You’ve come a long way, baby.
Improbably, NBC’s cult comedy “Parks and Recreation” will air its 100th episode on Thursday at 8:30 p.m., a milestone it seemed unlikely to hit after its six-episode first season averaged a little more than 5 million viewers.
But thanks to the sinking fortunes of NBC’s Thursday night lineup, “Parks” has managed to survive — rewarding fans with a show that has only gotten smarter and funnier with age.
Over six seasons, the gang from Pawnee has gone through a lot of changes, which continues in tonight’s 100th episode “Second Chunce,” where Leslie (Amy Poehler) comes to terms with her last day in office and plans for the future with Ben (Adam Scott); Chris (Rob Lowe) and Ann (Rashida Jones) find out the sex of their child; Andy (Chris Pratt) comes home from London; and Tom (Aziz Ansari) looks to the future.
In honor of the milestone episode, we thought we’d look back at where each of the “Parks & Rec” crew was when this series first premiered in spring 2009.
Happy reminiscing!
Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler)
Poehler’s eager and naïve deputy director of the Parks & Recreation Department was initially criticized as too similar to “The Office” protagonist Michael Scott (Steve Carell), as she saw her optimism crushed by bureaucracy in every episode.
Luckily, writers retooled the character in the second season to be less over-the-top and more grounded. While in Season One Leslie’s romantic life revolved around a long-standing crush on city planner Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider, who later left the show), now she’s married to adorable City Manager Ben Wyatt.
Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones)
Pawnee nurse Ann met Leslie in the first episode when she demanded a construction pit in the empty lot next to her house be filled in after her then-boyfriend Andy Dwyer fell in and broke his legs.
After breaking up with Andy, she’s dated Mark, Chris and Tom — whom she briefly moved in with despite the two not being able to stand each other.
Now, she and Chris are having a baby together, sadly setting them up to exit the series at midseason.
Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari)
Long before Rent-a-Swag, Pawnee’s overly confident aspiring entrepreneur was purposefully losing online Scrabble games to his boss Ron Swanson to further his career.
He was also in a green card marriage with attractive surgeon Wendy, which didn’t stop him from testing his skills as a pickup artist on other women.
Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman)
Part of Ron’s charm is that he never changes his meat-eating, whiskey-swilling, woodworking ways — and especially his hatred for government.
But while the bristly “Parks” boss was living in fear of his two ex-wives (both named Tammy) when the series began, he’s now found love again with Diane (Lucy Lawless).
April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza)
April was introduced as the Parks Departments’ apathetic 19-year-old intern whose boyfriend was openly gay and dating a man.
Though as deadpan as ever, April has since gained some ambition over the years, developing a plan for a dog park and becoming head of the animal control department, and is now married to Andy.
Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt)
Before he was married to April and worked as a shoe-shiner at City Hall, Andy was living with his girlfriend Ann, who was nursing him back to health after he fell in the pit next to her house.
Unemployed, his one interest was being the frontman of his rock band, MouseRat.
Watch as the show’s cast and creators reflect on their favorite moments: