Parks and Recreation is back, baby! It was announced today that the entire cast, including Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir, and Retta, will be reuniting for a one-time special which will benefit Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund. The half-hour scripted special is slated to air on Thursday, April 30th at 8:30 pm ET/PT.
The story of the special has to do with Leslie Knope (Poehler), Pawnee's most dedicated civil servant, determination to stay connected to her friends in a time of social distancing. In addition to the main cast, it's said that several guest stars from Pawnee may pop in as well. Give us more Perd Hapley! "Like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money," said executive producer Michael Schur in a statement. "I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes. Our old ‘Parks and Rec’ team has put together one more 30-minute slice of (quarantined) Pawnee life and we hope everyone enjoys it. And donates!" Parks and Recreation came to an end in 2015 after seven seasons. In a further statement, Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment, said:
In such uncertain times, we can’t think of anyone better than Leslie Knope to unite our country with her unbridled enthusiasm and compassion. A huge thank you to Mike Schur and the cast of Parks and Recreation for putting this wonderful special together and bringing a smile to all our faces while raising money for such a worthwhile cause.
State Farm and Subaru of America will be making matching donations of $150,000 to Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund, which, combined with NBCUniversal and the writers/producers/cast of Parks and Recreation, will come to a total of $500,000 in matching donations which will be made through May 21st. If you wish to make a donation yourself, you can so right here.