180-468: The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series based on the 2001–2003 BBC series of the same name created by (and starring) Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant . Adapted for NBC by Greg Daniels , a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live , King of the Hill , and The Simpsons , the show depicts the everyday work lives of the office employees at Scranton, Pennsylvania , branch of
360-714: 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 ,
540-524: A buyout of the Michael Scott Paper Company, the three are rehired with Pam promoted to sales and Ryan returning as a temp. During the chaos a new receptionist, Erin , is hired to fill the vacancy originally left by Pam. The season ends with a scene that subtly alludes to Pam's (unplanned) pregnancy. The sixth season consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 22 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes. Jim and Pam marry and have
720-406: A 40-minute time slot. Season three introduced the first of occasional hour-long episodes (approximately 42-minute running time, also suitable for being shown as two separate normal episodes in reruns). The first season consists of six episodes; the shortest season of the series. The series starts by introducing Dunder Mifflin 's employees via a tour given by branch manager Michael Scott for both
900-466: A Comedy Series . Carell was reportedly paid $ 175,000 per episode starting in the third season. Krasinski and Fischer were paid around $ 20,000 at the beginning of the series, and around $ 100,000 per episode by the fourth season. A typical episode for a half-hour time slot runs 20 + 1 ⁄ 2 minutes. The final episode of season two introduced the first of what would be several "super-sized" episodes that had an approximately 28-minute running time for
1080-421: A baby named Cecelia Marie Halpert. Meanwhile, Andy and Erin develop an interest in each other, but find their inherent awkwardness inhibits his attempts to ask her out on a date during a murder-mystery game meant to distract the members of the office. Jim is promoted as co-manager. Rumors of bankruptcy begin to surround Dunder Mifflin, and by Christmas, Wallace announces to the branch that Dunder Mifflin has accepted
1260-544: A buyout from Sabre Corporation, a printer company. While Wallace and other executives are let go, the Scranton office survives due to its relative success within the company. Michael Scott is now the highest-level employee at Dunder Mifflin. In the season finale , Dwight buys the office park. Michael agrees to make an announcement to the press regarding a case of faulty printers. When Jo Bennett, Sabre CEO, asks how she can repay him, Michael responds that she could bring Holly back to
1440-479: 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
1620-406: 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
1800-496: 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
1980-519: 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
SECTION 10
#17328372786882160-402: A date, which she joyfully accepts. In the final scene, we learn Ryan has been awarded Jan's job. NBC ordered a fourth full season of thirty half-hour episodes but ended with only 19 due to a halt in production caused by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike . The season consists of nine half-hour and five hour-long episodes for a total of 19 episodes of material created. Karen has left
2340-591: 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
2520-532: 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
2700-468: A documentary camera crew and first-day temp Ryan Howard . Salesman Jim Halpert has a crush on receptionist Pam Beesly , who helps him play pranks on co-worker Dwight Schrute , even though she is engaged to Roy Anderson, who works in the company's downstairs warehouse. Rumors spread throughout the office that Dunder Mifflin's corporate headquarters is planning to downsize an entire branch, leading to general anxiety. Still, Michael chooses to deny or downplay
2880-464: A fictional genre in which dramatic techniques are combined with documentary elements to depict real events. Nor should either of those be confused with docufiction , a genre in which documentaries are contaminated with fictional elements. They are often presented as historical documentaries, with B roll and talking heads discussing past events, or as cinéma vérité pieces following people as they go through various events. Examples emerged during
3060-558: A gas station halfway between Scranton and New York City, where they meet for a visit. Pam ultimately returns from New York to Scranton, where Jim has bought his parents' house for the two of them. Having avoided jail and only been sentenced to community service, Ryan bleaches his hair and starts working at a bowling alley. Michael initiates a romance with Holly until she is transferred to the Nashua, New Hampshire branch, Toby returns to Scranton to replace Holly, and their relationship ends. When Andy
3240-513: 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
3420-458: 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 ,
3600-465: A long-term liberal incumbent played by Gore Vidal . Man Bites Dog is a 1992 Belgian black comedy crime mockumentary written, produced, and directed by Rémy Belvaux , André Bonzel , and Benoît Poelvoorde . In 1995, Peter Jackson and Costa Botes directed Forgotten Silver , which claimed New Zealand "director" Colin McKenzie was a pioneer in filmmaking. When the film was later revealed to be
3780-602: A lovable but dim-witted man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges in gambling; and Oscar Martinez ( Oscar Nuñez ), who is intelligent and cultured, but often patronizing, and whose homosexuality and Hispanic heritage made him a frequent target of Michael's unintentional off-color comments. Rounding out the office are the laconic salesman Stanley Hudson ( Leslie David Baker ), who cannot stand Michael's constant references to his Black American heritage (he also does not like to take part in time-wasting meetings and often solves crossword puzzles or sleeps during them);
