Parks and Recreation is an American television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. It has been billed as a companion piece to Daniels' and Schur's other comedy, The Office . [1]
Produced and broadcast by NBC, Parks and Recreation is filmed in the same mockumentary style as The Office and follows Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Inspired by local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Leslie vows to turn a vacant lot with a large pit into a beautiful park. The show's original line-up was Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, an administrator; Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, head of the Parks and Recreation department and Leslie's superior; Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, an intern; Jim O'Heir as Jerry Gergich and Retta as Donna Meagle, other employees of the Parks and Recreation department; Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Ann's boyfriend who was injured in the pit; and Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, a city planner. Schneider left the series after the second season and was replaced by Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt and Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, state auditors tasked with evaluating the Parks and Recreation department. In the sixth season, Jones and Lowe left while Billy Eichner joined as series regular, Craig Middlebrooks.
The series ran for 125 episodes over seven seasons from April 9, 2009, until February 24, 2015, with a special episode aired on April 30, 2020.
Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Viewers (millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First released | Last released | |||||
1 | 6 | April 9, 2009 | May 14, 2009 | 96 | 6.00 [2] | |
2 | 24 | September 17, 2009 | May 20, 2010 | 108 | 4.60 [3] | |
3 | 16 | January 20, 2011 | May 19, 2011 | 116 | 5.10 [4] | |
4 | 22 | September 22, 2011 | May 10, 2012 | 134 | 4.40 [5] | |
5 | 22 | September 20, 2012 | May 2, 2013 | 111 | 4.06 [6] | |
6 | 22 | September 26, 2013 | April 24, 2014 | 115 | 3.76 [7] | |
7 | 13 | January 13, 2015 | February 24, 2015 | 119 | 4.57 [8] | |
Special | April 30, 2020 | — | 3.64 [9] |
Average episode runtime is 21–22 minutes without commercials. † denotes a longer 25–28 minute episode while ‡ denotes a "double-length" 42-minute episode.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Greg Daniels | Greg Daniels & Michael Schur | April 9, 2009 | 6.88 [10] |
2 | 2 | "Canvassing" | Seth Gordon | Rachel Axler | April 16, 2009 | 6.02 [11] |
3 | 3 | "The Reporter" | Jeffrey Blitz | Dan Goor | April 23, 2009 | 5.26 [12] |
4 | 4 | "Boys' Club" | Michael McCullers | Alan Yang | April 30, 2009 | 5.07 [13] |
5 | 5 | "The Banquet" | Beth McCarthy-Miller | Tucker Cawley | May 7, 2009 | 4.73 [14] |
6 | 6 | "Rock Show"† | Michael Schur | Norm Hiscock | May 14, 2009 | 4.29 [15] |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 1 | "Pawnee Zoo" | Paul Feig | Norm Hiscock | September 17, 2009 | 4.89 [16] |
8 | 2 | "The Stakeout" | Seth Gordon | Rachel Axler | September 24, 2009 | 4.09 [17] |
9 | 3 | "Beauty Pageant" | Jason Woliner | Katie Dippold | October 1, 2009 | 4.67 [18] |
