Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation
Also known as	Parks and Rec
Genre	Sitcom Mockumentary Political satire Cringe comedy[1]
Created by	Greg Daniels Michael Schur
Starring	Amy Poehler Rashida Jones Paul Schneider Aziz Ansari Nick Offerman Aubrey Plaza Chris Pratt Adam Scott Rob Lowe Jim O'Heir Retta Billy Eichner
Theme music composer	Gaby Moreno Vincent Jones
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	126 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Greg Daniels Michael Schur Howard Klein David Miner Morgan Sackett Dean Holland Dan Goor
Producer	Amy Poehler
Camera setup	Single camera
Running time	22–42 minutes
Production companies	Open 4 Business Productions Deedle-Dee Productions Fremulon 3 Arts Entertainment Universal Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	April 9, 2009 (2009-04-09) – February 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)
Release	April 30, 2020 (2020-04-30) (special)
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Parks and Recreation (also known as Parks and Rec) is an American political satire mockumentary television sitcom created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 episodes, over seven seasons. A special reunion episode aired on April 30, 2020. The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks Department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, Jim O'Heir as Garry "Jerry" Gergich, Retta as Donna Meagle, and Billy Eichner as Craig Middlebrooks.

The writers researched local California politics for the series and consulted with urban planners and elected officials. Leslie Knope underwent major changes after the first season, in response to audience feedback that the character seemed unintelligent and "ditzy". The writing staff incorporated current events into the episodes, such as a government shutdown in Pawnee inspired by the real-life global financial crisis of 2007–08. Real-life political figures, including John McCain, Michelle Obama, and Joe Biden, have cameos in later episodes.

Parks and Recreation was part of NBC's "Comedy Night Done Right" programming during its Thursday night prime-time block. The series received mixed reviews during its first season (including comparisons to The Office, a sitcom also produced by Daniels and Schur), but, after a re-approach to its tone and format, the second and subsequent seasons were widely acclaimed. Throughout its run, Parks and Recreation received several awards and nominations, including 14 Primetime Emmy Award nominations (two for Outstanding Comedy Series), a Golden Globe Award win for Poehler's performance and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. In Time's 2012 year-end lists issue, Parks and Recreation was named the number one television series of that year.^[2] In 2013, after receiving four consecutive nominations in the category, Parks and Recreation won the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.