Everyone’s Favorite 2010s NBC Sitcom Got Canceled Behind Our Backs Once
What is it with these network executives who are always trying to get our favorite shows off the air?
Director and producer Michael Schur is not as famous as, say, Ryan Murphy. But the showrunner is behind Hacks, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and other cult projects. His first experience as a producer and director was a series in the mockumentary genre, the idea of which he borrowed from the British – The Office.
In 2009, Schur created a new project, using his favorite mockumentary technique – Parks and Recreation. What is surprising about this series is that the first season is the weakest, the humor and plot gain momentum only from the second and do not stop until the seventh.
Usually, it is the other way around: viewers praise the first season and then blame the project for going downhill.
Parks and Recreation Was Canceled Once
Like many other projects, Parks and Recreation found a second life and even greater popularity with the advent of streaming. Now the sitcom probably has as many fans as The Office, but what viewers don't know is that the show has been on the verge of cancellation throughout its whole run.
Rashida Jones, who you may also know from the sci-fi hit Silo and who played Ann Perkins on Parks and Recreation, recently admitted that NBC was constantly trying to get rid of the project:
“Every single season, we were like, this is it. They’re not gonna want us back. At one point we were canceled and then the president of NBC got off the plane and changed his mind. It was like, ‘Eh, don’t cancel it yet, I guess.’ It was not really a thing at all.”
What is Parks and Recreation About?
The series tells about the everyday life of the Parks and Recreation Department in the small provincial town of Pawnee. The main character is the hardworking Leslie Knope, the deputy director of the department. She seems to be the only one who cares about the well-being of her hometown.
Leslie is slowly moving toward her dream of becoming the first female president of the US, but she is constantly encountering obstacles in the form of apathetic and difficult colleagues, indifferent city residents and arrogant officials. Leslie decides to begin her long journey by helping a city resident named Ann Perkins, who quickly becomes her best friend.
Source: Daily Beast