It’s not just the end of "Parks & Recreation," but the end of an era. NBC has closed their decades long, Must See TV Thursday night lineup that brought shows like "The Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "Cheers," "Night Court," "Seinfeld," and "Friends," to homes across the nation. Over the past few years, they’ve struggled to come up with anything on the same level of pop culture saturation, critical accolades, or ratings success, and they’ve shuttered the Thursday night comedy lineup. One of the last shows to make an impact on Thursday was "Parks & Recreation," and the first trailer for the final season (airing on Tuesday nights) has arrived.
In a gamble that I’m not sure is going to work, the show is leap-frogging to 2017, and we’ll see Andy Dwyer’s Johnny Karate taken to new levels of success, Tom finally achieving the mogul status he’s long dreamed of, and…well, see for yourself. For me, the show is ending at the right time, as it’s been uninspired across the last couple of seasons. Once the writers started playing-up the quirkier aspects of the ensemble and aiming for broad laughs, the more nuanced and heartwarming charm of the first few seasons was lost. Then again, I think they should’ve brought back Paul Schneider, so what do I know?
"Parks & Recreation" returns on January 13th. Watch the trailer below, followed by Chris Pratt singing the ode to L’il Sebastien, “5,000 Candles In the Wind,” at the wrap party. [EW/Time]
