by Chris Pratt's character, Andy Dwyer, and his band within
3750-554: A regular cast member starting with season two. Adam Scott left his starring role on the Starz comedy series Party Down to join the series as Ben Wyatt , starting with the penultimate second-season episode, "The Master Plan". Nick Offerman previously auditioned for the role of Michael Scott in The Office , which eventually went to Steve Carell . Offerman was originally considered for another role, but NBC felt that he wouldn't fit for
3900-535: A screen credit for writing some of Joy's dialogue. The film has a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and went on to gross $ 857 million worldwide. Poehler reprised her role as Joy in Inside Out 2 , released on June 14, 2024. Poehler made her film directorial debut with Wine Country , which premiered on Netflix on May 10, 2019. She also stars in the film, along with Maya Rudolph , Rachel Dratch , Ana Gasteyer , Paula Pell , and Emily Spivey . The screenplay
4050-429: A seven-episode story arc about the characters organizing a harvest festival and staking the financial future of their department on its success. 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
4200-495: A sketch and improv group in Chicago in 1991. Early members included Horatio Sanz , Adam McKay , Ian Roberts , Neil Flynn , and Matt Besser , although the membership was not static. McKay left the fledgling group in 1995 and Poehler became his replacement. In 1996, a core group of four UCB members, Poehler, Besser, Roberts, and Matt Walsh , moved to New York City . The "UCB Four" began performing shows at small venues around
4350-505: A special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010, hosted by Betty White . Poehler returned again to host the 2010–2011 season premiere with musical guest Katy Perry . She participated in another SNL prime time special, The Women of SNL in November of that year. Poehler also returned sporadically for appearances on Weekend Update with Meyers, as well as in sketches when Jimmy Fallon (2011) and Maya Rudolph (2012) hosted. In 2015, during
4500-522: A successful business named Rent-A-Swag that rents high-end clothing to teenagers. Leslie and Ben plan a fundraising event for the park, now called the Pawnee Commons, and decide to have an impromptu wedding that night in City Hall. Later, Leslie's changes to Pawnee lead to several locals petitioning for her to be recalled from office. The sixth season begins with the absorption of Eagleton by Pawnee after
4650-594: A surprise ceremony. Tom quits his city hall job to form an entertainment company called Entertainment 720 with his friend, Jean-Ralphio . The business cannot maintain its lavish spending and quickly runs out of money, leaving Tom to return to the Parks Department. Leslie and Ben show romantic interest in each other; however, Chris has implemented a rule that would prevent a superior (Ben) from dating his employee (Leslie). In spite of this rule, Leslie and Ben begin secretly dating. The fourth season deals with Leslie's campaign to run for city council. As Leslie begins preparing
Parks and Recreation season 5 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4800-433: 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. Principal photography began on February 18, 2009, less than two months before
4950-409: A technology company, Gryzzl, to bring free Wi-Fi to the city of Pawnee. Gryzzl engages in intense data mining , inducing Ron, whose new construction company, Very Good Building and Development Company, has been handling their construction needs, to reconnect with Leslie to correct the issue. The principal cast starting in season one included: Several cast members were introduced or developed after
5100-583: A television series. After initially selling a script to FX , the project ultimately landed at Comedy Central where it aired for five years until its 2019 series finale. Poehler appeared in the Season 1 finale. Welcome to Sweden is a Swedish sitcom that premiered in March 2014, and began airing on NBC in the United States three months later. It is based on the experiences of Greg Poehler, who moved with his girlfriend to her native country of Sweden in 2006. The series
5250-401: A waitress and at other jobs to earn money. Through ImprovOlympic, Poehler learned from Del Close , and she was introduced to friend and frequent collaborator Tina Fey . Poehler and Fey joined a Second City touring company at the same time, and Poehler went on to join one of Second City's main companies where Fey was her eventual replacement. The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) formed as
5400-580: A way to garner public support for the unpopular merger, the Parks Department hold a Unity Concert. Later, Leslie reveals she is pregnant with triplets. Leslie takes the job as Regional Director for the National Park Service in Chicago, immediately submitting a proposal to bring the job to Pawnee. The seventh season , though it aired in 2015, takes place in 2017. Ron and Leslie are shown to be enemies due to Ron's company having torn down Ann's old house in order to build an apartment building. Ben convinces
5550-708: A writer. Signing Poehler, who was pregnant with her first child, meant the new series would have to forgo a promised post-Super Bowl debut and cut its first season short, but Daniels and Schur chose to push back the series for Poehler. On July 21, 2008, NBC announced Poehler's new series, Parks and Recreation , saying the project would not be a direct spin-off of The Office , as previously speculated. Parks and Recreation premiered on NBC on April 9, 2009, at 8:30 pm between two episodes of The Office . An ensemble cast including Aziz Ansari , Rashida Jones , Chris Pratt , Aubrey Plaza , Paul Schneider , and Nick Offerman joined Poehler. Poehler played deputy director of
5700-535: Is also a producer and actor. Poehler's ancestry is Irish , along with German , Portuguese , and English ; her Irish roots originate from County Sligo and County Cork . Her great-grandmother immigrated from Nova Scotia , Canada to Boston in the late 1800s. She was raised as a Catholic . Poehler grew up in nearby Burlington, Massachusetts , which she describes as a blue-collar town. Her favorite performers and influences included sketch comedians Carol Burnett , Gilda Radner , and Catherine O'Hara . When she