SECTION 20
#17328372786883960-508: 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 ,
4140-412: A millionaire, to repurchase Dunder Mifflin from Sabre, putting Sabre completely out of business and giving Andy the manager position once again. The final season consists of 25 episodes. Mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of mock and documentary ) is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary. The term originated in the 1960s but
4320-511: A mockumentary about the survival of the megalodon . The Canadian series Trailer Park Boys and its films (1998–present) were one of the first mainstream examples of Canadian mockumentaries. Popular examples in the US include sitcoms The Office (2005–2013), Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), and Modern Family (2009–2020); the American improv comedy Reno 911! (2003–2009); Derek (2012–2014);
4500-415: A mockumentary refers to films, while the term comedy verite refers to TV series, though term is widely used here. The series Documentary Now! (2015–present) on IFC , created by Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Hader , Fred Armisen , and Seth Meyers , spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style and subject of each documentary. Hight argues that television is a natural medium for
4680-456: A mockumentary, Jackson received criticism for tricking viewers. Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan from 2006, and its 2020 sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm , are two controversial yet successful films that use this style, as does Brüno , a similar film from 2009 also starring Sacha Baron Cohen . Sony Pictures Animation released their second animated feature, Surf's Up in 2007, which
4860-446: A mockumentary, as it provides for "extraordinarily rich sources of appropriation and commentary". In 2018, the BBC released the series Cunk on Britain created by Charlie Brooker and starring Diane Morgan about British history with Philomena Cunk, an extremely dim-witted and ill-informed interviewer, asking various experts ridiculous questions. The follow-up Cunk on Earth featuring
5040-430: A new website for online sales; he also learns that his boss, David Wallace , favors Jim, and thus Ryan attempts to sabotage Jim's career. Ryan is soon arrested and fired for misleading the shareholders and committing fraud related to the website's sales numbers. Toby announces he is moving to Costa Rica and is replaced by Holly Flax , who quickly shows a liking for Michael. Pam decides to follow her artistic interests and
5220-410: 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
5400-469: 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
5580-428: 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
The Office (American TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5760-554: 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
5940-580: A relationship, much to Andy's chagrin, and Andy attempts to win Erin's affection back. Holly, Michael's former girlfriend, returns to Scranton to fill in for Toby, who is on jury duty for the "Scranton Strangler" trial. Michael and Holly eventually restart their relationship. After the two get engaged, Michael reveals he will be leaving Scranton to move to Colorado with Holly to support her elderly parents. Jim and Pam adjust to parenthood, while Angela starts dating state senator Robert Lipton and gets engaged off-screen in
6120-451: A secret. Kelly Kapoor develops a crush on Ryan, and they start dating off and on. When Roy finally agrees to set a date for his wedding to Pam, at a company booze cruise, Jim grows depressed and considers transferring to the Stamford, Connecticut branch, but tells Pam in the season finale that he is in love with her. Even though Pam insists she is with Roy, the two kiss, and Jim transfers to
6300-429: 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
6480-445: A similar plot was released by BBC Two in 2022 and is available on Netflix . The BBC series People Like Us was first produced for radio in 1995 before a television version was made in 1999. Kay Stonham 's Audio Diaries was a similarly short tenured radio mockumentary that premiered the year after People Like Us 's run on Radio 4 ended. Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation (also known as Parks and Rec )
6660-522: 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
6840-594: 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
7020-433: 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
7200-409: 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
7380-630: 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
The Office (American TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7560-411: Is a 1978 television film in mockumentary style about The Rutles , a fictional band that parodies The Beatles . The Beatles' own 1964 feature film debut, A Hard Day's Night , was itself filmed in mockumentary style; it ostensibly documents a few typical (and highly fictionalized) days in the life of the band as they travel from Liverpool to London for a television appearance. Since the beginning of
7740-699: Is a Cold-War era American "mockumentary" film that made use of archival government footage from the 1950s. Woody Allen's 1983 film Zelig stars Allen as a curiously nondescript enigma who is discovered for his remarkable ability to transform himself to resemble anyone he is near, and Allen is edited into historical archive footage. In 1984, Christopher Guest co-wrote and starred in the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap , directed by Rob Reiner . Guest went on to write and direct other mockumentaries including Waiting for Guffman , Best in Show , and A Mighty Wind , all written with costar Eugene Levy . In Central Europe,
7920-514: Is a salesman and the Assistant to the Regional Manager, an imaginary title created by Michael. John Krasinski portrays Jim Halpert , a salesman and, in later seasons, assistant manager or co-manager who is known for his wittiness and his practical jokes on Dwight. Halpert is based upon Tim Canterbury and, at the start of the series, is known to have feelings for receptionist Pam Beesly , who
