Parks and Recreation will return for a special one-off episode featuring the original cast that will air Thursday, April 30th, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. The episode will help raise money for Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund, which is providing additional assistance to food banks around the country during the pandemic.
The new episode will be set in the present day and center around the attempts of Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope to keep in touch with all her friends and colleagues as they social distance. Along with Poehler, cast members Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, Rob Lowe, Aziz Ansari, Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, Jim O’Heir and Retta will appear in the episode. A press release teased that “special guest stars from the Pawnee universe may pop in” as well.
In a statement, Parks and Rec creator Mike Schur said, “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. 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 fans can donate to Feeding America through this website. State Farm and Subaru of America will both make matching donations of $150,000, which will be combined with donations from NBCUniversal and the writers, producers and cast of Parks and Rec to bring the total of matching donations to $500,000.
Parks and Recreation ran for seven seasons from 2009 to 2015. Though never a huge ratings smash, the show cultivated a dedicated fanbase and regularly earned rave reviews from critics. During its run, the show picked up 10 Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe nods, with Poehler winning Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2014.