10 | 4 | "Practice Date" | Alex Hardcastle | Harris Wittels | October 8, 2009 | 4.75 [19] |
11 | 5 | "Sister City" | Michael Schur | Alan Yang | October 15, 2009 | 4.53 [20] |
12 | 6 | "Kaboom" | Charles McDougall | Aisha Muharrar | October 22, 2009 | 4.92 [21] |
13 | 7 | "Greg Pikitis" | Dean Holland | Michael Schur | October 29, 2009 | 4.80 [22] |
14 | 8 | "Ron and Tammy" | Troy Miller | Mike Scully | November 5, 2009 | 4.91 [23] |
15 | 9 | "The Camel" | Millicent Shelton | Rachel Axler | November 12, 2009 | 4.58 [24] |
16 | 10 | "Hunting Trip" | Greg Daniels | Dan Goor | November 19, 2009 | 4.55 [25] |
17 | 11 | "Tom's Divorce" | Troy Miller | Harris Wittels | December 3, 2009 | 4.80 [26] |
18 | 12 | "Christmas Scandal" | Randall Einhorn | Michael Schur | December 10, 2009 | 4.90 [27] |
19 | 13 | "The Set Up"† | Troy Miller | Katie Dippold | January 14, 2010 | 4.63 [28] |
20 | 14 | "Leslie's House" | Alex Hardcastle | Dan Goor | January 21, 2010 | 4.36 [29] |
21 | 15 | "Sweetums" | Dean Holland | Alan Yang | February 4, 2010 | 4.88 [30] |
22 | 16 | "Galentine's Day" | Ken Kwapis | Michael Schur | February 11, 2010 | 4.98 [31] |
23 | 17 | "Woman of the Year" | Jason Woliner | Norm Hiscock | March 4, 2010 | 4.61 [32] |
24 | 18 | "The Possum" | Tristram Shapeero | Mike Scully | March 11, 2010 | 4.55 [33] |
25 | 19 | "Park Safety" | Michael Trim | Aisha Muharrar | March 18, 2010 | 4.63 [34] |
26 | 20 | "Summer Catalog" | Ken Whittingham | Katie Dippold | March 25, 2010 | 4.47 [35] |
27 | 21 | "94 Meetings" | Tristram Shapeero | Harris Wittels | April 29, 2010 | 4.03 [36] |
28 | 22 | "Telethon" | Troy Miller | Amy Poehler | May 6, 2010 | 4.03 [37] |
29 | 23 | "The Master Plan"† | Dean Holland | Michael Schur | May 13, 2010 | 4.28 [38] |
30 | 24 | "Freddy Spaghetti"† | Jason Woliner | Dan Goor | May 20, 2010 | 4.57 [39] |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 | 1 | "Go Big or Go Home" | Dean Holland | Alan Yang | January 20, 2011 | 6.14 [40] |
32 | 2 | "Flu Season" | Wendey Stanzler | Norm Hiscock | January 27, 2011 | 5.83 [41] |
33 | 3 | "Time Capsule" | Michael Schur | Michael Schur | February 3, 2011 | 4.95 [42] |
34 | 4 | "Ron & Tammy: Part Two" | Tucker Gates | Emily Kapnek | February 10, 2011 | 5.03 [43] |
35 | 5 | "Media Blitz" | David Rogers | Harris Wittels | February 17, 2011 | 4.33 [44] |
36 | 6 | "Indianapolis" | Randall Einhorn | Katie Dippold | February 24, 2011 | 4.59 [45] |
37 | 7 | "Harvest Festival"† | Dean Holland | Dan Goor | March 17, 2011 | 4.08 [46] |
38 | 8 | "Camping" | Rob Schrab | Aisha Muharrar | March 24, 2011 | 5.15 [47] |
39 | 9 | "Andy and April's Fancy Party" | Michael Trim | Katie Dippold | April 14, 2011 | 5.16 [48] |
40 | 10 | "Soulmates" | Ken Whittingham | Alan Yang | April 21, 2011 | 4.88 [49] |
41 | 11 | "Jerry's Painting"† | Dean Holland | Norm Hiscock | April 28, 2011 | 4.71 [50] |
42 | 12 | "Eagleton" | Nicole Holofcener | Emily Spivey | May 5, 2011 | 5.06 [51] |
43 | 13 | "The Fight"† | Randall Einhorn | Amy Poehler | May 12, 2011 | 4.55 [52] |
44 | 14 | "Road Trip" | Troy Miller | Harris Wittels | May 12, 2011 | 3.54 [52] |
45 | 15 | "The Bubble" | Matt Sohn | Greg Levine & Brian Rowe | May 19, 2011 | 4.27 [53] |
46 | 16 | "Li'l Sebastian"† | Dean Holland | Dan Goor | May 19, 2011 | 3.72 [53] |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
47 | 1 | "I'm Leslie Knope" | Troy Miller | Dan Goor | September 22, 2011 | 4.11 [54] |
48 | 2 | "Ron and Tammys" | Randall Einhorn | Norm Hiscock | September 29, 2011 | 4.33 [55] |
49 | 3 | "Born & Raised" | Dean Holland | Aisha Muharrar | October 6, 2011 | 4.15 [56] |
50 | 4 | "Pawnee Rangers" | Charles McDougall | Alan Yang | October 13, 2011 | 3.99 [57] |
51 | 5 | "Meet n Greet" | Wendey Stanzler | Katie Dippold | October 27, 2011 | 3.90 [58] |
52 | 6 | "End of the World"† | Dean Holland | Michael Schur | November 3, 2011 | 4.00 [59] |
53 | 7 | "The Treaty" | Jorma Taccone | Harris Wittels | November 10, 2011 | 3.66 [60] |
54 | 8 | "Smallest Park" | Nicole Holofcener | Chelsea Peretti | November 17, 2011 | 3.68 [61] |
55 | 9 | "The Trial of Leslie Knope" | Dean Holland | Dan Goor & Michael Schur | December 1, 2011 | 3.69 [62] |
56 | 10 | "Citizen Knope" | Randall Einhorn | Dave King | December 8, 2011 | 3.64 [63] |
57 | 11 | "The Comeback Kid" | Tucker Gates | Mike Scully | January 12, 2012 | 4.09 [64] |
58 | 12 | "Campaign Ad" | Dean Holland | Alan Yang | January 19, 2012 | 4.25 [65] |
59 | 13 | "Bowling for Votes" | Michael Trim | Katie Dippold | January 26, 2012 | 3.49 [66] |
60 | 14 | "Operation Ann" | Morgan Sackett | Aisha Muharrar | February 2, 2012 | 3.60 [67] |
61 | 15 | "Dave Returns" | Robert B. Weide | Harris Wittels | February 16, 2012 | 3.45 [68] |
62 | 16 | "Sweet Sixteen" | Michael Schur | Norm Hiscock | February 23, 2012 | 3.43 [69] |
63 | 17 | "Campaign Shake-Up" | Dan Goor | Dan Goor | March 1, 2012 | 3.77 [70] |
64 | 18 | "Lucky" | Troy Miller | Nick Offerman | March 8, 2012 | 3.66 [71] |
65 | 19 | "Live Ammo" | Tristram Shapeero | Dave King & Chelsea Peretti | April 19, 2012 | 3.46 [72] |
66 | 20 | "The Debate"† | Amy Poehler | Amy Poehler | April 26, 2012 [a] | 3.17 [73] |
67 | 21 | "Bus Tour"† | Dean Holland | Aisha Muharrar & Alan Yang | May 3, 2012 [a] | 3.26 [74] |
68 | 22 | "Win, Lose, or Draw"† | Michael Schur | Michael Schur | May 10, 2012 [a] | 3.42 [75] |
a Episodes 20–22 premiered on Citytv two days prior to airing on NBC. The NBC airdates and ratings are listed.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
69 | 1 | "Ms. Knope Goes to Washington" | Dean Holland | Aisha Muharrar | September 20, 2012 | 3.50 [76] |
70 | 2 | "Soda Tax" | Kyle Newacheck | Norm Hiscock | September 27, 2012 | 3.27 [77] |
71 | 3 | "How a Bill Becomes a Law" | Ken Whittingham | Dan Goor | October 4, 2012 | 3.53 [78] |
72 | 4 | "Sex Education" | Craig Zisk | Alan Yang | October 18, 2012 | 3.46 [79] |
73 | 5 | "Halloween Surprise"† | Dean Holland | Michael Schur | October 25, 2012 | 3.34 [80] |
74 | 6 | "Ben's Parents" | Dean Holland | Greg Levine | November 8, 2012 | 3.46 [81] |
75 | 7 | "Leslie vs. April" | Wendey Stanzler | Harris Wittels | November 15, 2012 | 3.52 [82] |
76 | 8 | "Pawnee Commons" | Morgan Sackett | Alexandra Rushfield | November 29, 2012 | 2.99 [83] |
77 | 9 | "Ron and Diane" | Dan Goor | Megan Amram & Aisha Muharrar | December 6, 2012 | 3.27 [84] |
78 | 10 | "Two Parties" | Dean Holland | Dave King | January 17, 2013 | 3.92 [85] |
79 | 11 | "Women in Garbage" | Norm Hiscock | Harris Wittels | January 24, 2013 | 3.94 [86] |
80 | 12 | "Ann's Decision" | Ken Whittingham | Nate DiMeo | February 7, 2013 | 3.76 [87] |
81 | 13 | "Emergency Response"† | Dean Holland | Norm Hiscock & Joe Mande | February 14, 2013 | 3.18 [88] |
82 | 14 | "Leslie and Ben" | Craig Zisk | Michael Schur & Alan Yang | February 21, 2013 | 3.07 [89] |
83 | 15 | "Correspondents' Lunch" | Nick Offerman | Alexandra Rushfield | February 21, 2013 | 2.95 [89] |
84 | 16 | "Bailout" | Craig Zisk | Joe Mande | March 14, 2013 | 3.00 [90] |
85 | 17 | "Partridge" | Tristram Shapeero | Dave King | April 4, 2013 | 2.93 [91] |
86 | 18 | "Animal Control" | Craig Zisk | Megan Amram | April 11, 2013 | 3.15 [92] |
87 | 19 | "Article Two" | Amy Poehler | Matt Murray | April 18, 2013 | 3.35 [93] |
88 | 20 | "Jerry's Retirement" | Nicole Holofcener | Norm Hiscock & Aisha Muharrar | April 18, 2013 | 3.34 [93] |
89 | 21 | "Swing Vote" | Alan Yang | Joe Mande & Alan Yang | April 25, 2013 | 2.59 [94] |
90 | 22 | "Are You Better Off?" | Dean Holland | Michael Schur | May 2, 2013 | 2.99 [95] |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
91 | 1 | "London"‡ | Dean Holland | Michael Schur | September 26, 2013 | 3.27 [96] |
92 | 2 | |||||
93 | 3 | "The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic" | Nicole Holofcener | Alan Yang | October 3, 2013 | 3.14 [97] |
94 | 4 | "Doppelgängers" | Jay Karas | Donick Cary | October 10, 2013 | 3.23 [98] |
95 | 5 | "Gin It Up!" | Jorma Taccone | Matt Murray | October 17, 2013 | 3.27 [99] |
96 | 6 | "Filibuster" | Morgan Sackett | Harris Wittels | November 14, 2013 | 3.03 [100] |
97 | 7 | "Recall Vote" | Wendey Stanzler | Aisha Muharrar | November 14, 2013 | 3.03 [100] |
98 | 8 | "Fluoride" | Michael Trim | Matt Hubbard | November 21, 2013 | 2.81 [101] |
99 | 9 | "The Cones of Dunshire" | Julie Anne Robinson | Dave King | November 21, 2013 | 2.81 [101] |
100 | 10 | "Second Chunce"† | Dean Holland | Amy Poehler & Michael Schur | January 9, 2014 | 3.43 [102] |
101 | 11 | "New Beginnings" | Alan Yang | Sam Means | January 16, 2014 | 3.05 [103] |
102 | 12 | "Farmers Market" | Adam Scott | Joe Mande | January 23, 2014 | 2.98 [104] |
103 | 13 | "Ann and Chris" | Dean Holland | Aisha Muharrar & Michael Schur | January 30, 2014 | 3.03 [105] |
104 | 14 | "Anniversaries" | Morgan Sackett | Megan Amram | February 27, 2014 | 2.52 [106] |
105 | 15 | "The Wall" | Ken Whittingham | Jen Statsky | March 6, 2014 | 2.95 [107] |
106 | 16 | "New Slogan" | Dean Holland | Alan Yang & Sam Means | March 13, 2014 | 2.72 [108] |
107 | 17 | "Galentine's Day" | Beth McCarthy-Miller | Emma Fletcher & Rachna Fruchbom | March 20, 2014 | 3.05 [109] |
108 | 18 | "Prom" | Ken Whittingham | Matt Murray & Harris Wittels | April 3, 2014 | 2.67 [110] |
109 | 19 | "Flu Season 2"† | Nick Offerman | Megan Amram & Dave King | April 10, 2014 | 2.56 [111] |
110 | 20 | "One in 8,000" | Dean Holland | Donick Cary & Joe Mande | April 17, 2014 | 2.39 [112] |
111 | 21 | "Moving Up"†‡ | Michael Schur | Aisha Muharrar & Alan Yang | April 24, 2014 | 2.71 [113] |
112 | 22 | |||||
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