8100-595: Is accepted to attend a three-month graphic design course at the Pratt Institute in New York City. In the season finale, Jim almost proposes to Pam but is interrupted by Andy proposing to Angela, who reluctantly agrees. Phyllis then catches Dwight and Angela having sex in the office. The fifth season consists of 28 half-hours of material, divided into 24 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes, one of which aired after Super Bowl XLIII . Jim proposes to Pam at
8280-905: 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
8460-418: Is another example of this. Daniels has said that it does not count as film score as long as it already appeared in the episode. The Office features an ensemble cast . Many of its characters are based on characters in the original British series. While these characters generally have the same attitudes and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles were modified to fit the American show. The show
8640-489: Is engaged to warehouse worker Roy. Pam, played by Jenna Fischer , is based on Dawn Tinsley . She is shy but often collaborates with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. B. J. Novak portrays Ryan Howard , who for the first two seasons is a temporary worker but is promoted to a sales representative in the third season . He later ascends to be the company's youngest vice president, North East Region, and director of new media until his innovations are exposed as corporate fraud and he
8820-545: Is fired in the third season for attacking Jim; and the vice president for regional sales for Dunder Mifflin Jan Levinson ( Melora Hardin ), who later becomes Michael's rather toxic love interest. Toward the end of season five, the bubbly and naive Erin Hannon ( Ellie Kemper ) is introduced as Pam's replacement at the reception and develops a unique bond with Michael when he becomes almost a father figure in her life. A story arc at
9000-505: Is fired. He then gets a job in a bowling alley and later briefly works for the Michael Scott Paper Company. After this and a stint in rehab, he again eventually ends up as a temporary worker at the Scranton branch. The accounting department includes Angela Martin ( Angela Kinsey ), an uptight and ultra-religious woman who likes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as businesslike as possible; Kevin Malone ( Brian Baumgartner ),
9180-666: Is known for its relatively large cast, and many of its actors and actresses are known particularly for their improvisational work. Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott , regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on David Brent , Gervais' character in the British series, Scott is a well-intentioned man whose oblivious attempts at humor often offend and annoy his peers and employees, and sometimes draw reprimands from his superiors. Rainn Wilson portrays Dwight Schrute , based on Gareth Keenan , who
SECTION 50
#17328372786889360-587: Is later forced to merge the Stamford branch with the Scranton branch. Michael takes this merger very seriously. Transferred to the Scranton branch are saleswoman Karen Filippelli , whom Jim has begun dating, and the anger-prone preppy salesman Andy Bernard , along with other Stamford employees who all eventually quit within the first few episodes of being there. Pam is newly single after calling off her engagement to Roy, and Jim's unresolved feelings for her and his new relationship with Karen lead to shifting tensions between
9540-518: Is made aware of Dwight and Angela's continued affair, both men leave her. Newly hired Vice President Charles Miner implements a rigid managerial style over the branch that causes Michael to resign in protest. Michael opens the Michael Scott Paper Company in the same office building, enticing Pam and Ryan to join as salespeople, and though his business model is ultimately unsustainable, Dunder Mifflin's profits are immediately threatened. In
9720-472: Is that a camera crew is filming Dunder Mifflin and its employees, seemingly around the clock. The presence of the camera is acknowledged by the characters, especially Michael Scott, who enthusiastically participates in the filming. The characters, especially Jim and Pam, also look towards the camera when Michael creates an awkward situation. The show's main action is supplemented with talking-head interviews or "confessionals" where characters speak one-on-one with
9900-400: Is then promoted to regional manager and works hard to make a good impression on Robert, asking Dwight to be his number two. Pam and Jim are expecting their second child, Phillip, at the start of the season, to coincide with Fischer's real-life pregnancy. Angela is also pregnant with her first son, also named Philip, with State Senator Robert Lipton (although it is implied that Dwight Schrute is
10080-531: 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
10260-466: 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
10440-400: 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
10620-406: The 1950s when archival film footage became available. A very early example was a short piece on the " Swiss Spaghetti Harvest " that appeared as an April Fools' prank on the British television program Panorama in 1957. Mockumentaries can be partly or wholly improvised . Early work, including Luis Buñuel 's 1933 Land Without Bread , Orson Welles 's 1938 radio broadcast of The War of
10800-405: The 1980s, the mockumentary format has gained considerable attention. The 1980 South African film The Gods Must be Crazy (along with its 1989 sequel ) is presented in the manner of a nature documentary , with documentary narrator Paddy O'Byrne describing the events of the film in the manner of a biologist or anthropologist presenting scientific knowledge to viewers. In 1982, The Atomic Cafe
10980-463: The British Office series for American television and served as the showrunner for the first four seasons. He then left the position when he co-created the comedy series Parks and Recreation with fellow Office writer Michael Schur and divided his time between both series. Paul Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta were named the showrunners for the fifth season. Celotta left the series after
