List of Parks and Recreation episodes

Parks and Recreation is an American television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. It has been billed as a companion piece to Daniels' and Schur's other comedy, The Office.^[1]

Produced and broadcast by NBC, Parks and Recreation is filmed in the same mockumentary style as The Office and follows Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Inspired by local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Leslie vows to turn a vacant lot with a large pit into a beautiful park. The show's original line-up was Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, an administrator; Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, head of the Parks and Recreation department and Leslie's superior; Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, an intern; Jim O'Heir as Jerry Gergich and Retta as Donna Meagle, other employees of the Parks and Recreation department; Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Ann's boyfriend who was injured in the pit; and Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, a city planner. Schneider left the series after the second season and was replaced by Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt and Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger, state auditors tasked with evaluating the Parks and Recreation department. In the sixth season, Jones and Lowe left while Billy Eichner joined as series regular, Craig Middlebrooks.

The series ran for 125 episodes over seven seasons from April 9, 2009, until February 24, 2015, with a special episode aired on April 30, 2020.

Series overview

Seasons of Parks and Recreation

Season	Episodes		Originally released		Rank	Viewers (millions)
			First released	Last released
1	6		April 9, 2009 (2009-04-09)	May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)	96	6.00[2]
2	24		September 17, 2009 (2009-09-17)	May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)	108	4.60[3]
3	16		January 20, 2011 (2011-01-20)	May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)	116	5.10[4]
4	22		September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)	May 10, 2012 (2012-05-10)	134	4.40[5]
5	22		September 20, 2012 (2012-09-20)	May 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)	111	4.06[6]
6	22		September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)	April 24, 2014 (2014-04-24)	115	3.76[7]
7	13		January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13)	February 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)	119	4.57[8]
Special			April 30, 2020 (2020-04-30)		—	3.64[9]

Episodes

Average episode runtime is 21–22 minutes without commercials. ^† denotes a longer 25–28 minute episode while ^‡ denotes a "double-length" 42-minute episode.

Season 1 (2009)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 1

Parks and Recreation, season 1 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Greg Daniels	Greg Daniels & Michael Schur	April 9, 2009 (2009-04-09)	6.88[10]
2	2	"Canvassing"	Seth Gordon	Rachel Axler	April 16, 2009 (2009-04-16)	6.02[11]
3	3	"The Reporter"	Jeffrey Blitz	Dan Goor	April 23, 2009 (2009-04-23)	5.26[12]
4	4	"Boys' Club"	Michael McCullers	Alan Yang	April 30, 2009 (2009-04-30)	5.07[13]
5	5	"The Banquet"	Beth McCarthy-Miller	Tucker Cawley	May 7, 2009 (2009-05-07)	4.73[14]
6	6	"Rock Show"†	Michael Schur	Norm Hiscock	May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)	4.29[15]

