I Wanted To Be Leslie Knope. I Became Ron Swanson.

Today we're going back to one of my high school favorites. Parks and Rec.

If you were a fan of The Office, it’s likely that you too watched Parks and Rec in you post-Office depression. I expected a light-hearted comedy in an attempt to fill that void, but I got something much greater.

Why did we like it then?

From the very first episode, we’re greeted with a talented ensemble of characters: Leslie, who genuinely believes in the power of local government, Ron, who despite his job title hates the role of the local government, Tom, who is genuinely there for the vibes, Andy, our lovable well-meaning buffoon, and April, Pawnee’s very own acid bath princess of darkness. (If you get that reference, I promise YOU are exactly my target audience.) In later seasons, we’re joined by Anne, Ben, and Chris. It’s this ensemble of vastly different people with their own personalities, outlooks, goals, and motivations that we fell in love with. Despite my pessimism about governmental institutions, I couldn’t help but root for Leslie as she grew into a more nuanced and fully-fleshed character, which distinguished her from Micheal Scott’s first few seasons of insufferable-ness. Then Ben shows up, joined by Rob Lowe. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t stick around for Rob Lowe. It’s this cast of characters portrayed by talented actors that we loved in its original run.

What can we take from it now?

Unlike The Office, Parks and Rec felt a lot more planned out when it came to the later seasons. We saw relationships form in addition to plot lines; rather than sticking around to see if Ryan and Kelly ever get together like we did with The Office, we wanted to see if Leslie (who is probably the only politician other than Jimmy Carter to be in politics for the right reason) would be able to go beyond local politics. We wanted to watch Anne and Chris grow their family and to see Andy and April become real adults together. In 2026, we need some kind of hope in governmental institutions, and I argue that Parks and Rec gives us just that!