With everyone stuck and home, with fewer new TV and film releases than before, we could all use a good laugh. So right on time comes NBC, uploading the delightful and heartwarming half-hour “Parks and Recreation” reunion for free on YouTube so you can laugh at Jean Ralphio, cry over Li’l Sebastian and revisit the greatest fictional town in Indiana.
The special was written and shot specifically to accommodate the current quarantine. Led by show creator and showrunner Michael Schur, the plot of the special involved Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) catching up to all her co-workers via Gryzzl (the show’s version of Zoom). All the usual suspects come back, including a few surprise guests, including the show’s MCU actor not named Chris Pratt, and with the exception of real-life couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, they’re all shot separately.
Of course, this being a reunion special, the episode was filled with about as much fan service as you could imagine (give or take one Mark Brendanaquits). Somehow, the show managed to make the callbacks and Easter eggs work both emotionally and in the context of the story, largely due to an Avengers-level group of former show writers to return for the special. Do you want respect for the continuity? Check. Plenty of cameos? Check. Callbacks to the tiniest of jokes? Double check. But, hey. It’s “Parks and Recreation” and with everything going on, this felt right.
Though visually limiting, the format works surprisingly well, and it may be a hint of what’s to come. The special pokes fun at social distancing and what it does for our collective mental health (Ben is back to working on his claymation) but it also knows when to take itself seriously and offer some actual practical advice regarding self-care.
As fun as it is to see the characters return, and to see how quickly the actors effortlessly return to their old roles, and as emotional as it is to hear another rendition of “5,000 Candles in the Wind” the reason these characters are back together is everything but silly, and the show knows it.
The special also served a purpose other than to simply entertain and remind us how much worse the world turned after “Parks and Recreation” ended. The special was made with a mission to raise funds for Feeding America’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, and NBC (via Variety) reports that the special managed to raise $3 million since Thursday night.
Grab some waffles, don’t get run over by a Lexus, and say goodbye to Li’l Sebastian one more time by watching the reunion special below.