Season 2 (2009–10)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 2

Parks and Recreation, season 2 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
7	1	"Pawnee Zoo"	Paul Feig	Norm Hiscock	September 17, 2009 (2009-09-17)	4.89[16]
8	2	"The Stakeout"	Seth Gordon	Rachel Axler	September 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)	4.09[17]
9	3	"Beauty Pageant"	Jason Woliner	Katie Dippold	October 1, 2009 (2009-10-01)	4.67[18]
10	4	"Practice Date"	Alex Hardcastle	Harris Wittels	October 8, 2009 (2009-10-08)	4.75[19]
11	5	"Sister City"	Michael Schur	Alan Yang	October 15, 2009 (2009-10-15)	4.53[20]
12	6	"Kaboom"	Charles McDougall	Aisha Muharrar	October 22, 2009 (2009-10-22)	4.92[21]
13	7	"Greg Pikitis"	Dean Holland	Michael Schur	October 29, 2009 (2009-10-29)	4.80[22]
14	8	"Ron and Tammy"	Troy Miller	Mike Scully	November 5, 2009 (2009-11-05)	4.91[23]
15	9	"The Camel"	Millicent Shelton	Rachel Axler	November 12, 2009 (2009-11-12)	4.58[24]
16	10	"Hunting Trip"	Greg Daniels	Dan Goor	November 19, 2009 (2009-11-19)	4.55[25]
17	11	"Tom's Divorce"	Troy Miller	Harris Wittels	December 3, 2009 (2009-12-03)	4.80[26]
18	12	"Christmas Scandal"	Randall Einhorn	Michael Schur	December 10, 2009 (2009-12-10)	4.90[27]
19	13	"The Set Up"†	Troy Miller	Katie Dippold	January 14, 2010 (2010-01-14)	4.63[28]
20	14	"Leslie's House"	Alex Hardcastle	Dan Goor	January 21, 2010 (2010-01-21)	4.36[29]
21	15	"Sweetums"	Dean Holland	Alan Yang	February 4, 2010 (2010-02-04)	4.88[30]
22	16	"Galentine's Day"	Ken Kwapis	Michael Schur	February 11, 2010 (2010-02-11)	4.98[31]
23	17	"Woman of the Year"	Jason Woliner	Norm Hiscock	March 4, 2010 (2010-03-04)	4.61[32]
24	18	"The Possum"	Tristram Shapeero	Mike Scully	March 11, 2010 (2010-03-11)	4.55[33]
25	19	"Park Safety"	Michael Trim	Aisha Muharrar	March 18, 2010 (2010-03-18)	4.63[34]
26	20	"Summer Catalog"	Ken Whittingham	Katie Dippold	March 25, 2010 (2010-03-25)	4.47[35]
27	21	"94 Meetings"	Tristram Shapeero	Harris Wittels	April 29, 2010 (2010-04-29)	4.03[36]
28	22	"Telethon"	Troy Miller	Amy Poehler	May 6, 2010 (2010-05-06)	4.03[37]
29	23	"The Master Plan"†	Dean Holland	Michael Schur	May 13, 2010 (2010-05-13)	4.28[38]
30	24	"Freddy Spaghetti"†	Jason Woliner	Dan Goor	May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)	4.57[39]

Season 3 (2011)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 3

Parks and Recreation, season 3 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
31	1	"Go Big or Go Home"	Dean Holland	Alan Yang	January 20, 2011 (2011-01-20)	6.14[40]
32	2	"Flu Season"	Wendey Stanzler	Norm Hiscock	January 27, 2011 (2011-01-27)	5.83[41]
33	3	"Time Capsule"	Michael Schur	Michael Schur	February 3, 2011 (2011-02-03)	4.95[42]
34	4	"Ron & Tammy: Part Two"	Tucker Gates	Emily Kapnek	February 10, 2011 (2011-02-10)	5.03[43]
35	5	"Media Blitz"	David Rogers	Harris Wittels	February 17, 2011 (2011-02-17)	4.33[44]
36	6	"Indianapolis"	Randall Einhorn	Katie Dippold	February 24, 2011 (2011-02-24)	4.59[45]
37	7	"Harvest Festival"†	Dean Holland	Dan Goor	March 17, 2011 (2011-03-17)	4.08[46]
38	8	"Camping"	Rob Schrab	Aisha Muharrar	March 24, 2011 (2011-03-24)	5.15[47]
39	9	"Andy and April's Fancy Party"	Michael Trim	Katie Dippold	April 14, 2011 (2011-04-14)	5.16[48]
40	10	"Soulmates"	Ken Whittingham	Alan Yang	April 21, 2011 (2011-04-21)	4.88[49]
41	11	"Jerry's Painting"†	Dean Holland	Norm Hiscock	April 28, 2011 (2011-04-28)	4.71[50]
42	12	"Eagleton"	Nicole Holofcener	Emily Spivey	May 5, 2011 (2011-05-05)	5.06[51]
43	13	"The Fight"†	Randall Einhorn	Amy Poehler	May 12, 2011 (2011-05-12)	4.55[52]
44	14	"Road Trip"	Troy Miller	Harris Wittels	May 12, 2011 (2011-05-12)	3.54[52]
45	15	"The Bubble"	Matt Sohn	Greg Levine & Brian Rowe	May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)	4.27[53]
46	16	"Li'l Sebastian"†	Dean Holland	Dan Goor	May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)	3.72[53]

