It all began some spring evening back in 2009 —Leslie Knope entered our living rooms and eventually, our hearts. “Parks & Recreation” is an NBC award-winning comedy series that stars Amy Poehler as passionate, determined bureaucrat and waffle-lover Leslie Knope and documents her work in the parks and recreation department in charming Pawnee, Indiana.
The show boasts 12 wins and 46 nominations for various television awards, including both Emmys and Golden Globes, owing its success to the powerful narrative executive producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur have spun.
The first season introduces the audience to Leslie, who was at first mistaken for a female Michael Scott (he would be so lucky). As Leslie gives the audience a tour of Pawnee City Hall and what life is like in city government, something magical happens — she meets Ann Perkins, played by actress Rashida Jones. The two become fast friends as Ann gives Leslie the daunting task of filling in a large pit behind Ann’s house. Devoted government employee that she is, Leslie promises to fill in that pit.
“That promise launched a friendship so grand it takes 103 scrapbooks to capture it,” Leslie Knope said in season six.
If there’s one thing Leslie Knope does well, it’s friendship. She takes that position seriously, and once we see her take Ann as her friend, we see just how hard Leslie works to accomplish a better life for the people she loves. The entire character of Leslie Knope demonstrates qualities she believes every public servant should embody: a conviction to do what is best for the community and a love for the people in that community.
And she’s not alone — in half of that, at least. Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman, is famous for being a man among men. He, too, would agree everyone should live with conviction and have principles on which they live. Swanson is also famous for being anti-government, garnering libertarian philosophies while working as director of the parks department. Despite his obvious disdain for everything government, Ron is unrelentingly patriotic.
“History began July 4, 1776; everything before that was a mistake,” Swanson said while reluctantly traveling in London in one episode.
These amazing characters have been through so much in the past six years, and in the season seven premiere, we saw that story jump ahead to 2017. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, writer Dan Snierson and executive producer Michael Schur discussed the time-jump and the new direction the show has taken in its final season.
“Whatever this is, we can handle it for 13 episodes. We know that we don’t have 50 more episodes. It’s a move that you don’t make in season three of your show,” Schur said.
Now, Parks & Rec has only six episodes remaining to air the next three Tuesdays. Two new episodes for Parks & Rec will air tonight at 7 p.m. (CST) on NBC. The series finale is scheduled to air on Feb. 24.
