"A Parks and Recreation Special" is a special episode of the American comedy television seriesParks and Recreation, and the 126th overall episode of the series. It aired on NBC in the United States on April 30, 2020.
Plot
Bobby Newport introduces the special from his family fox hunting lodge in Switzerland. It is revealed that he is not aware of the COVID-19 pandemic and is shocked when the cameraman tells him. Amid the ongoing quarantine, Leslie reaches out to her friends as part of her daily phone tree. Each character offers a glimpse into their day-to-day lives:
Leslie, a regional director for the National Park Service, is leading several committees she created as part of the response to the quarantine.
Ben, a Congressman under the influence of cleaning supplies, has decided to make a claymation film based on his board gameThe Cones of Dunshire, but later comes to his senses and abandons the project.
Ron is in his cabin; he thinks Leslie's daily conversations with him are unnecessary. He later shows that his ex-wife Tammy 2 has snuck up to his cabin and is now tied up until he can deliver her to the authorities.
April put her and Andy's clothes in a bag and randomly pulls out five items to wear each day.
Andy has locked himself in his shed by accident for over two days.
Ann has returned to work as a nurse and is isolating herself from Chris and their kids.
Tom was supposed to be in Bali as part of a book tour, but it was cancelled so he just sits in front of a green screen with an image of Bali.
Donna expresses support for teachers after seeing what her husband has been going through.
Garry, whom the others had avoided calling, explains the challenges he's faced as mayor of Pawnee while accidentally messing around with his camera settings.
Leslie and Ben make an appearance on Joan Callamezzo's talk show. The two quickly realize that Joan is going crazy amid her isolation. They also appear on Perd Hapley's show, where they stress the importance of staying connected with others. Andy makes an appearance on Perd's show as his character Johnny Karate to reassure kids about the situation. Fictional advertisements show several other characters:
Dennis Feinstein promotes a cologne that supposedly kills all viruses but seems unsafe.
Jeremy Jamm announces that he is starting "home dental delivery".
Jean-Ralphio Saperstein has just won a settlement after being hit by a car and uses the money to run a commercial showing his personal phone number so people can call him because he is bored.
Leslie tells Ron that despite her daily calls, she still misses her friends. To cheer her up, Ron arranges for the others to join a group call, and they sing "5,000 Candles in the Wind" for her. Leslie thanks Ron for the gesture.
Production
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, NBC announced they would air a special episode of the series, centered on Leslie trying to stay connected with the other residents of Pawnee during social distancing. The series' cast, including Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, and Retta, returned for the special, which benefited Feeding America's COVID-19 response. The episode was written by series co-creator Michael Schur, along with Megan Amram, Dave King, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Matt Murray, and Jen Statsky, and was directed by Morgan Sackett. It was recorded by each of the actors at their homes using iPhones. The visual effects team from the series The Good Place provided visual effects on the special to help "make it look like not everyone was just sitting alone in their houses staring at their computers", as the cast did not actually interact together. Due to the pandemic isolation, Schur and the other writers needed to contrive reasons why the married couples were in separate locations – workaholic Leslie staying at the office, Andy locked in his shed, and Ann self-isolating because of her nursing duties. Because Offerman and Mullally are married in real life, Tammy 2 could make a cameo in Ron's scenes.
Reception
Ratings
In its original airing, "A Parks and Recreation Special" was seen by 3.67 million American viewers and achieved a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, roughly on par with the series finale five years earlier. The episode ranked first among adults 18-49 for the night and gave NBC the best rating in that demographic for a Thursday comedy on the network that season. A Paley Center special that aired leading into the episode was seen by 3.33 million viewers with a 1.3 rating among adults 18–49. The episode also raised $2.8 million for Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund.
Critical response
The episode received acclaim from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 100% "Certified Fresh" approval rating based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 8.67/10. The website's consensus reads, "Against all odds the delightful cast and crew of Parks and Recreation pull off a socially distant reunion that's warm, funny, and very, very special." On Metacritic, the episode holds a score of 89 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A–, writing that it was a needed episode with "warmth, laughs, and hope". The publication followed this with a roundtable of several of their critics explaining what they liked most about the humor: Alex McLevy called the episode "deeply satisfying", Patrick Gomez was brought to tears, and Shannon Miller noted, "Fictional towns come and go, but to me, Pawnee, Indiana always harbored an especially idyllic quality that set it so far outside of reality".