5850-905: Is an American political satire mockumentary television sitcom created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur . The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. A special reunion episode aired on April 30, 2020. The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope , a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of the fictional town of Pawnee , Indiana . The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins , Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford , Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson , Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate , Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer , Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt , Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz , Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger , Jim O'Heir as Garry "Jerry" Gergich , Retta as Donna Meagle , and Billy Eichner as Craig Middlebrooks . The writers researched local California politics for
6000-493: Is loosely based on a real trip the actresses took together to Napa Valley. Poehler directed the film adaptation of the 2017 novel Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, also for Netflix, which was released on March 3, 2021. In 2022, Poehler directed Lucy and Desi , a documentary film about the lives and relationship of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz . The film premiered on January 21, 2022, at the Sundance Film Festival and
6150-490: Is so rarely on display." The show was a success with critics, but its future was still uncertain. Two episodes were written that could serve as series finales if it was cancelled, including the mid-season episode where Leslie and Ben get married. The show was ultimately renewed for a sixth season in May 2013. Poehler was nominated for an Emmy Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in 2013 for her work in season five. Season six included
Parks and Recreation season 5 - Misplaced Pages Continue
6300-537: The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special , she returned to anchor Weekend Update , this time with Fey and Jane Curtin . Following the success of The Office , NBC ordered a new series from producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur . In July 2008, Variety reported that Poehler was in final negotiations to star in the still untitled series from Daniels and Schur. Poehler and Schur were friends from their time together at SNL , where Schur worked as
6450-407: The 2004–2005 season , she co-anchored Weekend Update with Tina Fey, replacing Jimmy Fallon . Fey and Poehler became the first female co-anchors of the longtime SNL staple. Poehler, Fey, and Maya Rudolph were among the show's biggest stars that season and contributed to a shift in the show to featuring more female driven sketches. When Fey left after the 2005–2006 season to devote time to
6600-531: 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. According to Schur, the special took about three weeks to complete. Morgan Sackett, who previously directed episodes of
6750-586: The COVID-19 pandemic , Poehler and Fey hosted the Golden Globes from separate locations with Poehler in Los Angeles and Fey in New York City. In March 2017, NBC ordered to series a Poehler-produced crafting series, then-titled The Handmade Project . The show, retitled Making It , debuted on NBC in July 2018 with Poehler and her Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman as co-hosts. The debut episode tied for
6900-478: The Golden Globe Awards ceremony for the first time in 2013. The program was watched by 20 million viewers, a 17 percent increase over the previous year. The pair co-hosted again in 2014 as part of a three-year contract. Gilbert Cruz of Vulture wrote: "They killed it last year with their opening monologue and they did so again this year." The 2014 show garnered its highest ratings in ten years. Before
7050-571: The Golden Globe Awards four times in the years 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , and 2021 . Poehler also provided voice acting roles for the animated films Shrek the Third (2007), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Monsters vs. Aliens (2009), Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011), Free Birds (2013), and the Inside Out franchise (2015–present). In 2015, Poehler received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television. She won
7200-488: The National Domestic Workers Alliance to film a public service announcement (PSA) to draw attention to the proposed California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. The law, providing overtime pay to domestic workers, was signed into law the following year. Poehler also supported One Fair Wage , a campaign to require New York businesses to pay tipped workers the general minimum wage. Poehler has served as
7350-466: The fifth season , Leslie begins working as a City Councillor but finds opposition from angry locals and her fellow councilmen. Ben is at his new job on a congressional campaign in Washington DC, alongside April whom he brought along as an intern. Ron begins a romantic relationship with a woman named Diane. Ben returns to Pawnee and proposes to Leslie. They get married midway through the season. Tom starts
7500-400: The financial crisis facing the nation and much of the world when the episodes were produced. 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. The third season included
7650-889: The 2008–2009 season finale, Poehler returned to co-host Weekend Update and joined host Will Ferrell 's version of the Billy Joel song " Goodnight Saigon ". Off camera, Poehler was a prolific writer. She often collaborated with writer Emily Spivey . Meyers described Poehler as "the most generous laugher" during sketch read-throughs. Poehler would also take it upon herself to welcome guest hosts during rehearsals and try to make them feel comfortable during their stint on SNL . Although she had already left SNL , Poehler joined Meyers in September 2009 for two episodes of Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday , which aired in prime time and led directly into Parks and Recreation . She returned to SNL along with other past female cast members for