Season 4 (2011–12)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 4

Parks and Recreation, season 4 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
47	1	"I'm Leslie Knope"	Troy Miller	Dan Goor	September 22, 2011 (2011-09-22)	4.11[54]
48	2	"Ron and Tammys"	Randall Einhorn	Norm Hiscock	September 29, 2011 (2011-09-29)	4.33[55]
49	3	"Born & Raised"	Dean Holland	Aisha Muharrar	October 6, 2011 (2011-10-06)	4.15[56]
50	4	"Pawnee Rangers"	Charles McDougall	Alan Yang	October 13, 2011 (2011-10-13)	3.99[57]
51	5	"Meet n Greet"	Wendey Stanzler	Katie Dippold	October 27, 2011 (2011-10-27)	3.90[58]
52	6	"End of the World"†	Dean Holland	Michael Schur	November 3, 2011 (2011-11-03)	4.00[59]
53	7	"The Treaty"	Jorma Taccone	Harris Wittels	November 10, 2011 (2011-11-10)	3.66[60]
54	8	"Smallest Park"	Nicole Holofcener	Chelsea Peretti	November 17, 2011 (2011-11-17)	3.68[61]
55	9	"The Trial of Leslie Knope"	Dean Holland	Dan Goor & Michael Schur	December 1, 2011 (2011-12-01)	3.69[62]
56	10	"Citizen Knope"	Randall Einhorn	Dave King	December 8, 2011 (2011-12-08)	3.64[63]
57	11	"The Comeback Kid"	Tucker Gates	Mike Scully	January 12, 2012 (2012-01-12)	4.09[64]
58	12	"Campaign Ad"	Dean Holland	Alan Yang	January 19, 2012 (2012-01-19)	4.25[65]
59	13	"Bowling for Votes"	Michael Trim	Katie Dippold	January 26, 2012 (2012-01-26)	3.49[66]
60	14	"Operation Ann"	Morgan Sackett	Aisha Muharrar	February 2, 2012 (2012-02-02)	3.60[67]
61	15	"Dave Returns"	Robert B. Weide	Harris Wittels	February 16, 2012 (2012-02-16)	3.45[68]
62	16	"Sweet Sixteen"	Michael Schur	Norm Hiscock	February 23, 2012 (2012-02-23)	3.43[69]
63	17	"Campaign Shake-Up"	Dan Goor	Dan Goor	March 1, 2012 (2012-03-01)	3.77[70]
64	18	"Lucky"	Troy Miller	Nick Offerman	March 8, 2012 (2012-03-08)	3.66[71]
65	19	"Live Ammo"	Tristram Shapeero	Dave King & Chelsea Peretti	April 19, 2012 (2012-04-19)	3.46[72]
66	20	"The Debate"†	Amy Poehler	Amy Poehler	April 26, 2012 (2012-04-26)[a]	3.17[73]
67	21	"Bus Tour"†	Dean Holland	Aisha Muharrar & Alan Yang	May 3, 2012 (2012-05-03)[a]	3.26[74]
68	22	"Win, Lose, or Draw"†	Michael Schur	Michael Schur	May 10, 2012 (2012-05-10)[a]	3.42[75]

^a Episodes 20–22 premiered on Citytv two days prior to airing on NBC. The NBC airdates and ratings are listed.

