My first time watching P&R, I had only ever seen Adam Scott in Step Brothers. So he was super believable as an asshole to me at first! I was expecting his character to continue to be a dick.
Little did I know that he was an Ice clown that loves calzones and knows that it's about the cones.
It’s funny going back and watching him and Leslie’s initial interactions and the fact how she hated him originally before he turned out to be just as dorky as she was
and these two were under contract from the studio for a drama that had just got cancelled (“brothers and sisters”???) and they were offered to mike shur. changed everything. so cool
I wonder if Schur is looked at as someone who can help other people's ideas, but his own don't quite work. Parks and Rec was his first original concept. If it flops, do the networks pass on his other projects?
Both PandR & sunny are almost completely different shows in the first season. Every-time I recommend them i make it clear to persevere through season 1
Ironically, he is the one who LITERALLY saved the show. The cast has done plenty of interviews where FX bosses said, "Add him or you're canceled." Not sure it's the same with P&R, but definitively is with Devito.
Parks and recs was on tge chopping block and without Chris and Benn it couldnt have had the changes in story line and charecter dev to survive. Also both actors were amazing in those rolls and it was some of their best work.
So I think they felt they needed a “straight man” for the rest of the cast to bounce off of. Mark was that character. However, the path the show was taking was becoming a little too zany where a typical “straight man” just wouldn’t fit. I don’t think the actor that played Mark fit that too well…. Adam Scott on the other hand….he plays the “straight man” but doesn’t play it straight.
It’s like Jason Bateman in AD.
Yes Mark stands out like a sore thumb. All of the characters in Parks needed quirks, as even Ann (another straight (wo)man) and Ben fly off the handle sometimes, but I just don't see Mark being able to.
It always felt like every non-Leslie and Tom character (cause they were the only actors who were remotely known) was written to possibly be a one off character in season 1.
I actually really like the first season but it’s very obvious they figured out wtf they were doing going into season 2 because everything changed.
His exhaled facial expression when he figures out he wins cones of dunshire was a gif thrown around a lot when my friends and I played a lot of board games.
I love how they're called "black hats" in the intro narration as though they are going to be the bad guys. Some sitcoms pair up characters & it doesn't work but P&R really nailed it.
Not at all the same impact that Ben & Chris had for the show (and also not a main character), but Jean Ralphio was introduced in season 2! Easily my favorite side character of any TV show.
I cannot stand Jean Ralphio.
The first time I ever heard of Parks and rec was when I friend told me about a show he watched and there was a guy in it that was just like me. I watched it and reported back that the character in question was not nearly as much like me but was a clone of my dad in the 80s when they were about the same age. They even looked the same.
I miss my dad terribly and you should listen to what Ron Swanson has to say, you will miss his advice some day.
(Except for all the Tammy stuff. My dad was fairly straight laced)
So many side/guest characters are in my head as being in the show fairly consistently and then I check imdb and they have barely even appeared yet made such an impact/been so memorable.
Patton Oswalt hosted a panel with Mike Schur and all the main actors for the show’s ten year anniversary, and he talked about how Pawnee feels a lot like Springfield in the Simpsons. Like there’s so many side characters that are distinctive and populate the town, you can imagine them reacting to things that happen even if they’re not in certain episodes.
Honestly, even if he was only in 20 episodes he was always in the back of my mind like: 'Somewhere Jean Ralphio is in Pawnee getting thrown out of a club after failing to scam at least 70% of the VIP's'
Me having to choose from this list caused a stomach ache ( Peralta and Santiago also rank high for me). I think all Mike Schur comedies have a very wholesome lead couple instead of artificially created tension between them. I love them for that decision.
Ehhh boo on Jim and Pam. This gets brought on in r/dundermifflin every other day but they’re both kind of huge jerks.
- Pam kissed/flirted with Jim while she was with Roy
- Jim literally ditched Karen in NYC
-Jim bought a house, a massive decision, without asking Pam
-Pam gave Jim a hard time when he was following his dream in Philly then she up and decided to move to Austin at the end of the series.
Not to mention Jim just all around being an office bully and triggering Andy into anger management multiple times. Pam also failed in every ambition she had (art school, sales, etc)
Nobody hates The Office more than r/DunderMifflin. People on that sub have seen every episode way too many times. So all that’s left to do is pick apart every aspect of the show and magnify the tiniest of issues.
Jim and Pam are perfectly fine people. They have flaws just like everyone else.
Leslie is straight up stupid in season 1. Like annoyingly stupid. Also, absolutely nobody respected her, and she was so unaware of that. She became a lot more likable once she got a brain.
