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parks and recreation

Television

Original Illustrations Inspired by Literary Jokes on ‘Parks and Recreation’

By Sky Friedlander on

Parks and Recreation fans know that there’s no love lost between the public servants of the Parks department and those who work for the library — they think it’s the worst place in the world. “Pawnee’s library department is the most diabolical, ruthless bunch of bureaucrats I’ve ever seen,” Leslie Knope explained back in Season 2. “They’re like a biker gang. Only instead of shotguns and crystal meth, they use political savvy and shushing.” Considering this stated animosity for “punk-ass book jockeys,” you might find it surprising that Parks and Rec is no stranger to literary humor. Click through to enjoy a slideshow of some the show’s most notable bookish moments as illustrated exclusively for Flavorwire by Sky Friedlander. … Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Judy Berman on

1. Forget being re-elected; we imagine Joe Biden’s even more excited to have landed a cameo on Parks and Recreation. The episode in which he appears will air next Thursday, November 15th. We hope Leslie Knope will be able to contain herself. Check out a video preview of Biden’s appearance at

Television

Is NBC “Tanking” Its Thursday Night Comedies?

By Judy Berman on

No news is good news when it comes to NBC comedies. Over the summer, the network elected to pull Community from its critically beloved, low-rated Thursday-night lineup. Stripped of its iconoclastic showrunner, Dan Harmon, the series would air an abbreviated 13-episode season on Fridays opposite Whitney. 30 Rock’s final year and Up All Night’s second would also be cut short. Earlier this month we learned that Community would not, in fact, return October 19th. And this week, we got two more bizarre pieces of news: Community Season 4 was set to debut on Canada’s Citytv November 9th (now the Citytv has pushed that date back indefinitely) and Up All Night is taking a hiatus from filming with plans to return as a multi-camera sitcom in April. Then, as if to remind us of how unimportant these shows are to the network, NBC announced it was bumping tonight’s Parks and Recreation, The Office, and Up All Night in order to re-run Monday’s episode of The Voice for those affected by Hurricane Sandy. (In case you missed it, 30 Rock‘s election episode aired last night at 8.)

Maybe we’ve been paying too much attention to Jack Donaghy, but all these sudden changes make us worry that NBC is “tanking” last year’s Thursday night lineup. As strategies for getting rid of shows with tiny but vocal fanbases, inconsistency and neglect seem gentler than sudden cancellation. So, will any of the shows make it through the 2012-13 season intact? … Read More

Television

10 Legendary TV Halloween Parties

By Judy Berman on

Do you like Halloween parties? Or are you the kind of person who prefers to celebrate at home, watching horror movies with friends or handing out candy to trick-or-treaters? Well, thanks to the magic of television, you can (virtually) do both — experience all the fun of a great shindig with none of the effort. TV has brought us no shortage of spooky and hilarious Halloween parties over the years. Relive ten of our favorites, from How I Met Your Mother’s legendary “slutty pumpkin” party to Buffy’s demonic frat party, after the jump. … Read More

Television

The 15 Funniest TV Characters Right Now

By Judy Berman on

Is Andy Dwyer the funniest character on TV? We know we struggle to keep a straight face every time Chris Pratt is on the screen in Parks and Recreation, between his sweetly doofy lines and his perfectly timed pratfalls. (As our colleague Kim Gardner reminds us, he makes an excellent FBI agent, too.) Our love of Andy got us thinking about who else might qualify as television’s most hilarious character right now, so we surveyed the Flavorpill staff to get their picks. See the 15 they shouted out — including now fewer than three more Parks and Rec characters — after the jump. … Read More

Film

Adam Scott to Adapt Chuck Klosterman's 'Downtown Owl' With Wife

By Judy Berman on

We’ll admit it: The first thing we did when we found out Amy Poehler and Will Arnett were breaking up was Google to see if Adam Scott was married, because wouldn’t it be adorable if Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt were a real-life couple? At the time, we were disappointed to learn that Scott is… Read More

Television

A Special Message from Ron Swanson About the Bacon Shortage

By Judy Berman on

Readers, are you worried about the worldwide bacon shortage the media has been hyping for the past few weeks? Never fear, the world’s greatest bacon enthusiast is on the case with some tips on how to survive. In a one-minute video that makes us feel slightly better about having to miss a week of Parks and Rec because of some political debate or whatever, Ron Swanson advises us, “Do not panic. There is time if you act immediately.” And then he shows us how to hide smoked, cured meat all over our office. Apparently, it helps to have a Tom Haverford handy. (P.S. Seriously, don’t worry. The bacon shortage probably isn’t going to happen.) … Read More

Comedy

Watch Nick Offerman Perform a Hilarious Love Song for Megan Mullally

By Judy Berman on

Now that their Parks and Recreation cast mate Amy Poehler has called it quits with Will Arnett, it’s up to Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally to keep us in comedy power couple adorableness. Thankfully, that’s something they do quite well. It’s the rare Offerman interview that doesn’t include the actor rhapsodizing over his wife’s beauty, talent, and poise. And last night on Letterman, he gave us a taste of the song he wrote for Mullally’s 50th birthday. Although he only played a minute of so of what sounded to be a fairly lengthy composition, we got lyrics about Cialis, leprechauns, how she “made me your bitch, and I made you my wife.” Watch Offerman strum his acoustic guitar below, and perhaps daydream that he’s singing to you. … Read More

Television

Megan Mullally Returning to ‘Parks and Rec’

By Alison Nastasi on

Tammy is back! Megan Mullally will reprise her role as the second ex-wife of Nick Offerman’s Ron Swanson in the ninth episode of this season’s Parks and Rec, “Ron and Diane.” AV Club reported that the former Will & Grace star will be stirring up trouble for Ron who recently started a “thing” with… Read More

Television

Watch a ‘Parks and Rec’ Supercut of Chris Traeger’s Relentless Positivity

By Judy Berman on

Parks and Recreation’s Chris Traeger isn’t just a sunny optimist — he’s a guy whose entire worldview revolves around deflecting negative energy. As a man who was born with a rare blood disorder but believes he’ll live to be 150, Chris has to build his entire life around health. He exercises constantly, exclusively eats food whose very existence makes Ron Swanson angry, and practices the power of positive thinking. But recently, his exuberance seems to be reaching its limit. After Jerry’s daughter Millie dumps Chris, he seems depressed by Ann’s relationship with Tom, and last week we saw him have a full-on breakdown mid-run over his loneliness. So, with a visit to the therapist on the agenda, NBC has pulled together a supercut of Chris’ relentless positivity. It’s “lit’rally” delightful. … Read More