SECTION 60
#173283727868811160-440: The British series, to appear in the third season, but scheduling conflicts prevented them; however, Ricky Gervais made two appearances in the show's seventh season as David Brent . The Office was filmed with a single-camera setup in cinéma vérité style to create the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track, allowing its " deadpan " and "absurd" humor to fully come across. The show's primary premise
11340-622: 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
11520-497: The Money and Run (1969), The Clowns (1970) by Federico Fellini (a peculiar hybrid of documentary and fiction , a docufiction), Smile (1975) , Carlos Mayolo 's The Vampires of Poverty (1977) and All You Need Is Cash (1978). Albert Brooks was also an early popularizer of the mockumentary style with his film Real Life , 1979, a spoof of the 1973 reality television series An American Family . Woody Allen 's Take
11700-427: The Money and Run is presented in documentary style with Allen playing a fictional criminal, Virgil Starkwell, whose crime exploits are "explored" throughout the film. Jackson Beck , who used to narrate documentaries in the 1940s, provides the voice-over narration. Fictional interviews are inter-spliced throughout, especially those of Starkwell's parents who wear Groucho Marx noses and mustaches. The style of this film
11880-746: The Scranton branch after her breakup with Jim and becomes the regional manager at the Utica branch. A self-employed Jan moves herself and her candle business into Michael's condo, until the dissolution of their relationship midway through the season during an intimate dinner party including Pam, Jim, Andy, Angela and Dwight. This episode showcases what has become a very toxic and unhealthy relationship between Michael and Jan. After Dwight's crude (though well-intentioned) method of euthanasia of Angela's ailing cat without her permission, she leaves him for Andy, leading Dwight into depression. Ryan, in his new corporate life in New York City, attempts to modernize Dunder Mifflin with
12060-499: The Scranton branch after the two offices merge; the shallow and talkative customer service representative Kelly Kapoor ( Mindy Kaling ); the promiscuous alcoholic supply relations representative Meredith Palmer ( Kate Flannery ); human resources representative Toby Flenderson ( Paul Lieberstein ), who is loathed, and often the target of abuse, by Michael; warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin ( Craig Robinson ); warehouse dock worker and Pam's fiancé Roy Anderson ( David Denman ), who
12240-414: The Scranton branch. The seventh season consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 21 half-hour episodes, one "super-sized" episode, and two hour-long episodes. This was the final season for Steve Carell , who plays Michael Scott , as NBC did not renew Carell's contract. Beginning with this season, Zach Woods , who portrays Gabe Lewis , was promoted to a series regular. Erin and Gabe have begun
12420-553: The Stamford branch soon after. The general threat of downsizing continues throughout the season as well. The third season consists of 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour episodes. The total number of episodes is 25. The season starts with a brief flashback to (and additional footage from) the last episode of season two, "Casino Night", when Jim kissed Pam and confessed his feelings for her. Jim briefly transfers to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch after Pam confirms her commitment to Roy. Corporate
12600-466: The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon , both of whom are fans of the series, and filmmakers Jon Favreau , Harold Ramis , Jason Reitman , and Marc Webb . Episodes have been directed by several of the actors on the show including Steve Carell , Rainn Wilson , John Krasinski , B. J. Novak , Ed Helms , Brian Baumgartner , Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein . Before the second episode airing,
12780-485: The World ". The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour (1970–1971) also featured mockumentary pieces that interspersed both scripted and real-life man-in-the-street interviews, the most famous likely being "The Puck Crisis" in which hockey pucks were claimed to have become infected with a form of Dutch elm disease . All You Need Is Cash , developed from an early series of sketches in the comedy series Rutland Weekend Television ,
12960-547: The Worlds , various April Fools' Day news reports, and vérité -style film and television during the 1960s and 1970s, served as precursor to the genre. Early examples of mock-documentaries include various films by Peter Watkins , such as The War Game (1965), Privilege (1967), and the dystopic Punishment Park (1971). Further examples are " The Connection " (1961), A Hard Day's Night (1964), David Holzman's Diary (1967), Pat Paulsen for President (1968), Take
13140-506: The beginning of the third season, Ed Helms and Rashida Jones joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford. Jones later left the cast, becoming a regular on Parks and Recreation in February 2007, and NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular. Four of the show's writers have also appeared in the show. B. J. Novak was cast as the reluctant temp Ryan Howard after Daniels saw his stand-up act . Paul Lieberstein
13320-406: The camera. Actor John Krasinski shot the footage of Scranton for the opening credits when he found out he was cast as Jim. He visited Scranton for research and interviewed employees at actual paper companies. To create the show's documentary style, the producers hired cinematographer Randall Einhorn , known for directing episodes of Survivor , who gave the show its "rough and jumpy" feel. This
13500-482: 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]
13680-404: 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
