The NBC political comedy television show “Parks and Recreation” lasted an impressive seven seasons, running a total of 125 episodes. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, “Parks and Recreation” puts a comical spin on the different aspects of politics.
The show’s first episode aired on April 9, 2009, where it introduced the original cast of the show. Such characters included the overly enthusiastic Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), who is infatuated with politics and the idea of holding any and every government position she can get her hands on, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), who loves both women and woodworking and Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), who enjoys spending his time hopelessly attempting to flirt with women.
Other cast members include April Ludgate, played by Aubrey Plaza, a very strange teen that has an internship at the parks department, Ann Perkins, played by Rashida Jones, a nurse that meets Knope through a complaint to her department and Andy Dwyer played by Chris Pratt, Perkins’ dim, yet lovable boyfriend.
The show follows the parks department members as their relationships develop and as they climb the corporate ladder of government. As the show progresses, the audience watches as episodes shine a light on the corrupt nature of politics within the government.
New additions are made to the show’s cast like Ben Wyatt, Adam Scott, Knope’s love interest, and Chris Traeger, Rob Lowe, a cheerful and energetic auditor sent to Pawnee, where the show takes place.
The show’s success enabled it to feature a number of political guest stars. Guest stars include a slew of less widely known political figures, such as Senators Barbara Boxer and Cory Booker, to those far better known such as Michelle Obama and Senator John McCain. The show also has non-political guest stars like Kristen Bell, Andy Samberg and Louis C.K.
“Parks and Recreation” received eight awards over its seven seasons. This included two Television Critics Association awards for both Individual Achievement in Comedy and Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, a Peabody Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
Not only has the show received many awards, but it has received consistently outstanding reviews. “Parks and Recreation” currently sports a 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, a 10/10 on IGN.com and an 8.6 on IMDb.
“Parks and Recreation” aired its last episode titled “One Last Ride Part 2” on Feb. 24, 2015. Due to the show’s immense success and dedicated fan following, the cast is still being begged to do some sort of reunion performance to this day.
The laugh out loud comedy that “Parks and Recreation” sports makes it extremely entertaining to watch. Even with seven seasons of content, the show’s cast and crew makes every episode enjoyable to watch for a range of audiences. The show’s dry humor and interesting plot makes it something I would highly recommend to anyone.
