Leslie Knope must be the envy of every striving small-town politician in the country. The deputy director of the Pawnee Parks Department and (now former) city councilwoman on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” has rubbed elbows with some of the country’s top politicians, both inside Washington and out. And now she’s getting some face time with the first lady herself.
The show announced Thursday that Michelle Obama will make a cameo on the one-hour season finale April 24. The role will surely be related to her healthy-eating campaign, since the fictional town of Pawnee is as notorious for its obesity rate as it is for its raccoon problem.
It’s probably the earnestness of the show — Knope is the consummate hard-working, underappreciated do-gooder — that draws in the big names in Washington. Here are the five best politician cameos on the six seasons of “Parks”:
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and now-former Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
Season 5, episode 1
Two of the leading women in the Senate have just a brief moment on-screen while Leslie stammers and sputters in awe, even though they are, as her husband, Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott), reminds her, “Numbers 4 and 26 on Leslie’s list of amazing women.” She’s so overwhelmed, she has to retreat to a Senate coat room (continued in No. 3 on this list).
Newt Gingrich
Season 5, episode 10
The former Republican speaker of the House was seemingly brought in just for another joke at the expense of poor Jerry, the show’s punching bag. Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir) and Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) sit down at a steakhouse table, only to find out that it was actually reserved for the “Gingrich” party.
“I wonder if we’re related?” Jerry asks, to a stern look of dismissal from Newt.
In fact, the scene came about because Gingrich happened to be at the restaurant when the crew arrived to film that scene.
John McCain
Season 5, episode 1
Leslie takes refuge in a coat closet after meeting Boxer and Snowe, only to be intruded upon by the famously hammy senator from Arizona. The two have a history together, of course: McCain hosted “SNL” back in 2008.
Joe Biden
Season 5, episode 7
Leslie’s fiance, Ben, scores a real coup when he pulls some favors to organize for Leslie to meet the vice president. Leslie is gaga for ol’ Handsome Joe, touching his face and leaning in for a kiss at one point. This makes sense, since she once described her ideal man as having “the brains of George Clooney in the body of Joe Biden.”
Hillary Clinton???
A Hillary Clinton cameo hasn’t been booked yet, but it seems almost inevitable before the show ends. Leslie keeps a picture of the former first lady and secretary of state in her office and clearly styles herself in her image.
Amy Poehler parodied Clinton on “Saturday Night Live,” and famously in front of Clinton herself once.
And executive producer Michael Schur told The Hollywood Reporter that he wants to make the cameo happen in the finale:
“I always imagined the perfect ending to the series — and I hope it’s not for a while — would be a casual piece of B-roll where Leslie is walking through a building in Washington, DC, and passes Hillary Clinton, and Hillary Clinton says, ‘Leslie.’ Leslie says, ‘Secretary Clinton,’ and keeps walking.”