Look. We hate to admit it, but when Parks and Recreation launched we maybe kinda thought it was just Amy Poehler following in her friend Tina Fey's 30 Rock footsteps with a smart workplace sitcom. It was hard to tell if the show would be able to differentiate itself. This gut instinct was both pretty right and pretty wrong. Parks and Rec managed to cultivate all the pop and pizzazz (and great oddball characters) that made 30 Rock great, while in no way looking like a copycat.
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Buffy the Vampire SlayerThe show, which begins its seventh and final season this year, was unlike its satire-of-a-sketch-comedy-show counterpart in that it was about a place far more relatable for most Average Joes than 30 Rockefeller Center: a small-town parks department in Indiana. Not everyone knows about life in the Hoosier State, but anyone who has ever lived in a small town (or worked in a barely-functioning government office) knows its vibe inherently. From determined, civic-minded joy bubble Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) to libertarian, outdoorsy meat aficionado Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), everyone on Parks was just enough of an archetype to be relatable—and a good butt of a joke.
But most of all, Parks and Recreation is just a lovely time. Watching each episode feels like hanging out with the unintentionally-funny friends you wish you had. Here's how to get fully invested.
Number of Seasons: 6 (112 episodes)
Time Requirements: It's possible to get through it more quickly, but give this one a good two months. That'll give you a steady two episodes a day.
Where to Get Your Fix: Netflix, Amazon Prime
Best Character to Follow: Everything compels us to say Ron Swanson. Offerman consistently takes his mustachioed character to Bunyanesque heights of greatness, and for someone who spends much of the early seasons playing the conservative straight man he gets to dig in and develop as a person as the show progresses. However, Parks and Rec is about deputy parks department director Leslie Knope. It's her journey to help the people of Pawnee, Indiana (and beyond!) that is the focus of the show. In Poehler's hands, she is as charming as she is hilarious. Never say "nope" to Knope.
Seasons/Episodes You Can Skip:
Generally speaking, Season 4 had the fewest highlights, but it's not entirely skippable because it includes the episode featuring "Treat Yo Self," which is one of the highlights of the entire series. They're not all A+ episodes, but most are worth your 22 minutes.
Seasons/Episodes You Can't Skip:
Season 1: Episode 1, "Pilot" Parks and Rec had a very short first season, most of which revolved around Leslie's quest to turn a construction pit near the home of Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) and Andy Dwyer (pre-Guardians Chris Pratt) into a park. The pilot, as it should, set up many of the relationships that will flourish throughout the show (Leslie and Ann, in particular), and establishes its pseudo-documentary style. Consider this your Parks indoctrination.
Season 2: Episode 4, "Practice Date" Leslie gets nervous about going on a date with police officer Dave Sanderson (Louis C.K.) so she asks Ann to go on one with her to practice. That's all well and good, but the highlight is when the gang at the parks department tries to get dirt on each other and finds out Ron has two ex-wives named Tammy and also moonlights as a jazz musician named Duke Silver.
Season 2: Episode 10, "Hunting Trip" This is where everything on Parks really started to hum. The gang goes hunting and Ron gets shot in the head. Leslie takes the heat and everyone bonds. They bond so much Andy and April (Aubrey Plaza) pair up and Ron finally acknowledges how great Leslie is.
Season 2: Episode 16, "Galentine's Day" This is one of those episodes that launched a holiday/meme people still reference: Galentine's Day. It's essentially a lady-centric Valentine's Day where Leslie gets together all the women in her life to celebrate each other. It's pretty simple, but also very sweet.
__Season 3: Episode 4, "Ron & Tammy: Part 2" __One of the best running jokes in all of Parks is that Ron has many ex-wives (and a mother) named Tammy. This is where Tammy 2 (Offerman's wife IRL Megan Mullally) comes around and they wind up making out in jail.
Season 3: Episode 9, "Andy and April's Fancy Party" For the most part Andy and April seemed to be in that kind of crazy, stupid love that pervaded '90s movies. It didn't seem likely to last. So when they get married at their "fancy party" in this episode, nearly everyone has reservations. It seems like a juvenile move, but eventually everyone realizes they might be the most stable relationship around.
Season 3: Episode 12, "Eagleton" This one sets up another one of the show's wonderful running gags: Pawnee's rivalry with its rich neighbor, Eagleton. (It gets bonus points for having Parker Posey play Leslie's former friend who is now amongst the snooty folk in the next zip code.)
Season 3: Episode 13, "The Fight" Ann and Leslie have their first big fight while everyone else gets drunk on SnakeJuice—the latest venture from parks department "baller" Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari).
Season 3: Episode 16, "Li'l Sebastian" Everyone's favorite mini-horse Li'l Sebastian (inspired by real-life "Smallest Stallion," Einstein) dies of old age. It may seem like a downer on which to end the season, but it sets up one of the show's greatest moments: Andy's tribute song "5,000 Candles in the Wind."
Season 4: Episode 2, "Ron & Tammys" Tammy 1 (Patricia Clarkson) comes back and turns Ron into a wimp. Leslie calls in Ron's mother (Tammy Zero, Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell) to help straighten him out. Zero challenges Tammy 1 to a mash liquor drink-off. Everyone gets drunk and Ron comes to his senses. It's the best.
Season 4: Episode 4, "Pawnee Rangers" The main storyline here is Leslie's quest to make her group for young girls—the Pawnee Goddesses—as cool as Ron's boys' group, the Pawnee Rangers. But the secondary storyline, about Tom and Donna (Retta) having their "Treat Yo Self" day, is the one everyone quotes.
Season 4: Episode 8, "The Smallest Park" Leslie and deputy city manager Ben (Adam Scott), who are super into each other, broke off their relationship so Leslie could run for city council without a scandal caused by their romantic relationship conflicting with their professional one. This is the episode where they get back together and throw caution to the wind. Awww ... you guys!
Season 5: Episode 5, "Halloween Surprise" Ben, who moved on from his job at City Hall to become a campaign manager in Washington, DC, tells Leslie he might take another job in Florida, meaning he won't be able to return to Pawnee for a while. It was all a fake-out. He proposes (in person!) not too long after he calls to tell her about his job offer. That rascal. (Also, Jerry—Jim O'Heir—has a "fart attack.")
Season 5: Episode 7, "Leslie vs. April" Seasons' worth of jokes about Leslie's obsession with Vice President Joe Biden pay off when she meets the man himself and kind of loses her mind.
Season 5: Episode 11, "Women in Garbage" Ron adorably babysits for the daughters of his new lady friend, Diane (Lucy Lawless), and Leslie and April—in a move for gender equality—become garbage collectors. There is much hilarity.
Season 5: Episode 14, "Leslie and Ben" This episode's titular couple get hitched. It's a comedy of errors that will warm your heart for days.
Season 6: Episodes 5 and 6, "Gin It Up!" and "Filibuster" These episodes are all well and good, but here's what you really need to know: *Orphan Black'*s Tatiana Maslany guest stars.
Season 6: Episode 13, "Ann and Chris" Ann and city manager Chris (Rob Lowe) have decided to have a baby together and leave Pawnee. This episode is their big good-bye, but mostly it's about showing how much emotional depth Parks can have when it musters up the right moment.
Season 6: Episode 20, "One in 8,000" Leslie and Ben find out they're having triplets (!!!). Leslie seems uncommonly unflustered by this.
Season 6: Episodes 21 and 22, "Moving Up" Parts 1 and 2" Leslie ponders a job with the National Park Service and also meets Michelle Obama. (And loses it, Biden-style.) Meanwhile, the town plans a Pawnee-Eagleton Unity Concert, which ends up featuring a star-studded performance of "5,000 Candles in the Wind" complete with a hologram Li'l Sebastian.
Why You Should Binge:
Because amidst the smart-aleck, sardonic humor, there's something very loveable and innocent about the Parks and Rec gang that is just nice to come home to.
Best Scene—Prairie Drink-Off:
Remember that thing we mentioned above about a drink-off to keep Ron in Pawnee? Yeah, that was pretty great.
The Takeaway:
This may be reaching too far, but there are times when Parks and Recreation serves as a reminder that politics are the same from small towns to Washington, DC. We're all just goofballs trying to learn how to be civil.
If You Liked Parks and Recreation You'll Love:
30 Rock, obviously. If you like Knope, go back and watch anything Poehler ever did as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Also, Offerman will occasionally do small tours as a one-man show—if he ever comes to your town, treat yo self and get a ticket.
