Last night we attended the 10th Anniversary Reunion of Parks and Recreation at PaleyFest LA. It was our first #LAWeGeek experience since we’ve gone blog-official – and now we’re a little worried we may have set the bar too high because it was *literally* one of the greatest nights ever.
PaleyFest, if you haven’t heard of it, is a television festival run by the Paley Center for Media. It happens every year in New York (in the fall) and LA (in the spring). Each show participating in the festival has its own event, which often includes a screening of an episode and – the best part! – a live conversation with the creators and stars of the show itself.
We are HUGE Parks and Rec fans (the amount of show-related items we’ve bought each other off Etsy would be embarrassing, if we got embarrassed about that sort of thing) and we recently completed yet another series rewatch. So when the reunion at PaleyFest LA was announced, snagging tickets was a top priority.
You know what they say – Treat Yo Self.
So, details! The event took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, which is of course where the Oscars are held. You can’t help but wonder who else has sat in your seat! The bar outside the theater offered some Parks and Rec-themed cocktails so obviously we had to try them. (Alison had a Pawnee Punch; Jason tried the Snake Juice. Consensus: Pawnee Punch was slightly better.) And then there was this beautiful cookie:
I mean. How can you eat this?
Since it was a reunion show (and everyone there had probably seen the entire series multiple times), we didn’t watch an episode. Instead, the evening began with an introduction from none other than Pawnee’s own Perd Hapley! After making some very Perd-like jokes, he brought onstage the actual host of the evening, Patton Oswalt.
Alas, no Star Wars filibuster this time.
The lights came down and we were treated to a collection of “first shots” from the show – basically a bunch of the characters’ introductions from the early seasons, many of which had never been aired. Very cool!
And then the main event – the cast themselves!
The entire cast came out then, starting with Aubrey Plaza, and followed by Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, Retta, and Rob Lowe. Then came co-creator Michael Schur, and, last but not least, Jim O’Heir (aka Jerry), who walked out to find that there was no chair left for him! (Fortunately there was one waiting just offstage.) Oh Jerry.
Amy Poehler was visibly emotional as the crowd cheered. It was very sweet to see how much the fans’ reaction meant to her. The cast commented that they didn’t expect so many people to turn up! Considering that the event sold out almost immediately, and the Dolby holds thousands of people, it’s clear just how popular the show still is.
Still BFFs!
Patton Oswalt did a great job of keeping the conversation going, and is clearly a super-fan of Parks and Rec himself, as he made some pretty deep references! Fortunately he was in a room full of people who understood them. Topics included how much the characters are based on the real-life personalities of the actors (Michael Schur described it as “a Venn diagram”), how so many of the phrases from the show have entered the vernacular (“Treat Yo Self” and “Galentine’s Day” came to mind), and how the show seemed to predict some of the crazy things happening in the world today. (Yes, they all agree that Entertainment 720 would have been involved with Fyre Festival, with one difference, according to Schur: “Tom and Jean-Ralphio – they could’ve gotten Ja Rule.”)
Another very cool thing the group revealed is that after the show wrapped, Nick Offerman took all the wooden doors from the set and turned them into canoe paddles stamped with the Pawnee seal, which he gifted to the cast and crew. Offerman, sounding very much like Ron Swanson, simply commented, “Perfectly good red oak.”
But what about a Parks and Rec movie?
And then, a topic dear to every fan’s heart: they discussed the possibility of a Parks and Rec movie. Speaking about today’s reboot culture, Michael Schur said “nothing is ever gone…I would never say never.” But he did make it clear that every single person on the stage, and a few who weren’t present, would have to be 100% supportive in order for a film to go forward, and that he believes the show made the argument that it intended to make.
So, it doesn’t sound super-likely at the moment. But we can keep our fingers crossed for a return to Pawnee!
After the event ended, Amy Poehler stayed onstage for about 15 minutes, taking selfies and signing whatever her fans offered up. Total class act.
If you’re feeling sad to have missed out on this year’s festivities, fear not! PaleyFest will be back next year (or in the fall, if you live near New York). The shows participating in PaleyFest LA are usually announced beginning in December, with the official lineup revealed in January. If there’s something you have your eye on, be sure to get tickets ASAP, and consider becoming a member for early access to tickets! The hot shows sell out fast.
Did you make it to PaleyFest this year? What show would you be most excited to see on the schedule?