113 | 1 | "2017" | Dean Holland | Alan Yang & Matt Murray | January 13, 2015 | 3.75 [114] |
114 | 2 | "Ron and Jammy"† | Dean Holland | Harris Wittels | January 13, 2015 | 3.25 [114] |
115 | 3 | "William Henry Harrison" | Tom Magill | Megan Amram | January 20, 2015 | 3.87 [115] |
116 | 4 | "Leslie and Ron" | Beth McCarthy-Miller | Michael Schur | January 20, 2015 | 3.30 [115] |
117 | 5 | "Gryzzlbox" | Amy Poehler | Donick Cary | January 27, 2015 | 3.48 [116] |
118 | 6 | "Save JJ's" | Ken Whittingham | Joe Mande | January 27, 2015 | 2.97 [116] |
119 | 7 | "Donna and Joe" | Ken Whittingham | Aisha Muharrar | February 3, 2015 | 3.45 [117] |
120 | 8 | "Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington" | Morgan Sackett | Dave King | February 10, 2015 | 3.06 [118] |
121 | 9 | "Pie-Mary"† | Greg Daniels | Emma Fletcher & Rachna Fruchbom | February 10, 2015 | 2.47 [118] |
122 | 10 | "The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show" | Dean Holland | Matt Hubbard | February 17, 2015 | 2.94 [119] |
123 | 11 | "Two Funerals" | Craig Zisk | Jen Statsky | February 17, 2015 | 2.47 [119] |
124 | 12 | "One Last Ride"†‡ | Michael Schur | Michael Schur & Amy Poehler | February 24, 2015 | 4.15 [120] |
125 | 13 | |||||
In April 2020, amidst 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 residents of Pawnee during social distancing. The series' cast returned for the special, which benefited Feeding America's COVID-19 response. [121] [122]
No. overall | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
126 | "A Parks and Recreation Special" | Morgan Sackett | Michael Schur, Megan Amram, Dave King, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Matt Murray and Jen Statsky | April 30, 2020 | 3.64 [9] | |
The episode is set in 2020. Leslie Knope, who currently works in Washington, D.C. in the Department of the Interior, tries to stay in communication with the rest of the citizens of Pawnee while social distancing during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. |
Season | Episode number | Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |||
1 | 6.88 | 6.02 | 5.26 | 5.07 | 4.73 | 4.29 | – | 5.38 | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | 4.89 | 4.09 | 4.67 | 4.75 | 4.53 | 4.92 | 4.80 | 4.91 | 4.58 | 4.55 | 4.80 | 4.90 | 4.63 | 4.36 | 4.88 | 4.98 | 4.61 | 4.55 | 4.63 | 4.47 | 4.03 | 4.03 | 4.28 | 4.57 | 4.60 | |
3 | 6.14 | 5.83 | 4.95 | 5.03 | 4.33 | 4.59 | 4.08 | 5.15 | 5.16 | 4.88 | 4.71 | 5.06 | 4.55 | 3.54 | 4.27 | 3.72 | – | 5.07 | ||||||||
4 | 4.11 | 4.33 | 4.15 | 3.99 | 3.90 | 4.00 | 3.66 | 3.68 | 3.69 | 3.64 | 4.09 | 4.25 | 3.49 | 3.60 | 3.45 | 3.43 | 3.77 | 3.66 | 3.46 | 3.17 | 3.26 | 3.42 | – | 3.74 | ||
5 | 3.50 | 3.27 | 3.53 | 3.46 | 3.34 | 3.46 | 3.52 | 2.99 | 3.27 | 3.92 | 3.94 | 3.76 | 3.18 | 3.07 | 2.95 | 3.00 | 2.93 | 3.15 | 3.35 | 3.34 | 2.59 | 2.99 | – | 3.30 | ||
6 | 3.27 | 3.27 | 3.14 | 3.23 | 3.27 | 3.03 | 3.03 | 2.81 | 2.81 | 3.43 | 3.05 | 2.98 | 3.03 | 2.52 | 2.95 | 2.72 | 3.05 | 2.67 | 2.56 | 2.39 | 2.71 | 2.71 | – | 2.93 | ||
7 | 3.75 | 3.25 | 3.87 | 3.30 | 3.48 | 2.97 | 3.45 | 3.06 | 2.47 | 2.94 | 2.47 | 4.15 | 4.15 | – | 3.26 | |||||||||||
Special | 3.64 | – | 3.64 |
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