How ‘Parks and Rec’ Became the Perfect Comfort Rewatch

Amy Poehler is a hero for our times: optimistic but realistic, sunny with an edge of snark and sass, a community builder, a rare breed of celebrity who has built her reputation on being a decent person. Her podcast, Good Hang, has become a sensation because listeners come away from her interviews enriched and enlightened by her honesty, her reverence for art and process, and, most of all, her extraordinary ability to truly connect, honed from years of Yes, And-ing through improv. It is for these reasons that the Peabody jurors have chosen to honor her this year with a Career Achievement Award.

And no show better embodies Poehler’s spirit than her cult sleeper hit sitcom Parks and Recreation. The series follows Poehler’s character Leslie Knope, the deputy parks and recreation director in the small Indiana town of Pawnee, as she works her way through the government ranks, trying her best to serve her wacky constituents—always, crucially, with the help of her ragtag staff. Its optimistic ode to community was not a hit during its run on NBC from 2009-15, barely eking out its renewals each season, a story I tell in my new book Parks and Rec: The Underdog TV Show That Lit’rally Inspired a Vision for a Better America. But in the streaming era, viewers have flocked to its sunny glow, its vision of a simpler time when bridging partisan divides seemed more possible, as real-life politics have grown ever darker.

Now its memes are rampant, its made-up holiday of Galentine’s Day has become a real one, and its stars are everywhere: Nick Offerman, who played Leslie’s gruff, libertarian boss Ron Swanson, has made a career of portraying classically masculine characters, including his Emmy-winning turn as a survivalist unexpectedly caught in an epic queer love story on The Last of Us. Aubrey Plaza, who defined the disaffected millennial as office assistant April Ludgate, was nominated for an Emmy for her turn on the cultural phenomenon The White Lotus. Chris Pratt, once known as Parks and Rec’s doofy rocker Andy Dwyer, became an unexpectedly ubiquitous action star in blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World. Meanwhile, the show’s co-creator, Michael Schur, has become known for his unique brand of philosophical, optimistic comedy with follow-ups such as The Good Place and Man on the Inside. His Parks and Rec writing staff has populated the airwaves with their own unique creations, from Dan Goor’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine to Jen Statsky’s Peabody-winning Hacks.

It’s not just that Parks and Recreation’s alumni have been prolific, though. It’s also that Parks and Recreation has experienced a surprising surge in popularity as a comfort watch in divided times. It became one of the most streamed shows in the country during the pandemic and beyond, and parents have continued introducing their kids to it as a rare family watch.

This is heartening, given the lack of TV shows dealing with civic themes. A 2022 study by American University’s Center for Media and Social Impact showed that only one-third of TV episodes dealt with such themes, and most of those were brief or law-enforcement related—i.e. police actions. Elected officials appeared in just 11 percent of episodes and civil servants in 8 percent, while law enforcement showed up in 41 percent. White men dominated portrayals of officials, with only 32 percent of them being women. Parks and Rec is the exception to every one of these dire statistics.

But perhaps most crucially, it’s just a fun watch, the perfect way to counteract our tumultuous, hyper-partisan times. When Peabody recognized the series in 2011—a time when few others were honoring its brilliance—the citation acknowledged its ability “to make an important and rarely-noted point: With the right people and the right vision, government can work. More importantly, people of diverse opinion can come together to mutual benefit and the greater good.” This has only gotten more true with time.

Poehler is among the people who have watched the show during the pandemic while introducing it to their kids. It gave her a new perspective on why Parks and Recreation is so comforting, even, especially, to subsequent generations. “Young people really want to watch rupture-and-repair,” she told me in an interview for my book. “They want to see stuff get fixed, especially when the world feels so broken. That’s what Parks does. It keeps showing you: breaking it apart and bringing it back together. It gives you this warm feeling, and you want to go to that place and be with these people and hang out with them. And I did it, too. I just snuggled in and watched Parks like everyone else.”

Where to Watch: Peacock