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#17328452460297800-418: The 2015 Golden Globes, Poehler confirmed it would likely be the last time she and Fey hosted. Rolling Stone wrote afterward that the pair "left no superstar unscathed during their riotous opening monologue" in which they "casually roasted the assembled masses". At the 2020 Television Critics Association winter press tour, NBC announced Poehler and Fey would host the Golden Globes again in 2021. Because of
7950-622: The City Council race, and returned for two episodes in the final season. The series has had cameos by several real-life political figures, including then Vice President Joe Biden , Senator Barbara Boxer , former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich , Senator John McCain , Michelle Obama , former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright , and Senators Olympia Snowe , Cory Booker , and Orrin Hatch . Immediately after Ben Silverman
8100-471: The Parks Department Leslie Knope in the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana . After the first season had received a mixed reception, the show's second season received more positive reviews. One key change between seasons one and two was to distinguish the character of Leslie from Michael Scott , the central character of The Office . Parks decidedly down-played Leslie's ditziness from
8250-634: The Party , an online community and digital web series aimed at empowering girls. The first season premiered online on November 17, 2008, with Mattel 's Barbie signed on as the lead sponsor. Smart Girls at the Party returned in 2012 as part of the YouTube Original Channel Initiative that focused upon the creation of new content. The new Smart Girls at the Party YouTube Channel went live on July 2, 2012, including new episodes of
8400-599: The Third (2007), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel , Monsters vs. Aliens (both 2009), Hoodwinked Too!: Hood vs. Evil (2011), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), The Secret World of Arrietty (2012), Free Birds and Inside Out (2015). In Pixar's Inside Out , Poehler provides the voice for the main character, Joy , an emotion living inside an 11-year-old girl. Poehler also received
8550-550: The U.S. box office. Poehler and Fey also co-starred in the movie Sisters (2015). Other film credits include: Envy (2004), Southland Tales (2006), Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006), Blades of Glory (2007), Mr. Woodcock (2007), Hamlet 2 (2008), Spring Breakdown (2009), A.C.O.D. (2013), and They Came Together (2014) and The House (2017). Poehler has also voiced several characters in animated films. Her voice-over credits include: Shrek
8700-542: The biggest viral video of the year. Days after the season premiere, NBC announced Poehler, pregnant with her first child, would not return after her upcoming maternity leave. On the October 25 episode, Meyers announced during Weekend Update that Poehler was in labor. At the end of Weekend Update , special guest Maya Rudolph and cast member Kenan Thompson sang a custom rendition of " Can't Take My Eyes Off You " for Poehler. Poehler had been rehearsing for that week's show until
8850-472: The box office worldwide and saw its popularity continue to rise after its release on DVD. In 2008, she starred in Baby Mama , which reunited her with Tina Fey. Poehler plays trashy Angie Ostrowiski, who is hired by Fey's Kate to be her child's surrogate mother. The film opened on April 25, 2008, and was the number one movie at the box office in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross over $ 60 million at
9000-482: The cameras in one-on-one interviews with the documentary crew members. 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. 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]
9150-404: The cast and crew of Parks and Recreation , although Poehler also pointed out it gave them additional time to go back and re-edit episodes or shoot and add new material. 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
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#17328452460299300-412: The city which evolved into four regular live shows after a few months. To earn money outside of the shows, UCB taught improv classes. Poehler also started making appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien , often playing her recurring role as Andy Richter 's younger sister, Stacy. In 1998, Comedy Central debuted UCB's eponymous half-hour sketch-comedy series . During the show's second season,
9450-468: The comedy Difficult People , as the streaming service's first ever scripted series. Starring Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner , Difficult People ran for three seasons. Broad City grew out of a web series starring Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer . Jacobson and Glazer used their connections at UCB to approach Poehler about starring in the finale of their web series. Poehler agreed to appear in it and then joined Jacobson and Glazer to executive produce
9600-553: The day before the birth. After giving birth, Poehler appeared during a pre-taped " SNL Presidential Bash '08" prime time special on November 3. Despite the prior announcement that Poehler would not return after her maternity leave, she came back for two more live episodes. During the December 13 Weekend Update Poehler announced that it was her last show. Saturday Night Live aired a special, "The Best of Amy Poehler", in April 2009. For
9750-483: The department only for college credit and does not care about the job, which Plaza thought would be an interesting, comedic contrast with Poehler's character. They liked the concept for the character and created April Ludgate . Chris Pratt was originally intended to be a guest star, with his character Andy Dwyer initially meant to appear only in the first season, but the producers liked Pratt so much that, almost immediately after casting him, they decided to make him
9900-582: The deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional town of Pawnee , Indiana . Local nurse Ann Perkins demands the construction pit beside her house created by an abandoned condo development be filled in after her boyfriend, Andy Dwyer , fell in and broke both legs. Leslie promises to turn the pit into a park, despite resistance from the parks director Ron Swanson , an anti-government libertarian . City planner Mark Brendanawicz – for whom Leslie harbors romantic feelings – pragmatically insists
