There’s a New Parks and Recreation Tonight!!!!!!!!

The time I’ve been waiting for since February of 2015 is finally here: Parks and Recreation is back for a special episode to raise money for Feeding America. During this pandemic, there have been many questions out there, but for me, the loudest has continued to be “What Would Leslie Knope Do?” because she is the character that, right now, we kind of need to turn to the most.

Starting at 8PM, the Paley Center Honors special for the show will air, before the new episode hits at 8:30PM. Am I going to be emotionally ready for this? No, never. It’s a show that means more to me than anything else, and getting one more episode feels like some dream come true that I never really knew I had. (The finale was perfect. No notes!)

To make our current world the real life version of Pawnee, Ben Shapiro decided that commenting on Ben Wyatt (the fictional character) and his stint as Teen Mayor was a smart move.

Let me explain something: Parks and Recreation has this thing called character arcs and growth. The entire reason that Ben Wyatt became this accountant/money-obsessed man was because, as a teenager, they let him be mayor, and he did a bad job and bankrupted the town and learned and grew from admitting his mistakes.

He worked hard to overcome it and became a congressman. Don’t worry though, Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur, on Twitter (@KenTremendous), pointed out that Ben Wyatt’s political snafu was based on a real-life mess created by someone on Shapiro’s side of the political aisle …

The fact that Mike Schur is constantly reminding us of the messaging Leslie Knope and this show warms my heart, and now, tonight, we’re going to see how Leslie Knope is handling this entire situation, and it just truly means the world to me.

To make me cry further, here is “End of the Line,” by the Traveling Wilburys, which played as Leslie Knope said “I’m Ready” during the series finale. You’re all welcome!

Check back here tomorrow where I’ll cry about the episode, probably curse Jerry, and wish we lived in a world where Leslie Knope really were in charge, because at least I’d feel like someone cared enough to look out for us all.

(image: NBC)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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