According to Entertainment Weekly, NBC has given an expiration date to the beloved Parks & Recreation. The 13-episode final season will start on January 13 at 8 PM and will take its final bow on February 24. Yeah, if you do the math that means NBC will air back-to-back episodes for the entire run.
From EW:
“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 a statement on Monday. “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.”
The jarring time-jump from last season was a creative leap of faith. Giant manipulations of time in TV have an interesting history, and it is the number one thing I’m looking forward to seeing from the affable sitcom this final season. I look forward to all the think pieces online that will compare Parks & Recreation to an epic like Battlestar Galactica.
Remember the way Leslie Knope used to address Ann with a soft and comforting, “Oh, Ann Perkins,” followed by like a random assortment of flowery adjectives? That’s the way I and I’m sure many feel about Parks & Recreation. So it isn’t easy for me to say this, but it’s time for the show to bow out.
Almost everyone in the core cast’s profile has skyrocketed since the show began. Every one of them are very talented individuals, and while Parks has given them the spotlight it’s time for them to shine brighter and move on. Amy Poehler has become a comedy titan, and will in fact be hosting The Golden Globes with tag-team partner Tina Fey for the third and last time. Aubrey Plaza just voiced the Grumpy Cat for Lifetime as basically one complicated troll, and will no doubt do something major in the near future. Aziz Ansari is huge. Rashida Jones is everywhere. Rob Lowe too. Ditto Nick Offerman. Adam Scott is selling you vodka and will star in comedies until you can’t have any more. And arguably the biggest star of all? Lovable oaf Chris Pratt is now a part of the Marvel Universe as a ripped space outlaw. I also can’t forget about Retta. Follow her on Twitter, it will make live TV fun.
A lot of people are bummed out about the show’s imminent end. As well they should, because Parks & Recreation will go down as a legend in the annals of TV comedy. But fans should take comfort knowing that it is a deserved end and not a premature cancellation or a long-past-due mercy kill. Hardly any shows get such a dignity. And hey, remember when season one Parks & Rec was nothing but a pale imitation of The Office? We’ve come a long way since.
Set your DVRs, we leave Pawnee starting January 13, 2015 on NBC. Rachel Dratch, Jon Hamm, Megan Mullaly, and even fellow Rutgers alum Natalie Morales are set to guest star. I can’t wait.