Arguably the funniest show on television right now, Parks and Recreation is back for its seventh and final season. The sitcom premiered this past Tuesday (January 13) on NBC, marking the inevitable end of the viewer’s relationship with the town of Pawnee, Indiana (First in Friendship, Fourth in Obesity), and the quirky characters that live there.
Featuring former Saturday Night Live star and Golden Globe Award winner Amy Poehler as the energetic and capable Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation follows the lives of an eclectic band of government workers employed by the Pawnee Parks Department. Leslie’s boss Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), is a profoundly libertarian, whiskey-drinking woodworker who acts as a foil for Leslie’s ceaseless work ethic and optimism; Ron only works for the government with the hope that he can destroy it from the inside.
Parks and Rec’s brilliance lies not only in absurdist, deadpan humor (think 30 Rock meets The Office), but also in the gripping, sentimental evolution of the characters. I mean “sentimental” in the most complimentary sense, with the viewer becoming emotionally invested in the lives of each individual character, as well as their interactions with one another.
Leslie Knope begins the series as an annoyingly perky, overzealous and ineffectual government employee. Her character development is inspiring; over time her inner zealot gives way to heartfelt passion for Pawnee, working to beautify her hometown and eventually running for city council. Similarly, the viewer is allowed glimpses past Ron Swanson’s brusque exterior to the genuine respect he feels for Leslie and his assistant April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza). The shoe-shine boy, Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), is eventually promoted. Selfish wannabe business mogul Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) learns the necessity of organization after his start-up ends in bankruptcy. Over time the characters are redeemed, though admittedly not without numerous mistakes and painfully (yet hilariously) awkward moments. The only character who never surpasses his initial situation is the useless Jerry Gergich, who defaults as the scapegoat for all Parks Department mishaps.
Initially in the series it seemed that the characters were at risk of becoming caricatures, yet the joy of the show is in vicariously experiencing their maturation from the unrealistically flawed to the believably human. The viewer becomes invested in the Parks Department’s success; Leslie Knope’s triumphs are our triumphs.
Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Television Series, Parks and Recreation’s accomplishments have served to launch the careers of previously obscure cast members, with real life paralleling the individual achievements most characters attain as the show develops. Actor Chris Pratt (Andy Dwyer) recently starred as Star-Lord Peter Quill in Marvel’s smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as securing a lead role in Stephen Spielberg’s upcoming film Jurassic World. Nick Offerman, and Audrey Plaza (whose personality apparently mimics April Ludgate’s in real life) have gone on to various movie roles in big names like 22 Jump Street and Life After Beth.
Though Pratt is now a full-blown movie star, he comments on the importance of his experience working on Parks: “I’m realizing the things that really matter about what you’re doing, for me at least, are just the relationships you have while you’re doing it. And for me, this show… I hope that I could possibly have the good fortune of finding another group of people like this, but I don’t expect I ever will.”
With a dynamic cast that loves their characters almost as much as we do, and comedic writing that integrates themes of persistence and hard work, Parks and Recreation is the television equivalent of optimism.