13860-613: The characters or heard on radios, computers, or other devices; however, songs have been played during montages or the closing credits, such as " Tiny Dancer " by Elton John (" The Dundies ") and " Islands in the Stream " by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (" E-mail Surveillance "). Featured music tends to be well known, and often songs reflect the character, such as Michael's attempt to seem hip by using " Mambo No. 5 " and later " My Humps " as his cell phone ringtone. Michael confusing Lady Gaga 's " Just Dance " with Britney Spears ' " Gimme More "
14040-406: The characters. Producer Michael Schur said that the series would strictly follow the documentary format. The producers and directors had long discussions on how scenes could work in the documentary format. For example, in the fourth-season episode " Did I Stutter? ", a scene featured Michael going through a long process to go to the bathroom without passing Stanley. The producers debated whether it
14220-465: The child's biological father). Darryl starts falling for the new warehouse foreman, Val. Dwight is tasked with traveling to Tallahassee, Florida , to assist Sabre special projects manager Nellie Bertram ( Catherine Tate ) in launching a chain of retail stores, along with Jim, Ryan, Stanley, Erin, and new office temp Cathy Simms . Cathy is also revealed to have ulterior motives for the trip, as she intends to seduce Jim. Still, she fails. Robert later kills
14400-613: The comedy series The Muppets (2015); People Just Do Nothing (2011–2018) and the Australian Chris Lilley shows Angry Boys , Summer Heights High , We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year , Ja'mie: Private School Girl , Jonah from Tonga and Lunatics . Shows currently running in this format include What We Do in the Shadows (2019–present) and Abbott Elementary (2021–present). Strictly speaking,
14580-483: 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
14760-582: 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
14940-415: 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
15120-440: 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
15300-473: 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
15480-473: 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
15660-541: The end of season four has Holly Flax ( Amy Ryan ) transferred to the office as Toby's replacement. She becomes a love interest for Michael, as they share very similar personality traits. Jo Bennett ( Kathy Bates ) is the CEO of Sabre. This company takes over Dunder Mifflin, and Gabe Lewis ( Zach Woods ), introduced in the middle of season six, is a Sabre employee who is assigned to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch as
15840-466: The end of the year. He booked his role in The Office just three weeks later. Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the original Pam hairstyle. In an interview on NPR 's Fresh Air , she recalled the last stages of the audition process for Pam and Jim, where the producers paired up the potential Pams and Jims (four of each) to gauge their chemistry. When Fischer finished her scene with Krasinski, he told her that she
16020-403: 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,
16200-470: 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
16380-599: The fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company , and aired from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes . The show was co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions , Reveille Productions (later Shine America) and 3 Arts Entertainment (although uncredited) in association with Universal Television . The original executive producers were Daniels, Gervais, Merchant, Howard Klein and Ben Silverman , with numerous others being promoted in later seasons. Like its British counterpart,
16560-696: The fictional Olympic Deliverance Commission in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics ), and W1A , which follows the main characters of Twenty Twelve as they start work at the BBC, as well as The Office (2001) and its many international offshoots , and Come Fly with Me (2010), which follows the activity at a fictional airport and its variety of staff and passengers. British comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French often presented short mockumentaries as extended sketches in their TV show French & Saunders . Discovery Channel opened its annual Shark Week on 4 Aug 2013 with Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives ,
16740-576: 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
16920-522: The film (David Koechner, Eric Roberts, Chaz Bono, Ed Begley Jr.), performing arts (Ja Rule, Billy Morrison), and TV (Lindsey Shaw, Pierson Fode, Johnny Bananas) to play fictional versions of themselves. In television, the most notable mockumentaries in the 2000s have been ABC Australia 's The Games (1998–2000), the Canadian series Trailer Park Boys (1999–present), the British shows Marion and Geoff (2000), Twenty Twelve (2011–2012) (which follows
17100-461: 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
17280-535: 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,
17460-652: 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 ,
17640-478: The first time that viewers were exposed to mockumentary was in 1988 when the Czechoslovakian short film Oil Gobblers was shown. For two weeks, TV viewers believed that the oil-eating animals really existed. Tim Robbins ' 1992 film Bob Roberts was a mockumentary centered around the senatorial campaign of a right-wing stock trader and folksinger, and the unsavory connections and dirty tricks used to defeat
17820-406: 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
18000-400: The idea for " The Dundies " as the pilot episode. After the writers knew who the cast was, they were allowed to write for the actors, which allowed the show to be more original for the following episode, " Diversity Day ". Following the mixed reaction toward the first season, the writers attempted to make the series more "optimistic" and to make Michael Scott more likable. They also established
18180-429: 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
18360-506: 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
