Parks and Recreation: Season 1

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 396 Ratings

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7.7

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7.7	Your Score
7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 396 Ratings

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Parks And Recreation: Leslie And Andy Continue Their Tour

Now Playing: Parks And Recreation: Leslie And Andy Continue Their Tour

Season Details & Credits

NBC | Season Premiere Date: March 6, 2013

Starring: Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Rob Lowe

Summary: The mockumentary comedy follows the life of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a Parks and Recreation employee.

Creator: Greg Daniels and Michael Schur

Genre(s): Comedy

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Season 1 Episodes

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S1:E7. Rock Show: Producers Cut
Air Date: May 15, 2009
tbd
S1:E6. Rock Show
Air Date: May 14, 2009
tbd
S1:E5. The Banquet
Air Date: May 7, 2009

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Daniel Carlson

To act as if Parks has to be measured against that show's [The Office] standard gives short shrift to a genuinely funny and engaging comedy that bears stylistic similarities to "Office" but has a heart and mind all its own. Read full review

Dorothy Rabinowitz

There's more than enough absurd charm in the show, meanwhile, to make the wait worthwhile. Read full review

Robert Lloyd

It has a kind of sunny charm, a premise fit for a novel, and is built upon a pair of strong female leads, a rare enough thing in sitcoms. Poehler and Jones have a nice, contrapuntal rhythm. I stamp this show: approved. Read full review

Troy Patterson

This is a civil servant who has yet to be jaded, and the show is just good enough to keep you turning back in to see her unwarranted optimism curdle. Read full review

Tim Goodman

The pilot is not especially funny. But it has potential. Read full review

David Zurawik

The problem with the pilot is in tone. Self-important and silly but optimistic and sweet is a hard mark to hit week after week. Read full review

Jonathan Storm

Parks and Recreation emerges a miscast mess. Read full review

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User Score

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7.7

User Reviews

kikideliversjoy

Oct 31, 2017

Parks and Recreation satirizes warring American political ideologies in true mockumentary fashion. The show is well shot and perfectly paced, combining the genius of This Is Spinal Tap with lively intrapersonal office shenanigans. The characters, flawed and human as they are, really grow onParks and Recreation satirizes warring American political ideologies in true mockumentary fashion. The show is well shot and perfectly paced, combining the genius of This Is Spinal Tap with lively intrapersonal office shenanigans. The characters, flawed and human as they are, really grow on you as the series progresses. And if you're looking for character development, you'll definitely find it here. Much of this show focuses on dealings with failure, heartbreak and depression which is counterbalanced by the protagonist's abundant optimism, so your heart is left feeling warm and tingly after nearly every episode. It's one of the few shows in which scriptwriters seem to genuinely empathize with each character. In a miraculous feat of scriptwriting, Parks and Recreation has created the sole instance in which I've found a libertarian to be charming. Watch this show; #treatyoself!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

StevenK

May 10, 2009

Each show gets better and better. The show is hilarious. In fact, I may even find it funnier than The Office (I know, blasphemy). People should ignore the initial reviews, and really give this show a chance!

4 of 4 users found this helpful

KimmyTee

Mar 11, 2011

Absolutely love this show. It is always so funny and I love the cast. Amy Poehler is so cute and hilarious. The show is always fun and is great on the NBC Thursday night lineup. I hope we continue to see this show on for along time to come.

8 of 9 users found this helpful81

flashcritic

Dec 11, 2011

My wife and I started the show early on. I quit for awhile but the current material is so much better. The quirky ongoing inside jokes such as 'little sebastian' the horse, Ron Swanson's ex wife Tammy 2 and Ron's fear of the Government make she show very funny for followers. The dark humorMy wife and I started the show early on. I quit for awhile but the current material is so much better. The quirky ongoing inside jokes such as 'little sebastian' the horse, Ron Swanson's ex wife Tammy 2 and Ron's fear of the Government make she show very funny for followers. The dark humor of April is a special jewel for the show. Definitely check this out.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

gabrielfobia

Sep 9, 2016

While the first season gives you nothing to keep watching, the next seasons are insanely better. You can really catch you laughing of Amy Poehler's outstanding performance.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Skulb

Feb 26, 2014

This show is depressing to watch in bulk after 5 seasons. The first three seasons are great and easily the best American comedy, along with The Office, since Arrested Development was cancelled because of the low IQs of US TV watchers. But then season 4 and 5 are partly average and partlyThis show is depressing to watch in bulk after 5 seasons. The first three seasons are great and easily the best American comedy, along with The Office, since Arrested Development was cancelled because of the low IQs of US TV watchers. But then season 4 and 5 are partly average and partly unwatchable porn gossip, with the until then interesting lead character being reduced to perving over her stick insect boyfriend`s butt constantly. The funny part of the show was that Leslie Knope was utterly delusional but somehow managed to cram her delusions down people`s throats with her relentless optimism. The counterpoint to her anti government boss was perfect and produced almost all the comedy this show managed to generate. But when the pathetic script writers started turning her into a success, thereby confirming her delusions, they killed the heart of the show in a similar way that fat Chandler dating dull Monica did to Friends. And it didn`t help much that Ron Swanson had his character destroyed at the same time, leaving an otherwise uninteresting cast of unfunny people doing cheap sex gags to pick up the slack. This is not a comedy after season 4. Why anybody would think it is comedy I have no idea. The same kinds of people who laughed at dwarf tossing in the Middle Ages I guess, and to me all I can think of by way of comparison is the guy watching Ow My Balls! in Idiocracy all day long.

The second problem seems to be that political satire is apparently banned in the USA, or perhaps Americans are just too sanctimonious about their government to get it. Either way what careful doses of it there were on this show get replaced with more and more crude propaganda in the fourth and fifth seasons; Elections aren`t rigged, bought out and controlled at all in P&R which they most certainly are in real life, taxes are good and not at all funneled into the endless pit of the Federal Reserve and local politicians make decisions as opposed to rubber stamping federal and UN "legislation". If a comedy show can`t tackle this satirically, and instead rah rahs about how wonderful Obama and Hitlery Clinton are, it needs to avoid the topics altogether. But P&R did not and destroyed itself in the process. Season 5 might as well have been written by John McCain or some other Washington parasite. Indeed the ghastly McCain even makes an appearance in season 5, setting his stamp of death and decay on this ruined "comedy" show. If any poor Americans want an example of what real political satire looks like I recommend either the old BBC show Yes Minister or the movie Brazil.

I would advise people to get the three first seasons of Parks and Recreation and then pretend it got cancelled, which in some ways it did since it`s not much of a comedy after this point. Seasons 1-3 I would rate a 9, season 4 a 5 and season 5 a 1. Watching beyond this point seems highly pointless.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SheckyJ

Dec 18, 2009

Amy Poehler proves without a doubt that she lacks any true acting or comedic skills. One must conclude that the staying power of this show thus far has more to do with her network of NBC brass than with talent or viewership.

Parks and Recreation: Season 1

Season 1 Episodes

Seasons & Episodes