10050-415: The difference between what goes on behind closed doors and what people present to the public is a huge issue." 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. Due to the improvisational acting and hand-held camerawork, a great deal of extra footage
10200-440: 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. 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. Early in the season, editor Dean Holland developed
10350-473: The earliest stages of the development of Parks and Recreation . While Aubrey Plaza was in Los Angeles for a film, casting director Allison Jones, who cast the film Plaza was working on, asked her if she wanted to attend a meeting with a showrunner of The Office who was developing a pilot. A fan of The Office , Plaza agreed. According to Schur, Jones said to him, "I just met the weirdest, funniest girl I've ever met in my life, you should meet with her." At
10500-473: The encouragement of improvisation among the cast, even though the episodes were scripted. The series was scheduled as a mid-season replacement, and was rushed to meet the premiere date of April 9, 2009. 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. Schur said at PaleyFest that he and Daniels approached casting with
10650-509: The end of filming the second season, Poehler was once again pregnant. The show began producing the first six episodes of season three without a break to accommodate her pregnancy. Poehler was nominated again for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy in 2011. That same year, the show won a Peabody Award for "developing a hilarious venue to explore the good side of American democracy in an age when that side
10800-403: The episode " Pawnee Zoo " included social commentary about same-sex marriage . " The Stakeout " included a parody of the controversial arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates , and a sex scandal involving a Pawnee councilman in " Practice Date " mirrored the real-life 2009 scandal of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford . Starting in the middle of the second season,
10950-470: The episode " Practice Date " led him to be established as the inept co-worker the rest of the department callously picks on. Donna was developed as a sassy hedonist whose mysterious life is occasionally hinted at. It was not until the third season they became considered regular cast members, and were added to the opening credits during the sixth season. Billy Eichner was a recurring cast member as Craig Middlebrooks during season 6, and began being billed as
11100-576: The fifth season moved back to 9:30 pm on Thursdays. In Australia, Parks and Recreation aired on Channel Seven 's digital channel, 7mate . In Canada, the series was simsubbed in most areas on City . In India, it airs on Zee Café . In the Philippines, it airs on Jack TV . In South Africa, the show airs on Pay-TV operator M-Net . In the UK, the show began airing on BBC Four in 2013. The first three seasons aired on this channel before moving to Dave in
11250-413: The film Wet Hot American Summer . Wet Hot American Summer was the first film from David Wain , who cast Poehler based on her work with Upright Citizen's Brigade. The film, which cost only $ 1.8 million to make, was not a success initially when it was released in 2001. It gained a following after its release on DVD. Poehler also appeared in the 2004 movie Mean Girls , written by Tina Fey. Fey wrote
11400-461: 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. 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
11550-447: The first episode produced after the 9/11 attacks . She was promoted from featured player to full cast member in her first season on the show, making her the second cast member, and first woman, to earn this distinction. Poehler's recurring characters included hyperactive ten-year old Kaitlyn, one-legged reality show contestant Amber, and Bronx Beat talk show co-host Betty Caruso. In addition to her original characters, Poehler performed
11700-434: 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. 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. Comedy Central has the rights to air Parks and Recreation through 2024. In June 2020,
11850-443: The first season and emphasized her intelligence, work ethic, and earnest nature instead. A second-season episode, " Galentine's Day ", included a new holiday Leslie created celebrating female friendship on February 13. Galentine's Day has since transcended the show with real-life celebrations. Adam Scott and Rob Lowe joined the show at the end of the second season, with Scott playing Leslie's eventual husband, Ben Wyatt . At
12000-652: The first season: Numerous actors have made recurring guest appearances throughout the series, including Pamela Reed as Leslie's mother and fellow politician Marlene Griggs-Knope , Ben Schwartz as Tom's fast-talking friend Jean-Ralphio and Jenny Slate as his twin sister Mona-Lisa, Jama Williamson as Tom's ex-wife Wendy , Mo Collins as morning talk show host Joan Callamezzo , Jay Jackson as television broadcaster Perd Hapley , Alison Becker as newspaper reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep , Darlene Hunt as conservative activist Marcia Langman, and Andy Forrest as Andy's frequent shoeshine customer Kyle . Megan Mullally ,
12150-406: The former town declares bankruptcy. As the governments merge, Leslie loses the recall vote and returns to the Parks Department full-time, while Ben is voted in as the next City Manager. Tom sells Rent-A-Swag to Jean-Ralphio's father, Dr. Saperstein, in a cash settlement and opens a restaurant called "Tom's Bistro". Ann and Chris, now in a relationship and expecting a baby, leave Pawnee for Michigan. As
12300-452: The founders of UCB and have been credited with popularizing long-form improv in New York. By 2011, UCB had two theaters in New York and a theater in Los Angeles with 8,000 students taking classes per year. Poehler joined the cast of Saturday Night Live ( SNL ) at the start of the 2001–2002 season , after Tina Fey had tried to recruit her for SNL for years. Poehler made her debut in