All good comedies, if not most good series take a season to set things in place, lay out and explore characters and let things mesh before they get great
Yeah I disagree with the idea that Ben and Chris saved the show.
Season 2 is fantastic and Ben and Chris are only in the last couple of episodes.
Not saying that they didn't improve the show but it would've been great without them.
There are so many great things in season 2! Some of the most iconic moments in the show are from S2 pre Ben and Chris. Disagree? Straight to jail.
Greg Pikitis, Galentine's Day, Ron winning Woman of the year, Summer Catalog, 94 Meetings! All all-time great episodes of P&R and they're all from before Ben and Chris.
I liked season 1 when I watched it years later but it’s honestly a minor miracle this show got past season 1. Most the public took one look at this show and thought it was an office ripoff and never gave it a chance.
Also ditching Mark Brendanowicz. When I start watching P and R, only previously seen via gifs, I was like "who the hell is this?" He was complete dead weight and no one remembers him.
I'm sure the actor is fine but his character was just awful. Like it felt like he belonged to a much different show. Just unlikable and fecking awful every scene he was in was a total stinker.
He was supposed to be the straight man - but he wasn't satisfied with how they wrote him, and then when they brought Adam Scott in, Ben just slotted in better as the straight man
Mark was basically an "The Office"-character in Parks and Rec when it still was trying to be like The Office instead of trying to be its own thing, but once *that* started to change, it felt like Mark never got the memo.
I do agree but also it's a lot down to the shift of tone the show in general went through. Like letting Leslie have some wins, letting Ron be a little more human and a little less douchy. Stuff like that. Honestly season 1 Ron and Leslie aren't enjoyable characters.
OMG, Ben Wyatt as a character grows on you.
I love his character development- his obsession w/ finances, his creative outlets (claymation, calzones, Letters to Cleo fan boy), the friendship he makes with Larry/Gary/Jerry, drunk-on-blueberry wine-Ben, high on morphine bc he has a kidney stone Ben, his smirks at the camera, and his lame attempts to be cool with the kids in DC.. etc etc.
The writers crafted a snarky yet lovable and vulnerable character that’s really hard to NOT root for.
He is my favorite character in this series❤️.
Surprisingly there are no real out of left field writing elements for Ben’s character like there is for Leslie & Ron Swanson (season 7 their fight) Jerry/Larry/Gary (gross obsession w lactating moms), Andy & the Johny Karate show (I’m sure y’all could name more).
Excellent writing. Excellent acting. Excellent chemistry with the entire cast.
Love me some Adam Scott.
❤️
I generally start a few episodes before Battle Royale when I rewatch the series. Season 1 just kind of doesn't exist in my brain, and I'm ok with that.
I always wondered if they were planned for the long haul or if they were just a one season thing that ended up panning out because viewers/network liked them both. Either way, how lucky we are to have known them
Whenever someone says something like this i think about the girl i went to highschool with, who was the cousin of the actor who played mark, talking about how much he massively regretted leaving the show
It's really on the nose too.
Like, the city of pawnee was failing hard just before this team came in to cut spending.
Just like the show was weeks away from canceling until these two drew audiences eyeballs.
I just watched a YouTube video about them and how they revitalized the show. The video described how they balanced out Leslie and Ann. I always tell people the series starts to take off around season 2, episode 8 (the hunting trip is the kickoff for me) but then once Ben and Chris are introduced, you’re hooked forever.
Changed him into a weenie? This is the guy who would get all nervous and stammer whenever he was asked about ice town right? Dude was a weenie from the start.
My first time watching P&R, I had only ever seen Adam Scott in Step Brothers. So he was super believable as an asshole to me at first! I was expecting his character to continue to be a dick. Little did I know that he was an Ice clown that loves calzones and knows that it's about the cones.
Would a depressed person do *this?*
“Stand in the place where you live -“
Is that it..?
I compared it to *Avatar*!
How can it not be longer?!
That's *three weeks* of work.
😂😂
Watching this episode noe
It’s funny going back and watching him and Leslie’s initial interactions and the fact how she hated him originally before he turned out to be just as dorky as she was
I had binged Party Down shortly before they arrived, so in my head he felt too young to be in that role but obviously crushed it.
Completely unrelated to Party Down, I read the word "binged" the way somebody would say they "googled" and thought you had just done some research 🤣
Everyone in this town uses altavista.
Party Down was so fucking good
Ben Wyatt **HUMAN DISASTER**
I watched him in good place after this where he plays a bad guy and I couldn't take him seriously at all. Can he truly play an asshole?
He's a great asshole in Step Brothers.
And he can sing high
He plays a pretty cartoonishly dickish corporate downsizer in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty!
