Mike Schur, the writer behind A Man on the Inside, now available on , has an older show that I find myself revisiting annually, despite it once being labelled as ‘uncomfortable’.
Initially proposed as a spin-off of the American version of The Office, it quickly evolved into its own entity. Although it maintained a similar mockumentary style, with characters occasionally addressing the camera directly, its universe and characters bore no relation to Michael Scott or his paper company.
For those who haven’t yet discovered this series, there’s good news – it’s available for free streaming on ITVX. Even better, after you’ve binged all 126 episodes, you can delve into Mike Schur’s subsequent shows Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, and A Man on the Inside, all accessible on .
Schur co-created Parks and Recreation with Greg Daniels, a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons and co-creator of King of the Hill. However, the early days of Parks and Rec were somewhat inconsistent.
Any devoted fan of the sitcom will likely preface their recommendation with “you can skip the first season” or “don’t give up on it after the first few seasons; it gets so much better, I promise.”
The Rotten Tomatoes score for Parks and Rec shoots up after the first season (Image: Getty)
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Viewers might argue that the initial season of Parks and Recreation is one to skip due to its rocky start, but such a stance overlooks the show’s impressive evolution. The series serves as a nostalgic reminder of an era when television programmes were allowed the luxury of time to mature.
In today’s cutthroat streaming landscape, exemplified by ‘s quick-to-cancel culture, shows rarely receive the chance to develop characters over numerous episodes. The debut season of Parks was met with lukewarm reviews, with one critic from the New York Daily News remarking, “Part of Parks and Recreation feels uncomfortable, which would be more tolerable if the rest of the show felt funny.”
With only six episodes, the first season of this US sitcom was notably brief, leaving little room for extensive critique. However, the second season enjoyed a full 24-episode run, introducing pivotal changes, especially to Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope reports .
Initially, Leslie didn’t capture the audience’s affection in the same way Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott did, but by the second season, her character was refined, highlighting her dedication to her job and her unwavering commitment to public service. If only our local councils had their own Leslie Knope.
And it wasn’t just Leslie who evolved; Chris Pratt’s Andy Dwyer, initially intended as a guest star, was given ample opportunity to endear himself to fans, becoming a core part of the ensemble alongside Nick Offerman’s Ron Swanson, who stands as Leslie’s staunch counterpart.
The original cast made some changes (Image: NBC)
Despite a rocky start, the second season of the show is not to be missed. It boasts some standout episodes, including Andy Samberg’s scene-stealing performance in Park Safety, the introduction of a new holiday on Galentine’s Day and a hint at what could potentially be one of the greatest sitcom couples of all time in Summer Catalog.
By the third season, the cast experiences a significant reshuffle, losing one major star and gaining two. Paul Schneider departs with little fanfare, and his character is never mentioned again.
It’s undeniable; he isn’t missed. However, his absence is filled by the dynamic duo of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott, and the show never looks back.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Parks has a forgettable 68% rating but jumps to an impressive 96% for the second series. The fresh faces in the third season help the show achieve its first perfect 100% score.
Although the final season is the only time the score falls below 90% again, it delivers one of the most powerful finales ever seen in a comedy series.
Parks and Recreation set a trend in shows created by Mike Schur. Starting as a writer on The Office US, about employees in a seemingly dead-end job, Schur shifted his focus to workplace comedies where the job could actually hold significance.
While there are still characters displaying incompetence for laughs, Poehler’s Leslie is an early example of ‘what if the central character loves their job and worked tirelessly to excel at it?’.
As the plot unfolds, its charm starts to influence the entire cast in intriguing ways that won’t be given away here. This is a technique Schur perfected, as evidenced by his subsequent project, Brooklyn Nine-Nine a series which also focuses on an ensemble of police detectives with a passion for their vocation.
He replicated this magic yet again with The Good Place, which can be deemed a workplace comedy set in the celestial spheres.
The latest release, A Man on the Inside, takes a new turn, delving into the possibility that someone may not be fulfilling their responsibilities adequately. When I settled down to critique the new Ted Danson series, it rekindled my adoration for Parks and Recreation.
Yearly, I find myself drawn back to Knope and friends and their journey together. The once-dubbed ‘unfomfortable’ show has become my go-to slice of television comfort. Not only are the gags consistently hilarious (“Leslie, I put your symptoms into the computer, and it looks like you might have internet connectivity problems.”), but the series instills faith in me that there remains good-hearted individuals in significant roles striving to do right.
It fuels my belief in human capacity for growth, to accomplish feats that initially seem unattainable, and in personal evolution save perhaps for Ben Schwartz’s Jean Ralphio. Those tuning into Parks and Recreation for the first time have my envy.
Parks and Recreation is streaming on ITVX, A Man on the Inside is streaming on .