12450-583: The group founded an improv theater/training center in New York City on West 22nd Street, occupying the space of a former strip club. The UCB Theatre held shows seven nights a week, in addition to offering classes in sketch-comedy writing and improv. In the summer of 2000, Comedy Central canceled the Upright Citizens Brigade program after its third season, although the UCB Theatre continued to operate. Poehler, Besser, Roberts, and Walsh are considered
12600-403: The highest-rated premiere of summer 2018 and earned Poehler and Offerman a Primetime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program . The show returned for a second season which aired in December 2019. NBC has picked up Making It for a third season. In 1999, Poehler had a small role in the movie Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo . The following year, she was cast in
12750-429: The idea of building a show around a female relationship, namely Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins. 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 . 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
12900-506: The idea of finding "the funniest people and we'll tailor the roles to them". Poehler departed from the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live , where she was a cast member for nearly seven years, to star in Parks and Recreation as Leslie Knope . It was only after she was cast that Daniels and Schur established the series' general concept and the script for the pilot was written. Rashida Jones
13050-409: The makeup trailer on set. Poehler wrote several episodes throughout the series, starting with the season two episode " Telethon ". Other episodes she penned include " The Fight " (season three), " The Debate " ( season four ), "Second Chunce" ( season six ), and the finale "One Last Ride". Producer Dan Goor praised Poehler's writing as "exceptionally good" and theorized, "[i]f Amy Poehler submitted
13200-400: The meeting, Daniels asked Plaza about life and what she thought happens when people died and the two had a discussion on the topic. Plaza said that Schur likely found the conversation odd. They told her the idea for the show's pilot and that they were considering giving Poehler's character an assistant that was a doltish blonde. Plaza pitched them instead the character of a smart intern who is at
13350-454: The middle of the election. The economy hadn't collapsed yet, but we got the general sense that the government was going to be playing a more significant role in years to come. We had no idea how right we were. – Michael Schur The writers spent time researching local California politics and attending Los Angeles City Council meetings. Schur said they observed many community hearings were attended only by those opposed, often angrily, to
13500-403: The original spin-off plan because they "couldn't find the right fit". 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. After Amy Poehler agreed to play the lead, they decided
13650-459: The parks and recreation department of the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee. Although not having an overarching storyline like Season 4, this season details the aftermath of Leslie's role as a Councilwoman in Pawnee, and her rivalry with councilman Jeremy Jamm ( Jon Glaser ). Other storylines include Ben Wyatt ( Adam Scott ) and April Ludgate ( Aubrey Plaza )'s career move to Washington D.C., Ann Perkins ( Rashida Jones )'s attempts to get pregnant,
13800-633: The pilot episode were filmed in one of the city's middle schools, 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. 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 "
13950-555: The pit was filled in during the second season. 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. Daniels and Schur wrote the script for the pilot episode in mid-2008. The original script portrayed Leslie and Mark as slightly less likable than they appeared in
14100-591: The progress in Ben and Leslie's relationship, Andy's attempts at becoming a police officer, and Ron Swanson ( Nick Offerman ) meeting single mother Diane ( Lucy Lawless ). Portions of the season premiere "Ms. Knope Goes to Washington" and later episode "Leslie vs. April" were shot in Washington, D.C. in July 2012. These episodes featured cameo appearances from senators Barbara Boxer , Olympia Snowe , and John McCain , and then Vice President Joe Biden . The tenth episode of
14250-441: The project is unrealistic due to government red tape , but nevertheless secretly convinces Ron to approve the project. Leslie and her staff, including her assistant Tom Haverford and intern April Ludgate , try encouraging community interest in the pit project, but meet resistance. In the second season , the pit is eventually filled in because Leslie takes it upon herself to fill in the pit without permission, not realizing Andy
14400-489: The proposals under consideration. This fact became a major component of town hall scenes and was the basis for the " Canvassing " episode. The writers consulted with real-life government officials such as urban planners and elected officials. Scott Albright, a California city planner, provided direct feedback for the Mark Brendanawicz character, and the inspiration for Ron Swanson's anti-government convictions came from
14550-403: The real-life wife of Nick Offerman, portrayed Ron's ex-wife Tammy in the second season's " Ron and Tammy ", a role she reprised in later episodes. Lucy Lawless and Jon Glaser have recurring roles in the fifth and sixth seasons. Lucy Lawless plays Ron's love interest and later wife Diane Lewis. Jon Glaser plays Leslie's arch enemy on the city council Jeremy Jamm. Mullally's performance
14700-484: The role of self-described "cool mom" with Poehler in mind; however, Fey and director Mark Waters had to push for Poehler's casting. The studio had been wary of casting too many SNL cast members and were concerned that Poehler was too young to play the mother of Rachel McAdams , who is only seven years younger than her. Poehler filmed the role in Toronto during the week while filming SNL . The movie grossed $ 129 million at
14850-401: 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. Another distinction from The Office is while almost all footage from that show is filmed in a workplace setting,