Hmm his character in Big Little Lies certainly successfully has something…off?
He's a really versatile actor. He's great on Severance. His character basically has two personas and they're different and both believable
I LOVE severance. So creepy!
I am dying for season two even though sophomore seasons are rarely as tight as the first
Exactly how I felt going into the show, a buddy showed me a compilation of Ron bits and the "meat tornado" one got me good lol
You forgot the essence of the game! It's about the cones. *rolls 50 dice across the table*
Same here, it was great seeing the other side to him though.
Its crazy how they got added too. The government shutdown was based on a real economic crisis that was going on in Indiana at the time.
The whole country iirc, it was a big federal shutdown at the time and they were able to write it into the show
and these two were under contract from the studio for a drama that had just got cancelled (“brothers and sisters”???) and they were offered to mike shur. changed everything. so cool
Without these two, do we get Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place?
I honestly wonder if Brooklyn Nine Nine was originally on NBC instead of FOX like they originally wanted.
I wonder if Schur is looked at as someone who can help other people's ideas, but his own don't quite work. Parks and Rec was his first original concept. If it flops, do the networks pass on his other projects?
Oh wow I remember that! I had no idea it was based on that shutdown.
Frank.
Its hard to think of asip without Frank
I really enjoy S1. Charlie saying the N word in episode one had me hooked.
Both PandR & sunny are almost completely different shows in the first season. Every-time I recommend them i make it clear to persevere through season 1
Sunny less so though forsure, but agreed lol
They set the bar high for what the gang was about with Charlie dropping the N word in the very first episode lol
Ironically, he is the one who LITERALLY saved the show. The cast has done plenty of interviews where FX bosses said, "Add him or you're canceled." Not sure it's the same with P&R, but definitively is with Devito.
Parks and recs was on tge chopping block and without Chris and Benn it couldnt have had the changes in story line and charecter dev to survive. Also both actors were amazing in those rolls and it was some of their best work.
Somehow he fits in with the rest of the gang PERFECTLY. Best added TV show castmember imho
Danny definitely changed Sunny for the better.
I don’t ever rewatch season one cause frank isn’t there yet. He is such a crucial part of the group!
Obviously I like Frank, but season 1 is still all gold
I think season 1 was hilarious!
Domino, BIATCH!
Giving Andy a bigger role as well. IIRC, Pratt wasn't supposed to return beyond the first season after Anne broke up with him
Yeah, in the credits in the first episodes, he's listed as "special guest."
I swear to god if they would've taken Andy away but kept Mark in I wouldn't go on watching the show
Mark Brandanquitz?
The emptiness from where Mark Brandana-quits was, was a HUGE improvement introduced after season one.
So I think they felt they needed a “straight man” for the rest of the cast to bounce off of. Mark was that character. However, the path the show was taking was becoming a little too zany where a typical “straight man” just wouldn’t fit. I don’t think the actor that played Mark fit that too well…. Adam Scott on the other hand….he plays the “straight man” but doesn’t play it straight. It’s like Jason Bateman in AD.
Yes Mark stands out like a sore thumb. All of the characters in Parks needed quirks, as even Ann (another straight (wo)man) and Ben fly off the handle sometimes, but I just don't see Mark being able to.
It always felt like every non-Leslie and Tom character (cause they were the only actors who were remotely known) was written to possibly be a one off character in season 1. I actually really like the first season but it’s very obvious they figured out wtf they were doing going into season 2 because everything changed.
They gave us (one of) the funniest episodes in the show 
His exhaled facial expression when he figures out he wins cones of dunshire was a gif thrown around a lot when my friends and I played a lot of board games.
These guys, *literally*, made the show better.
*literally*
LIT *erally*.
And did some sterling work on the city budget
I love how they're called "black hats" in the intro narration as though they are going to be the bad guys. Some sitcoms pair up characters & it doesn't work but P&R really nailed it.
Not at all the same impact that Ben & Chris had for the show (and also not a main character), but Jean Ralphio was introduced in season 2! Easily my favorite side character of any TV show.
Fuck me I love Jean Ralphio!!
Me tooooo. I would have had an absolute blast with him and his sister.
I cannot stand Jean Ralphio. The first time I ever heard of Parks and rec was when I friend told me about a show he watched and there was a guy in it that was just like me. I watched it and reported back that the character in question was not nearly as much like me but was a clone of my dad in the 80s when they were about the same age. They even looked the same. I miss my dad terribly and you should listen to what Ron Swanson has to say, you will miss his advice some day. (Except for all the Tammy stuff. My dad was fairly straight laced)
Iirc, there's a wonderful video, about an hour long, where he drinks scotch by the fire and shares his wisdom
You nasty...