18540-451: The ignored customer service complaints that Kelly has neglected while working at Dunder Mifflin. Clark is later moved to sales. Initially, the actors who portray the supporting office workers were credited as guest stars , but then were named series regulars during the second season. The show's large ensemble was mainly praised by critics and led to the series winning two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in
18720-451: The information, but he eventually considered the experiment a failure. According to Jenna Fischer , the series used an unusual casting process that did not involve a script. For example, the producers asked the actors several questions and they responded as the characters they were auditioning for. NBC programmer Kevin Reilly originally suggested Paul Giamatti to producer Ben Silverman for
18900-445: The main love interests. Krasinski attended school with B. J. Novak , where the two were best friends. Before Krasinski landed the role, he considered quitting acting. He discussed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that he moved to New York City and gave himself two to three years for his acting career to succeed or he would quit. He did not enjoy waiting tables and struggling to find roles, but his mom told him to wait it out until
19080-464: The matronly saleswoman Phyllis Lapin ( Phyllis Smith ), who dates and then marries Bob Vance ( Robert R. Shafer ) from Vance Refrigeration, a company whose office is across the hall from Dunder Mifflin; eccentric quality assurance representative Creed Bratton ( Creed Bratton ), who has a mysterious criminal history; Andy Bernard ( Ed Helms ), a salesman from the Stamford, Connecticut branch of Dunder Mifflin introduced in season three who transfers to
19260-400: 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
19440-454: 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
19620-437: The original main cast include Ed Helms , Rashida Jones , Amy Ryan , Mindy Kaling , Craig Robinson , James Spader , Ellie Kemper , and Catherine Tate . The Office received moderately positive reviews from critics (except for the pilot episode which received mixed reviews) during its short first season , but the following seasons, particularly Carell's performance, received significant acclaim from television critics as
19800-403: 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
19980-432: The original team of writers. Kaling, Novak, and Lieberstein also served multiple roles on the series, as they played regular characters on the show, as well as wrote, directed, and produced episodes. Credited with twenty-four episodes, Kaling is the most prolific writer among the staff. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant , who created the original British series, are credited as executive producers and wrote both pilot and
20160-633: 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 "
20340-555: 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
20520-441: 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
20700-489: 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
20880-403: 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
21060-522: The realities of the situation to maintain employee morale. The second season is the series' first 22-episode season and has its first 28-minute "super-sized" episode. Many workers seen in the background of the first season are developed into secondary characters and romantic relationships begin to develop between some of them. Michael makes out with and then spends the night with his boss, Jan Levinson , but does not have sex with her. Dwight and Angela become romantically involved, but keep their relationship
21240-437: The regional director of sales. In season seven, Bennett's friend Nellie Bertram ( Catherine Tate ) is interviewed to replace Scott and later serves as a replacement regional manager for Bernard in season eight after Robert California ( James Spader ) has become the new CEO of Sabre. In season nine, Clark Green ( Clark Duke ) and Pete Miller ( Jake Lacy ) join as new customer service representatives who attempt to catch up on
21420-479: The retail store project, and Erin decides to stay in Florida as an elderly woman's live-in helper. Andy goes to Florida to win back Erin, allowing Nellie to claim the manager position as her own. Robert tells Andy that he has been demoted back to a salesman, but Andy refuses to accept the news, which causes him to be fired. Andy becomes motivated to begin a Dunder Mifflin comeback and joins with former CFO David Wallace, now
21600-513: The role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined. Martin Short , Hank Azaria and Bob Odenkirk were reported to be interested in the part. In January 2004, Variety reported that Steve Carell , of the Comedy Central program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart , was in talks to play the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC midseason replacement comedy, Come to Papa , but
21780-399: The role. Carell was later joined by his wife Nancy Carell when she was cast to play Carol Stills, a love interest of Michael Scott. When asked what it was like working with her husband, Carell said she was intimidated at first as she had retired from acting years prior, but they had so much fun together. John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam,
21960-401: 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,
22140-471: 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
22320-426: The season finale. After Michael's replacement Deangelo ( Will Ferrell ) is seriously injured on the job, Jo creates a search committee to interview candidates and choose a new manager for the office. In the meantime, Dwight Schrute, and later Creed Bratton, took over as acting manager. The eighth season consists of 24 episodes. James Spader joins the cast as Robert California, the new CEO of Dunder Mifflin/Sabre. Andy
22500-495: 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
22680-424: 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
22860-529: 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
23040-431: 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