15000-471: The season 3 episode, " Andy and April's Fancy Party "). The album features guest vocals from Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson and Jeff Tweedy as Scott Tanner. Pratt stated on Rob Lowe's podcast Parks and Recollection that he was not involved with the project or its promotion. On the weekly Billboard charts , The Awesome Album debuted at number 2 on Comedy Albums , number 11 on Heatseekers Albums , and number 17 on Top Album Sales . Parks and Recreation
15150-458: The season finale of a 13-episode run as the writers were unsure how many episodes would be commissioned. Eventually, 22 were ordered and the episode "Women in Garbage" was shown earlier in the schedule despite being written as one of the season's "back nine". denotes an extended episode. The fifth season of Parks and Recreation received highly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes , the season has
15300-479: The season, "Two Parties", featured scenes shot in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium and St. Elmo Steak House in December 2012. This episode included cameos from Indianapolis Colts players Andrew Luck and Reggie Wayne and owner Jim Irsay , Indiana Pacers players Miles Plumlee and Roy Hibbert , and Newt Gingrich . The fourteenth episode of the season, "Leslie and Ben", was initially written to serve as
15450-495: The season. Jones returned in the series finale, along with the COVID-19 pandemic special. Paul Schneider was cast as Mark Brendanawicz . He said early in the series he was insecure in the role because he was still trying to figure out the character's motivations. Schneider left the cast after the second season and the character is not referenced at any point during the remainder of the series' run. Similarly with Jones, Daniels and Schur had intended to cast Aziz Ansari from
15600-424: The second season were to build more of the show around the relationship between Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson; transforming Chris Pratt's Andy from the villain of the show to a lovable man-child; and "letting Tom and April be intimidated by Leslie rather than scornful of her." The staff also decided to move on from the construction pit story arc, having the pit filled in the second-season episode "Kaboom". Although it
15750-406: The series along with additional shows by Poehler, Walker, and Miles. Four years after the launch of Smart Girls at the Party , digital network company Legendary Entertainment acquired ownership of the project. Poehler said in a statement, "We at Smart Girls are excited to be working with Legendary and look forward to providing funny and inspirational content for all of the goofballs out there." By
15900-529: The series and consulted with urban planners and elected officials. Leslie Knope underwent major changes after the first season , in response to audience feedback that the character seemed unintelligent and "ditzy". The writing staff incorporated current events into the episodes, such as a government shutdown in Pawnee inspired by the real-life global financial crisis of 2007–08 . Real-life political figures, including John McCain , Michelle Obama , and Joe Biden , have cameos in later episodes. Parks and Recreation
16050-431: The series finale and the 2020 special. Jim O'Heir and Retta made regular appearances respectively as Garry "Jerry" Gergich and Donna Meagle since the first season, but their personalities did not become developed until the second season. Schur said the Parks and Recreation staff liked the actors so he decided to include them in the show and "figured we'd work it out later". A throwaway joke at Jerry's expense in
16200-465: The series since then has included one of those two lyrics. 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. 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. The song
16350-521: The series started seven years earlier after Poehler remarked Lyonne was always "the oldest girl in the world." Poehler and Lyonne liked the idea of a female character being many things at once but joked the only way to have a female character that complex would be to re-do the part repeatedly. The idea evolved into the series where Lyonne's character dies repeatedly on her 36th birthday. Poehler, Lyonne, and Headland put together an all-female team of writers and directors. The series debuted on Netflix with
16500-449: The series would revolve around an optimistic bureaucrat in small-town government. Production was delayed to accommodate Poehler's pregnancy. 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 . The staff was also drawn to
16650-418: 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
16800-684: The series. Norm Hiscock , a consulting producer, wrote a number of episodes, including the first-season finale "Rock Show" and second-season premiere " Pawnee Zoo ". Other regular screenwriters included Katie Dippold , Dan Goor , Aisha Muharrar , Harris Wittels , and Alan Yang . Frequent Parks and Recreation directors include Dean Holland , Randall Einhorn , Troy Miller , and Jason Woliner , with several others guest-directing one or two episodes such as Jeffrey Blitz , Paul Feig , Tucker Gates , Seth Gordon , Nicole Holofcener , Beth McCarthy-Miller , Michael McCullers , and Charles McDougall . When we were talking about this, we were in
16950-479: The show also began airing on IFC in the United States, which they had the rights to until 2024. By 2018, Parks and Recreation was available for streaming on Hulu , Netflix , and Amazon Prime Video . Viewership on Hulu increased by 32% in 2017 over the previous year. According to Nielsen data, Parks and Recreation was one of the ten most-streamed shows on Netflix in 2018 based on time spent watching. Analytics from Jumpshot measured Parks and Recreation as
17100-488: The show premiered. The show faced early production delays because Poehler was pregnant when she signed on, and filming had to be postponed until she gave birth. The show was filmed in Southern California. The exterior of the Pawnee government building, and several of the hallway scenes, were shot at Pasadena City Hall . The parks and recreation department interiors, as well as the City Hall courtyard, were filmed on
17250-470: The show with the third most views for 2018. 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. Variety reported the streaming deal was worth nine figures. A limited number of rotating episodes were also available through the Comedy Central app and website. In April 2020, amidst