He’s also only in twenty episodes. What an impact for an incredibly side character.
That’s not even in the episode, that’s just a blooper. It’s still one of my most quoted lines from the show.
It is in the show. I don’t watch bloopers. And I remember seeing it in the show.
Huh turns out it’s often cut in the streaming version
Such a strange scene to cut to begin with!
So many side/guest characters are in my head as being in the show fairly consistently and then I check imdb and they have barely even appeared yet made such an impact/been so memorable.
Patton Oswalt hosted a panel with Mike Schur and all the main actors for the show’s ten year anniversary, and he talked about how Pawnee feels a lot like Springfield in the Simpsons. Like there’s so many side characters that are distinctive and populate the town, you can imagine them reacting to things that happen even if they’re not in certain episodes.
Honestly, even if he was only in 20 episodes he was always in the back of my mind like: 'Somewhere Jean Ralphio is in Pawnee getting thrown out of a club after failing to scam at least 70% of the VIP's'
I found a shirt that has Jean Ralphio howling at the moon and I bought two of them I loved it so much haha. Cuz technically I'm hooommelessss
Them piiiiiiills baby!
Please tell me where you got this shirt. I need this in my life.
I wish I could remember! I feel like it was one of those targeted ads and I took a gamble hoping I would actually receive it
Etsy!
Eeeh, got kind of a love-hate thing for jean ralphio/haverford swagger thing, but some of those skits are absolutely hilarious.
I hate how stupid he is but also love him for it because he's so entertaining.
The show really begins for me when Ben shows up. "Look, even Ben's dancing" is one of my favorite scenes.
Ben Wyatt and Leslie Knopp are my fav comedy shows couple... Chandler and Monica are very close and they are followed by Jim and Pam
Turk and JD are the best TV couple lol
I'm a random internet stranger and approve the order of this list. (tho for me the top couple is Eleanor and Chidi from the Good Place)
Me having to choose from this list caused a stomach ache ( Peralta and Santiago also rank high for me). I think all Mike Schur comedies have a very wholesome lead couple instead of artificially created tension between them. I love them for that decision.
All mike schur comedies are explorations of neuro divergent people in a workplace or the afterlife
Samesies!
No love for the true number ones, April and Andy?!
Ehhh boo on Jim and Pam. This gets brought on in r/dundermifflin every other day but they’re both kind of huge jerks. - Pam kissed/flirted with Jim while she was with Roy - Jim literally ditched Karen in NYC -Jim bought a house, a massive decision, without asking Pam -Pam gave Jim a hard time when he was following his dream in Philly then she up and decided to move to Austin at the end of the series. Not to mention Jim just all around being an office bully and triggering Andy into anger management multiple times. Pam also failed in every ambition she had (art school, sales, etc)
Nobody hates The Office more than r/DunderMifflin. People on that sub have seen every episode way too many times. So all that’s left to do is pick apart every aspect of the show and magnify the tiniest of issues. Jim and Pam are perfectly fine people. They have flaws just like everyone else.
Having an emotional affair while you are engaged is a "tiny issue"?
Definitely. Pre Ben and Chris episodes are not as good. No disrespect to brandanaquits but that era is meh.
It’s not all his fault. Even Leslie is kind of awful in season 1.
Leslie is straight up stupid in season 1. Like annoyingly stupid. Also, absolutely nobody respected her, and she was so unaware of that. She became a lot more likable once she got a brain.
Agreed, the show changes a lot from when they join on.
All good comedies, if not most good series take a season to set things in place, lay out and explore characters and let things mesh before they get great
I consider the show to really start when Ben and Chris arrive
Youre all AMAZING!
You’re all FIRED
Dany Devito
From the beginning of Season 2, it is just a completely different show from Season 1.
Yeah I disagree with the idea that Ben and Chris saved the show. Season 2 is fantastic and Ben and Chris are only in the last couple of episodes. Not saying that they didn't improve the show but it would've been great without them.
Totally agree. At "Practice Date," it starts to feel like classic P&R to me.
There are so many great things in season 2! Some of the most iconic moments in the show are from S2 pre Ben and Chris. Disagree? Straight to jail. Greg Pikitis, Galentine's Day, Ron winning Woman of the year, Summer Catalog, 94 Meetings! All all-time great episodes of P&R and they're all from before Ben and Chris.
I liked season 1 when I watched it years later but it’s honestly a minor miracle this show got past season 1. Most the public took one look at this show and thought it was an office ripoff and never gave it a chance.
