In the first TV event of the new year, NBC is giving its landmark comedy “Parks and Recreation” a sendoff that will maximize the show’s cultural impact. The seventh and final season of this critically-acclaimed and beloved series will begin Tuesday, Jan. 13 with back-to-back episodes (8-9 p.m. ET/PT) and continue with back-to-back episodes each week until the hourlong series finale on Tuesday, Feb. 24 following “The Voice.”
The return of the series, in fact, will be scheduled to premiere in the afterglow of the Jan. 11 “72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards,” co-hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
“Mike Schur and Amy Poehler, along with their incredible producers, cast, and crew, have given us one of the great television comedies of all time, and we’re inordinately proud of ‘Parks and Recreation,’” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt. “In an effort to give it the send-off it deserves, we wanted to ‘eventize’ the final season to maximize the impact of these episodes, which really do take the show to a new level. The highly-anticipated one-hour finale will air behind ‘The Voice’ in order to lead the largest audience possible into what promises to be a very special hour of television.”
“Critics, viewers and all of us at NBC fell in love with this endearing, funny, heartfelt show and its authentic cast of characters,” added Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “After seven amazing seasons, saying goodbye to the folks of Pawnee will be bittersweet, so we want to give the show and its fans the most impactful final season possible.”
Starring Golden Globe winner Amy Poehler as a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Ind., “Parks and Recreation” has been Emmy Award nominated and is a winner of the Television Critics Assn. Award for best comedy, AFI Award, American Comedy Award and the highly prestigious Peabody Award.
The series also stars Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Jim O’Heir and Retta.
At 8pm on January 13th, Leslie launches a competition with tech company Gryzzl for a large parcel of land, which she wants to turn into a National Park. April and Andy try to regain their spontaneity. Ben is recognized at a Bicentennial gala, where Tom delivers a speech in his honor. At 8:30pm, Leslie and Ron briefly put aside their feud to help old foe Jeremy Jamm escape the clutches of the diabolical Tammy 2. Ben vows to help April discover her true passion in life, while Andy and Tom travel to Chicago.
From Emmy Award-winning executive producers Greg Daniels (“The Office,” “King of the Hill”) and Michael Schur (“The Office,” NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”), “Parks and Recreation” is a hilarious ensemble comedy that follows Leslie Knope (Golden Globe winner Amy Poehler, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” “Baby Mama”), a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Ind., and her tireless efforts to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun.
In the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, Leslie’s office mates include Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari, “Human Giant,” “Scrubs”), a fashion-obsessed wannabe player whose greatest dream is to own his own nightclub. Leslie’s boss, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman, “Children’s Hospital,” sporting one of the most impressive moustaches on TV), hates the very government he works for. Leslie is supported by Ben Wyatt, her husband and former campaign manager (Adam Scott, “Friends with Kids,” “Party Down”); former shoeshine boy extraordinaire, Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt, “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Moneyball”); and Andy’s wife, April, the disinterested intern now the Director of Animal Control (Aubrey Plaza, “Funny People”). Rounding out the Parks and Recreation staff are the fun-loving Donna Meagle (Retta, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and the department’s punching bag, Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir, “Castle”).
“Parks and Recreation” is currently in its sixth season and since its premiere in 2009, the critically-acclaimed series has been included on dozens of television critics’ Top 10 lists and was named “TV’s Smartest Comedy” in Entertainment Weekly’s 2011 cover story. “Parks and Recreation” is the recipient of a Peabody Award for excellence in television programming, an AFI honor as one of the Top 10 Television Shows of the Year, Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, and four consecutive Emmys nominations as well as a Golden Globe Award for Amy Poehler’s individual performance. Additional accolades include Writers Guild Award and Producers Guild Award nominations, 2010 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Individual Episode, 2013 Television Critics Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy and TCA nominations for Program of the Year and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Poehler and co-star Nick Offerman, which Offerman won, as well as NAACP Image Award and Imagen Award nominations.
“Parks and Recreation” is a production of Deedle-Dee Productions, Fremulon, 3 Arts Entertainment and Universal Television. Along with Daniels and Schur, Howard Klein (“The Office”), David Miner (“30 Rock”), Morgan Sackett (“Seinfeld”) and Dean Holland (“The Office”) also serve as executive producers for the series.