23220-465: 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
23400-469: The series was filmed in a single-camera setup without a studio audience or a laugh track , to mirror the look of an actual documentary. It debuted on NBC as a mid-season replacement and ended its nine-season run on May 16, 2013, with a two-part series finale . Its original main cast was Steve Carell , Rainn Wilson , John Krasinski , Jenna Fischer , and B. J. Novak . It experienced numerous changes to its ensemble cast during its run. Stars outside
23580-448: The series was quickly canceled, allowing his full commitment to The Office . Carell later said that he had only seen about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned. He did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais' characterizations. Other people who were considered or auditioned for the role included Ben Falcone , Alan Tudyk , Jim Zulevic , and Paul F. Tompkins . Rainn Wilson
23760-449: 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
23940-418: 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
24120-684: 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
24300-479: 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
24480-488: 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
24660-520: 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
24840-435: The show's canon and storyline by Daniels. Deleted scenes have sometimes been restored in repeats to make episodes longer or draw back people who have seen the episode before to see the bonus footage . In an experiment, a deleted scene from " The Return " was made available over NBC.com and iTunes , explaining the absence of a character over the next several episodes. Daniels hoped that word of mouth among fans would spread
25020-438: The show's characters, content, structure, and tone diverged considerably from the original British series. These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including a Peabody Award in 2006, two Screen Actors Guild Awards , a Golden Globe Award for Carell's performance , and four Primetime Emmy Awards , including one for Outstanding Comedy Series , in 2006. The eighth season
25200-493: 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
25380-444: The sixth season and Lieberstein stayed on as showrunner for the following two seasons. He left the showrunner spot after the eighth season for the potential Dwight Schrute spin-off, The Farm , which was eventually passed on by NBC. Daniels returned to the showrunner position for the ninth and final season. Other executive producers include cast members B. J. Novak and Mindy Kaling . Kaling, Novak, Daniels, Lieberstein and Schur made up
25560-409: 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,
25740-478: 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
25920-420: The supporting characters of the series more, giving them relatable personalities. They also made the lights in the office brighter, which allowed the series to differentiate itself from the British series. A common issue with the scripts, according to Novak, is that they tended to run too long for the regular 22-minute time slot, leading to several cuts. For example, the script for the episode " Search Committee "
26100-446: 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
26280-441: The theme song is played over the closing credits , which previously rolled in silence. Ferguson described his theme as "against type; it has this vulnerability, this yearning to it that soon explodes into this overdone optimism which then gets crushed - which is pretty much what the show is about." The mockumentary format of the show contains no laugh track , and most of the music is diegetic , with songs either sung or played by
26460-426: 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
26640-431: The third-season episode " The Convict ". Merchant later directed the episode " Customer Survey ", while Gervais appeared in the episodes " The Seminar " and " Search Committee ", reprising his role as David Brent from the British series. Randall Einhorn is the most frequent director of the series, with 15 credited episodes. The series also had several guest directors, including Lost co-creator J. J. Abrams , Buffy
26820-463: The three. Meanwhile, Michael and Jan's relationship escalates, which causes them to behave erratically on the job. On the other hand, Dwight and Angela continue their steamy secret relationship. In the season's finale , Jim, Karen, and Michael interview for a corporate position that turns out to be Jan's, who is fired for poor performance. Jim is offered the job but rejects it off-screen, opting instead to remain in Scranton without Karen and ask Pam out on
27000-538: 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
27180-420: The writers spent time conducting research in offices. This process was used for Daniels' other series King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation . The pilot is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the original British series. Daniels chose to go this route because "completely starting from scratch would be a very risky thing to do" owing to the show being an adaptation. He had briefly considered using
27360-421: 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
27540-430: 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
27720-496: 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
27900-469: Was "too feisty" for the character, but called her back for the part of Angela Martin , which she won. Flannery first auditioned for the part of Jan Levinson-Gould before landing the role of Meredith Palmer. Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley, but was eventually cast as Kevin. Ken Kwapis , the director of the pilot episode, liked the way Phyllis Smith , a casting associate, read with other actors auditioning so much that he cast her as Phyllis . At
28080-407: Was already used in the drama series LAX (2004–2005). Thus, the final choice was an original track written by Jay Ferguson and performed by The Scrantones. The theme is played over the title sequence, which features scenes of Scranton, various tasks around the office, and the main cast members. Some episodes of the series use a shortened version of the theme song. Starting with the fourth season,