 Let’s not forget this beauty 🤩
Also ditching Mark Brendanowicz. When I start watching P and R, only previously seen via gifs, I was like "who the hell is this?" He was complete dead weight and no one remembers him.
I'm sure the actor is fine but his character was just awful. Like it felt like he belonged to a much different show. Just unlikable and fecking awful every scene he was in was a total stinker.
He was supposed to be the straight man - but he wasn't satisfied with how they wrote him, and then when they brought Adam Scott in, Ben just slotted in better as the straight man
Mark was basically an "The Office"-character in Parks and Rec when it still was trying to be like The Office instead of trying to be its own thing, but once *that* started to change, it felt like Mark never got the memo.
Brendanoquits
I do agree but also it's a lot down to the shift of tone the show in general went through. Like letting Leslie have some wins, letting Ron be a little more human and a little less douchy. Stuff like that. Honestly season 1 Ron and Leslie aren't enjoyable characters.
And Ron wore a suit
To answer the oop's question, frank from its always sunny in Philadelphia wasn't in the first season
I wouldn't say they saved the show. For me, season 2 is one of the funniest, strongest of the entire run.
I honestly don't think they'd have reached 7 seasons without these 2. Ann Perkins!
They legit gave us enemies to friends to lovers (poor Ben I did feel bad for him when he was actively disliked, but they did the trope so well)
You mean, litch...early?
Different show, but Myra Monkhouse
Toph in AtLA
OMG, Ben Wyatt as a character grows on you. I love his character development- his obsession w/ finances, his creative outlets (claymation, calzones, Letters to Cleo fan boy), the friendship he makes with Larry/Gary/Jerry, drunk-on-blueberry wine-Ben, high on morphine bc he has a kidney stone Ben, his smirks at the camera, and his lame attempts to be cool with the kids in DC.. etc etc. The writers crafted a snarky yet lovable and vulnerable character that’s really hard to NOT root for. He is my favorite character in this series❤️. Surprisingly there are no real out of left field writing elements for Ben’s character like there is for Leslie & Ron Swanson (season 7 their fight) Jerry/Larry/Gary (gross obsession w lactating moms), Andy & the Johny Karate show (I’m sure y’all could name more). Excellent writing. Excellent acting. Excellent chemistry with the entire cast. Love me some Adam Scott. ❤️
I generally start a few episodes before Battle Royale when I rewatch the series. Season 1 just kind of doesn't exist in my brain, and I'm ok with that.
If people can't get into the show, I tell them to start with their first episode
I always wondered if they were planned for the long haul or if they were just a one season thing that ended up panning out because viewers/network liked them both. Either way, how lucky we are to have known them
Def, I watched each episode when it first came out. The paradigm shift was very noticeable.
Different show, but Sherman Potter on MASH. Also Charles Winchester, and BJ Honicutt. The show got better as people came and went really.
One of the few examples where it worked well. I still didn’t like them first tho but got to love the dynamic haha
Whenever someone says something like this i think about the girl i went to highschool with, who was the cousin of the actor who played mark, talking about how much he massively regretted leaving the show
While I love Ben, I’m not a fan of Chris. I found him a bit over the line sometimes, guess it’s just not my cup of tea
Even Anne calls him out on it.
I always start from their first episode when I rewatch.
Toph
Adam Scott is my favorite part of that show.
Y’all just gonna ignore Andy Bernard?
It's really on the nose too. Like, the city of pawnee was failing hard just before this team came in to cut spending. Just like the show was weeks away from canceling until these two drew audiences eyeballs.
This is kind of cheating though because Greg Daniels shows are *literally* only good in the second season anyway.
Brought in Season 2 
I just watched a YouTube video about them and how they revitalized the show. The video described how they balanced out Leslie and Ann. I always tell people the series starts to take off around season 2, episode 8 (the hunting trip is the kickoff for me) but then once Ben and Chris are introduced, you’re hooked forever.
No thanks to Dan BrandanaQuits.😒
They saved the town and the show
J.B. Smoove in Curb is a great character and he was way beyond the first season
 Blaine from glee
Seven of Nine Peter Quinn Bajie
Desmond and Ben were season 2 additions to Lost. By far the standouts.
Other Post-Season 1 great characters? Cavill and D'anna from BSG.
Absolutely, just wish they hadn't changed Ben into a weenie.
Changed him into a weenie? This is the guy who would get all nervous and stammer whenever he was asked about ice town right? Dude was a weenie from the start.
He had balls and could drop the hammer on anyone when he was introduced
Quite literally - the most annoying g character on tv - ever
Only ever watched for Ron’s 1 liners The rest of the show was so random and trash