Amy Poehler at the Center of "Parks and Recreation" Special
When stay-at-home orders were just beginning to be enforced a tweet began circulating that said, “Leslie Knope would have a binder for this.” Unfortunately, the champion-of-the-people character from “Parks and Recreation” isn’t around to help in these trying times, but fans were treated to the next best thing.
The cast reunited to film a special episode from their separate homes in which the characters check in on each other via Gryzzl, a fictional internet company from the show that serves the same function as Zoom, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Knope, played by Amy Poehler, has a daily chain in which she checks in on one of her friends using Gryzzl, in this case Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman, who then checks in on another character. A simple premise, but it gives the viewer a chance to see how each character from the show is coping during the pandemic. One of the show’s greatest strengths was the chemistry between some of its characters, such as that of Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle who are played by Aziz Ansari and Retta, respectively, and the one-on-one interactions that take place over Gryzzl show that the chemistry is still there despite this being the show’s first episode in more than five years. That feat is made all the more impressive given the fact that each cast member recorded their lines without interacting with each other.
Unsurprisingly, Knope has the most screen time of all the characters. Just like she did throughout the series, Knope embodies the warm, fuzzy, goofy spirit of the show which, despite a much different production method, is felt throughout the episode and is a much-needed respite from the real-life consequences of the pandemic.
The highlight of the episode is the entire cast coming together for a rendition of “5,000 Candles in the Wind,” an ode to Li’l Sebastian who is the famous miniature horse from the show’s fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Longtime fans understand the significance of the song and hearing it again during our current real-life circumstances is enough to bring those fans to tears.
The show was also made with the intention of benefiting Feeding America’s COVID-19 response. In total, the episode raised approximately $2.8 million for the organization. The episode is currently streaming on Hulu and NBC’s website.
Photos courtesy of Wikipedia and Flickr user BagoGames
Report: Michael Rosen
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