Season 5 (2012–13)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 5

Parks and Recreation, season 5 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
69	1	"Ms. Knope Goes to Washington"	Dean Holland	Aisha Muharrar	September 20, 2012 (2012-09-20)	3.50[76]
70	2	"Soda Tax"	Kyle Newacheck	Norm Hiscock	September 27, 2012 (2012-09-27)	3.27[77]
71	3	"How a Bill Becomes a Law"	Ken Whittingham	Dan Goor	October 4, 2012 (2012-10-04)	3.53[78]
72	4	"Sex Education"	Craig Zisk	Alan Yang	October 18, 2012 (2012-10-18)	3.46[79]
73	5	"Halloween Surprise"†	Dean Holland	Michael Schur	October 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)	3.34[80]
74	6	"Ben's Parents"	Dean Holland	Greg Levine	November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08)	3.46[81]
75	7	"Leslie vs. April"	Wendey Stanzler	Harris Wittels	November 15, 2012 (2012-11-15)	3.52[82]
76	8	"Pawnee Commons"	Morgan Sackett	Alexandra Rushfield	November 29, 2012 (2012-11-29)	2.99[83]
77	9	"Ron and Diane"	Dan Goor	Megan Amram & Aisha Muharrar	December 6, 2012 (2012-12-06)	3.27[84]
78	10	"Two Parties"	Dean Holland	Dave King	January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17)	3.92[85]
79	11	"Women in Garbage"	Norm Hiscock	Harris Wittels	January 24, 2013 (2013-01-24)	3.94[86]
80	12	"Ann's Decision"	Ken Whittingham	Nate DiMeo	February 7, 2013 (2013-02-07)	3.76[87]
81	13	"Emergency Response"†	Dean Holland	Norm Hiscock & Joe Mande	February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)	3.18[88]
82	14	"Leslie and Ben"	Craig Zisk	Michael Schur & Alan Yang	February 21, 2013 (2013-02-21)	3.07[89]
83	15	"Correspondents' Lunch"	Nick Offerman	Alexandra Rushfield	February 21, 2013 (2013-02-21)	2.95[89]
84	16	"Bailout"	Craig Zisk	Joe Mande	March 14, 2013 (2013-03-14)	3.00[90]
85	17	"Partridge"	Tristram Shapeero	Dave King	April 4, 2013 (2013-04-04)	2.93[91]
86	18	"Animal Control"	Craig Zisk	Megan Amram	April 11, 2013 (2013-04-11)	3.15[92]
87	19	"Article Two"	Amy Poehler	Matt Murray	April 18, 2013 (2013-04-18)	3.35[93]
88	20	"Jerry's Retirement"	Nicole Holofcener	Norm Hiscock & Aisha Muharrar	April 18, 2013 (2013-04-18)	3.34[93]
89	21	"Swing Vote"	Alan Yang	Joe Mande & Alan Yang	April 25, 2013 (2013-04-25)	2.59[94]
90	22	"Are You Better Off?"	Dean Holland	Michael Schur	May 2, 2013 (2013-05-02)	2.99[95]

Season 6 (2013–14)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 6

Parks and Recreation, season 6 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
91	1	"London"‡	Dean Holland	Michael Schur	September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)	3.27[96]
92	2
93	3	"The Pawnee-Eagleton Tip Off Classic"	Nicole Holofcener	Alan Yang	October 3, 2013 (2013-10-03)	3.14[97]
94	4	"Doppelgängers"	Jay Karas	Donick Cary	October 10, 2013 (2013-10-10)	3.23[98]
95	5	"Gin It Up!"	Jorma Taccone	Matt Murray	October 17, 2013 (2013-10-17)	3.27[99]
96	6	"Filibuster"	Morgan Sackett	Harris Wittels	November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14)	3.03[100]
97	7	"Recall Vote"	Wendey Stanzler	Aisha Muharrar	November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14)	3.03[100]
98	8	"Fluoride"	Michael Trim	Matt Hubbard	November 21, 2013 (2013-11-21)	2.81[101]
99	9	"The Cones of Dunshire"	Julie Anne Robinson	Dave King	November 21, 2013 (2013-11-21)	2.81[101]
100	10	"Second Chunce"†	Dean Holland	Amy Poehler & Michael Schur	January 9, 2014 (2014-01-09)	3.43[102]
101	11	"New Beginnings"	Alan Yang	Sam Means	January 16, 2014 (2014-01-16)	3.05[103]
102	12	"Farmers Market"	Adam Scott	Joe Mande	January 23, 2014 (2014-01-23)	2.98[104]
103	13	"Ann and Chris"	Dean Holland	Aisha Muharrar & Michael Schur	January 30, 2014 (2014-01-30)	3.03[105]
104	14	"Anniversaries"	Morgan Sackett	Megan Amram	February 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)	2.52[106]
105	15	"The Wall"	Ken Whittingham	Jen Statsky	March 6, 2014 (2014-03-06)	2.95[107]
106	16	"New Slogan"	Dean Holland	Alan Yang & Sam Means	March 13, 2014 (2014-03-13)	2.72[108]
107	17	"Galentine's Day"	Beth McCarthy-Miller	Emma Fletcher & Rachna Fruchbom	March 20, 2014 (2014-03-20)	3.05[109]
108	18	"Prom"	Ken Whittingham	Matt Murray & Harris Wittels	April 3, 2014 (2014-04-03)	2.67[110]
109	19	"Flu Season 2"†	Nick Offerman	Megan Amram & Dave King	April 10, 2014 (2014-04-10)	2.56[111]
110	20	"One in 8,000"	Dean Holland	Donick Cary & Joe Mande	April 17, 2014 (2014-04-17)	2.39[112]
111	21	"Moving Up"†‡	Michael Schur	Aisha Muharrar & Alan Yang	April 24, 2014 (2014-04-24)	2.71[113]
112	22