28260-521: 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
28440-399: 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,
28620-742: Was cast as human resources director Toby Flenderson on Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts. Greg Daniels was originally unsure where to use Mindy Kaling on-screen until the opportunity came in the script for the second episode, " Diversity Day ", where Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. "Since [that slap], I've been on the show" (as Kelly Kapoor ), Kaling said. Michael Schur has also made several guest appearances as Dwight's cousin Mose , and consulting producer Larry Wilmore has played diversity trainer Mr. Brown . Plans were made for Mackenzie Crook , Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis , from
28800-427: Was cast as power-hungry sycophant Dwight Schrute , and he watched every episode of the British series before he auditioned. Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael, a performance that he described as a "terrible Ricky Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him. Seth Rogen , Matt Besser , Patton Oswalt , and Judah Friedlander also auditioned for
28980-463: Was criticized for declining quality, with Carell's departure in season seven seen as a contributing factor. However, the ninth and final season ended the series with a generally positive response. The series finale , which originally aired on May 16, 2013, was viewed by an estimated 5.7 million viewers and garnered critical acclaim. In 2016, Rolling Stone named The Office one of the 100 greatest television shows of all time. Greg Daniels developed
29160-427: Was facilitated by the main set's open floor plan, purposely designed by showrunner Daniels, production designer Donald Lee Harris (Matt Flynn became production designer later), and pilot director Ken Kwapis to allow camera operators to catch characters "unaware". Unlike most sets, the office layout was built with immovable walls to emphasize its airless, claustrophobic atmosphere—"trapping" the documentary film crew with
29340-593: 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
29520-407: 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
29700-459: Was his favorite Pam, to which she reciprocated that he was her favorite Jim. Adam Scott and John Cho both auditioned for the role of Jim, and Kathryn Hahn also auditioned for the role of Pam. The supporting cast includes actors known for their improv work: Angela Kinsey , Kate Flannery , Oscar Nunez , Leslie David Baker , Brian Baumgartner , Melora Hardin and David Denman . Kinsey originally auditioned for Pam. The producers thought she
29880-470: 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
30060-488: Was initially 75 pages, which was 10 pages too long. A complete script was written for each episode; however, actors were given opportunities to improvise during filming. Fischer said, "Our shows are 100 percent scripted. They put everything down on paper. But we get to play around a little bit, too. Steve and Rainn are brilliant improvisers.". These improvisations led to a large number of deleted scenes with almost every episode of The Office , all of which are considered part of
30240-406: 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
30420-627: 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
30600-431: 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,
30780-526: 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 ),
30960-437: 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
31140-477: Was popularized in the mid-1990s when This Is Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner used it in interviews to describe that film. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues in a satirical way by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself. While mockumentaries are usually comedic , pseudo-documentaries are their dramatic equivalents. However, pseudo-documentary should not be confused with docudrama ,
31320-452: Was possible, and Einhorn walked through the scene to see if a camera operator could get everywhere to shoot the whole scene. Later seasons relaxed the format, with the camera crew often going where actual documentary crews would not. This also changed the series' writing and comedy styles, an inconsistency criticized by some reviewers and fans. When it came to choosing the theme music for The Office , producer Greg Daniels had several tracks he
31500-501: 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
31680-551: Was the first of its kind to incorporate the mockumentary style into animation. REC , a 2007 Spanish film by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, uses journalism aesthetics to approach a horror universe set up in a real building in Barcelona . The film was remade in the United States as the 2008 film Quarantine . Ivo Raza's 2020 mockumentary Reboot Camp is a comedy about a fake cult that uses an ensemble cast of celebrities from
31860-430: Was thinking of using: existing songs including " Better Things " by The Kinks , " Float On " by Modest Mouse , and " Mr. Blue Sky " by Electric Light Orchestra , and several original pieces artists contributed to the producers via a cattle call . Daniels decided that the cast would vote on what song to use and gave them four of the choices. Most of them wanted "Mr. Blue Sky", but that option turned out to be invalid as it
32040-839: 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
32220-408: Was widely appropriated by others and revisited by Allen himself in films such as Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971), Zelig (1983) and Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Early use of the mockumentary format in television comedy can be seen in several sketches from Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974), such as " Hell's Grannies ", " Piranha Brothers ", and " The Funniest Joke in
32400-457: 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
#687312