17400-463: The show's 100th episode, "Second Chunce", co-written by Poehler and Schur. In 2014, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy at the 71st Golden Globe Awards , which she co-hosted with Tina Fey. In the middle of season six, Poehler and Schur decided that it felt like the right time to plan the end of the show. They met with representatives from NBC, who agreed. The show
17550-493: 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. Rivers also wrote most of the music performed by Mouse Rat. Pratt and the other band members played live during filming of the episode, rather than being pre-recorded and dubbed later. One song featured in "Rock Show", called "The Pit", chronicles Andy's experience falling into
17700-488: The sitcom Parks and Recreation , which she produced and starred in until 2015. Poehler served as an executive producer on the television series Welcome to Sweden , Broad City , Difficult People , Duncanville , Three Busy Debras , and Russian Doll . She frequently collaborated with Tina Fey on SNL and later acted with her in the feature films Mean Girls (2004), Baby Mama (2008), Sisters (2015), and Wine Country (2019). Fey and Poehler hosted
17850-574: The sitcom she created, 30 Rock , Seth Meyers joined Poehler at the Weekend Update anchor desk. In 2008, Poehler was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series , the first year SNL cast members were eligible for the category. The SNL premiere of the 2008–2009 season opened with Fey and Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton , respectively discussing sexism in political campaigning . The sketch, which Poehler co-wrote with Meyers, became
18000-505: The special to help "make it look like not everyone was just sitting alone in their houses staring at their computers". Amy Poehler Amy Poehler ( / ˈ p oʊ l ər / POH -lər ; born September 16, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. After studying improv at Chicago 's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade . The group moved to New York City in 1996, where their act became
18150-409: The staff was treating the entire six-episode season as if it were a single television pilot. 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. During the first season,
18300-478: The summer of 2015, starting with season 4. 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. Syndicated episodes have aired on multiple cable networks including NBCUniversal owned Esquire Network (after relaunching from Style ) and WGN America . The pilot episode also served as
18450-446: 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. The winning entry was written by Gaby Moreno and Vincent Jones . 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. He said Moreno and Jones' song "does
18600-426: The third season were filmed before any of them were shown; the rest of the episodes, starting with the seventh, were filmed in the fall of 2010. 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. The move proved frustrating for
18750-494: The time of the deal, over five million views were registered on its YouTube channel and over 550,000 fans had liked the initiative on Facebook. On the Smart Girls YouTube channel, viewers have the opportunity to ask for life advice from Poehler in segments called Ask Amy . Smart Girls celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018. Poehler has championed a number of social and political causes. In 2012, she collaborated with
18900-503: The voices for two main characters in the series Duncanville , which premiered on Fox on February 16, 2020. In 1999, Poehler and Tina Fey provided voices for the video game Deer Avenger 2: Deer in the City . In 2000, still unknown at the time, she appeared on the cover of the single " You Can Have It All " by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo . In September 2008, Poehler, Meredith Walker, and Amy Miles founded Smart Girls at
19050-538: The writers focused and, in Schur's words, helped "organize our tired, end-of-the-year brains". 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. Like The Office , Parks and Recreation
19200-421: 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. The financial difficulties Pawnee experiences during the late second-season and third-season episodes were reflective of
19350-430: 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. As critic Alan Sepinwall observed, three other significant changes for
19500-496: 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." The first-season episodes were written and developed relatively quickly after each other, and Schur said
19650-521: Was among the first to be cast by Daniels and Schur in 2008, when the series was still being considered as a spin-off to The Office , where Jones had played Jim Halpert 's girlfriend Karen Filippelli , who formerly worked at the Stamford Branch but was soon transferred to the Scranton Branch in the third season. She departed in the middle of season six, and returned for a guest appearance later in
19800-399: Was broadcast in the 8:30 pm timeslot Thursdays on NBC, in the United States, during its first two seasons, as part of the network's Comedy Night Done Right line-up. It was moved to a 9:30 pm timeslot during its third season, where it premiered as a mid-season replacement . In September 2011, the show returned to its original 8:30 pm timeslot for the fourth season. In 2012,
19950-482: Was canceled by NBC on July 28, 2015, after two seasons due to low ratings. Amy Poehler makes cameo appearances in multiple episodes as herself as a celebrity client of her brother's character, a former New York tax accountant. She is also co-executive producer with him. Poehler, along with Natasha Lyonne and Leslye Headland , created and executive produced the comedy-drama series Russian Doll for Netflix. The series premiered on February 1, 2019. The genesis of
20100-587: Was easier to share the early parts of my life rather than my own current events." Topics covered in the book include body image, parenthood, and learning about the limitations of physical appearance. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list . In 2011, Poehler was included on Time ' s " 100 most influential people in the world ". She also delivered the Class Day address to Harvard University 's class of 2011. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Poehler to become