Season 7 (2015)

Main article: Parks and Recreation season 7

Parks and Recreation, season 7 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
113	1	"2017"	Dean Holland	Alan Yang & Matt Murray	January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13)	3.75[114]
114	2	"Ron and Jammy"†	Dean Holland	Harris Wittels	January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13)	3.25[114]
115	3	"William Henry Harrison"	Tom Magill	Megan Amram	January 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)	3.87[115]
116	4	"Leslie and Ron"	Beth McCarthy-Miller	Michael Schur	January 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)	3.30[115]
117	5	"Gryzzlbox"	Amy Poehler	Donick Cary	January 27, 2015 (2015-01-27)	3.48[116]
118	6	"Save JJ's"	Ken Whittingham	Joe Mande	January 27, 2015 (2015-01-27)	2.97[116]
119	7	"Donna and Joe"	Ken Whittingham	Aisha Muharrar	February 3, 2015 (2015-02-03)	3.45[117]
120	8	"Ms. Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington"	Morgan Sackett	Dave King	February 10, 2015 (2015-02-10)	3.06[118]
121	9	"Pie-Mary"†	Greg Daniels	Emma Fletcher & Rachna Fruchbom	February 10, 2015 (2015-02-10)	2.47[118]
122	10	"The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show"	Dean Holland	Matt Hubbard	February 17, 2015 (2015-02-17)	2.94[119]
123	11	"Two Funerals"	Craig Zisk	Jen Statsky	February 17, 2015 (2015-02-17)	2.47[119]
124	12	"One Last Ride"†‡	Michael Schur	Michael Schur & Amy Poehler	February 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)	4.15[120]
125	13

Special episode (2020)

In April 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, NBC announced they would air a new, special episode of the series, centered on Leslie trying to stay connected with the other residents of Pawnee during social distancing. The series' cast returned for the special, which benefited Feeding America's COVID-19 response.^[121][122]

Parks and Recreation specials

No. overall	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	U.S. viewers (millions)
126	"A Parks and Recreation Special"	Morgan Sackett	Michael Schur, Megan Amram, Dave King, Joe Mande, Aisha Muharrar, Matt Murray and Jen Statsky	April 30, 2020 (2020-04-30)	3.64[9]
The episode is set in 2020. Leslie Knope, who currently works in Washington, D.C. in the Department of the Interior, tries to stay in communication with the rest of the citizens of Pawnee while social distancing during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Ratings

Season		Episode number																								Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
	1	6.88	6.02	5.26	5.07	4.73	4.29	–																		5.38
	2	4.89	4.09	4.67	4.75	4.53	4.92	4.80	4.91	4.58	4.55	4.80	4.90	4.63	4.36	4.88	4.98	4.61	4.55	4.63	4.47	4.03	4.03	4.28	4.57	4.60
	3	6.14	5.83	4.95	5.03	4.33	4.59	4.08	5.15	5.16	4.88	4.71	5.06	4.55	3.54	4.27	3.72	–								5.07
	4	4.11	4.33	4.15	3.99	3.90	4.00	3.66	3.68	3.69	3.64	4.09	4.25	3.49	3.60	3.45	3.43	3.77	3.66	3.46	3.17	3.26	3.42	–		3.74
	5	3.50	3.27	3.53	3.46	3.34	3.46	3.52	2.99	3.27	3.92	3.94	3.76	3.18	3.07	2.95	3.00	2.93	3.15	3.35	3.34	2.59	2.99	–		3.30
	6	3.27	3.27	3.14	3.23	3.27	3.03	3.03	2.81	2.81	3.43	3.05	2.98	3.03	2.52	2.95	2.72	3.05	2.67	2.56	2.39	2.71	2.71	–		2.93
	7	3.75	3.25	3.87	3.30	3.48	2.97	3.45	3.06	2.47	2.94	2.47	4.15	4.15	–											3.26
	Special	3.64	–																							3.64

Parks and Recreation : U.S. viewers per episode (millions)

Audience measurement performed by Nielsen Media Research^[123]