20250-593: Was filmed at a real-life festival setting at Los Angeles Pierce College , a community college in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Schur said an aerial shot of the harvest festival at the end of the episode was the most expensive shot in the entire series. 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
20400-407: 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
20550-470: Was in the pit. Andy became injured and works with Leslie to threaten to sue the city of Pawnee unless the pit was filled. Mark leaves his city hall career for a private sector job. Meanwhile, a crippling budget deficit leads state auditors Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt to shut down the Pawnee government temporarily. The third season opens with the Pawnee government reopened, but with budget cuts frustrating Leslie's attempts to provide services. Leslie makes
20700-406: Was named co-chairman of NBC 's entertainment division in 2007, he asked Greg Daniels to create a spin-off of The Office . 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. According to Daniels, they eventually abandoned
20850-627: 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. 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
21000-611: Was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program . The film was nominated for a total of six Emmy Awards, winning two. In 2001, Poehler set up her own production company, Paper Kite Productions , which is part of Universal Television . As of 2019, the production company's staff is all female. To describe her success as a producer, The Hollywood Reporter called Poehler "a powerful arbiter of sophisticated comedy." Poehler co-created, produced, and starred in an animated series for Nickelodeon titled The Mighty B! , about Bessie Higgenbottom,
21150-431: 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. Also starting with the second season, the writers made an effort to be more topical and incorporate current events into their scripts. For example,
21300-526: Was part of NBC's " Comedy Night Done Right " programming during its Thursday night prime-time block . The series received mixed reviews during its first season (including comparisons to The Office , a sitcom also produced by Daniels and Schur), but, after a re-approach to its tone and format, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed. Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including 14 Primetime Emmy Award nominations (two for Outstanding Comedy Series ),
21450-437: Was performed by the show's cast in the 2020 reunion special. A Mouse Rat album, The Awesome Album , was released by Dualtone Records and Entertainment 720 (a fictional company within the show, created by Tom Haverford) on vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital download on August 27, 2021. The album was announced with the release of two singles: "The Pit" (from the season 1 finale, " Rock Show ") and "Two Birds Holding Hands" (from
21600-423: Was released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on March 4, 2022. The film includes home audio recordings of Ball and Arnaz that had not before been made public as well as interviews with their two children, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr. , Lucy's brother Fred Ball , Carol Burnett , Bette Midler and Norman Lear , among others. The film was well received, with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes . Poehler
21750-445: Was renewed for a final thirteen-episode season. Poehler and Schur co-wrote the final episode of the series, "One Last Ride", which aired on February 24, 2015. By season 5 , in addition to starring on Parks and Recreation , Poehler was also a producer. Behind the scenes, Poehler started a tradition of inviting the show cast and crew to a group dinner the last night of any location shoot. Poehler would start impromptu dance parties in
21900-501: Was shot that had to be discarded for the final cut; for example, the original cut of the 22-minute pilot was 48 minutes long. The producers filmed about nine pages of the script each day, a large amount by U.S. television standards. 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
22050-478: Was ten years old, Poehler played Dorothy Gale in her school's production of L. Frank Baum 's The Wizard of Oz . The experience inspired Poehler's love of performing. Poehler continued acting in school plays at Burlington High School . She also participated in other activities during her time in high school including student council, soccer, and softball. After graduating from high school in 1989, she enrolled at Boston College . During college, Poehler became
22200-541: Was the soundtrack I heard while I sat in my room, drank in the woods, and rode my bike to my dead-end job." She is also featured as a voice on the audio version of the book. Poehler's weekly scripted podcast series, Say More with Dr? Sheila , was released on September 21, 2023. Poehler married Canadian actor Will Arnett on August 29, 2003. They met in 1996 when he saw one of her performances and they started dating four years later. During their relationship, Poehler and Arnett worked together on several projects, including
22350-839: Was well received, which made the Parks and Recreation producers feel more comfortable about using celebrity guest actors in later episodes. Other such celebrity guests included: Blake Anderson , Fred Armisen , Will Arnett , Kristen Bell , H. Jon Benjamin , Matt Besser , Chris Bosh , Louis C.K. , The Decemberists , Sam Elliott , Will Forte , Ginuwine , Michael Gross , Jon Hamm , Nick Kroll , John Larroquette , Andrew Luck , Letters to Cleo , Natalie Morales , Parker Posey , Kathryn Hahn , Andy Samberg , J. K. Simmons , Roy Hibbert , Detlef Schrempf , Justin Theroux , Wilco , Henry Winkler , Peter Serafinowicz , and Yo La Tengo . Paul Rudd appeared in several season four episodes as Bobby Newport, Leslie's opponent in
22500-457: Was written by Daniels and Schur, and directed by Daniels. 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 ", " The Master Plan ", and " Time Capsule ". Poehler wrote three episodes: " Telethon " in season 2, " The Fight " in season 3, and " The Debate " in season 4 (for which she
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