The Douche

The primary characters of the American television comedy series '' Parks and Recreation'' are the employees of the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional Indiana town. The protagonist is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), the deputy parks director as well as serving on city council, and the rest of the ensemble cast consists of her friends and co-workers, including nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), parks director Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), and parks department employees Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt), Jerry Gergich (Jim O'Heir), and Donna Meagle (Retta).

While most of the main cast have been with the series since it debuted in April 2009, actors Rob Lowe and Adam Scott joined the cast late in the second season portraying Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt, two state auditors who later take permanent jobs in Pawnee. Paul Schneider was a regular cast member during the first two seasons as city planner Mark Brendanawicz, but he departed at the end of season two. Billy Eichner who portrays Craig Middlebrooks, the "associate administrator" of the Pawnee parks department, recurred throughout the show's sixth season until he was promoted to the main cast in the fourth episode of the seventh season. The majority of ''Parks and Recreation'' episodes are set in Pawnee, and most of the recurring and supporting characters are friends of the main characters or residents of the town.

Several guest stars have made appearances on the show, including Louis C.K., John Larroquette, Justin Theroux and Parker Posey. Megan Mullally, Offerman's real-life wife, played his character's ex-wife Tammy Swanson, and Poehler's former husband Will Arnett made an appearance as a man on a blind date with Leslie. Several of Poehler's past colleagues on the sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' have appeared on ''Parks and Recreation'', including Fred Armisen, Will Forte and Andy Samberg.

Cast overview

Main cast

Each of the following primary characters were played by members of the ''Parks and Recreation'' regular cast, rather than guest stars or non-regular supporting cast members.

Leslie Knope

Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is the deputy director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, and the protagonist of ''Parks and Recreation''. Leslie is a passionate, hard-working and ambitious woman who loves her hometown of Pawnee and, unlike many around her, has not lost her optimism in the face of government bureaucracy. She believes strongly in the mission of her job, sometimes going over-the-top in her dedication to helping people. Her dream is to become the first female President of the United States. During the first two seasons, Leslie seeks to turn a construction pit into a park, despite several government obstacles and red tape. When the parks department is hindered by Pawnee's budget problems, Leslie successfully relaunches the town's harvest festival, which makes her department sustainable again. The third season ends with political scouts approaching her about possibly running for elected office, although she declines to inform them of her secret affair with Ben Wyatt, which could prove to be a political scandal. In season four, Leslie furthers her political ambitions when she successfully runs for city council. Season 5 focused mainly on Leslie's experiences on the Pawnee City Council. In season six, however, she is recalled and returns full-time to work in the Parks and Recreation department.

Ann Perkins

Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), Leslie's best friend, is a nurse who eventually takes a part-time position with Pawnee's department of public health. Ann and Leslie meet after Ann requests at a town meeting that an abandoned construction pit be filled, and Leslie pushes to have it turned into a park. Even before getting her part-time Pawnee job, Ann often spent time at city hall and helped the parks department on their endeavors due to her friendship with Leslie. Ann was dating Andy Dwyer at the start of the show, but she broke up with him after the first season after learning Andy faked the severity of an injury so that Ann would pamper him. She started dating city planner Mark Brendanawicz, but they split up by the end of the second season. Ann briefly dated Chris Traeger until he broke up with her, leaving Ann emotionally distraught and prompting her to go on a string of dates with multiple men. The two got back together in the sixth season and Ann became pregnant. Shortly after, Ann and Chris moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. She had a son, Oliver, on Galentine's Day.

Mark Brendanawicz

Mark Brendanawicz ( Paul Schneider) was a Pawnee city planner who dated Ann Perkins for much of the second season. According to Aziz Ansari's character, Tom Haverford, "He's stuck it in some crazy chicks." At the start of the show, Mark was an unrequited love interest for Leslie Knope. The two had once had a one-night stand six years earlier and Leslie never got over him, although Mark did not return her affections. Jaded and disillusioned with his job due to government red tape, Mark often pragmatically insisted to Leslie that her ambitions to turn a construction pit into a park were unlikely to succeed. Nevertheless, he admired Leslie's unwavering optimism in the face of government ineffectiveness and tried to help her. In the first-season finale "Rock Show," a drunken Mark tried to kiss Leslie, but she rejected him and he accidentally falls into the pit. Although Mark is selfish and promiscuous with women at the start of the show, he becomes kinder when he starts dating Ann, and even plans to propose to her. After she broke up with him, Mark left his city hall position for a job in the private sector, marking Schneider's departure from the series. He did not appear in any episodes after Season 2, and the show pointedly made no references to him ever having been there at all, most notably in the episode where Ann Perkins left Pawnee and the storyline reviewed her many pre-marriage/pregnancy romances but erased Mark from that listing even though they dated for almost all of Season 2. The only remaining references are that the mural mock-up he made hangs in Ron's office through season 6, and a laptop bag he gives to Ann Perkins appears as a prop through season 5.

Tom Haverford

Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari), birth name Darwish Sabir Ishmael Gani, was an administrator in the parks department for most of the show, although he also became a minor investor in the Snake Hole Lounge and quit at the end of the third season to form an entertainment company with his friend Jean-Ralphio. Tom was Leslie's immediate subordinate on the parks department and the two would often work together on tasks. The sarcastic Tom seemed to care little for his mid-level government job and seldom showed any initiative or work ethic. This made him a favorite of Ron Swanson, who once quipped, "I like Tom. He doesn't do a lot of work around here. He shows zero initiative. He's not a team player. He's never one to go that extra mile. Tom is exactly what I'm looking for in a government employee." However, Tom harbors strong aspirations of becoming a media mogul, and sometimes used his parks department job to increase his stature and curry favors with others. Tom considers himself an extremely stylish dresser and smooth pickup artist, and believes he carries himself in the style of rapper Jay-Z. He constantly hits on women, particularly Ann Perkins, but usually to little success. Tom was married to an attractive surgeon named Wendy at the start of the show, but it is eventually revealed to be a green card marriage that amicably ends in divorce.

Ron Swanson

Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) is the parks and recreation director, although he allows Leslie to do almost all the real work in the department. Despite working in a government job, Ron is a steadfast libertarian who believes in as little government as possible and feels the parks department should not even run or maintain parks. He advocates for program cuts wherever possible, actively works to make city hall less effective, and especially detests interacting with Pawnee taxpayers. Nevertheless, Ron has a deep respect for Leslie and genuinely cares about his fellow employees, despite his efforts to hide it. Ron has a deadpan, inexpressive personality, and loves meat, hunting and breakfast foods. He has two ex-wives, both named Tammy, both of whom he hates. Ron Swanson has been praised as the show's breakout character, and some of his traits were based on elements of Offerman's real-life personality, like their shared affinity for woodworking and saxophone-playing.

April Ludgate

April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) is an extremely sarcastic, apathetic and goth-like college student who started the show working as an intern in the parks and recreation department, but is eventually hired as Ron Swanson's full-time assistant. She always speaks in a deadpan and uninterested tone of voice, often making dry comments or mocking those around her, and expresses little interest in her job. Nevertheless, she secretly has a deep appreciation for Leslie Knope. In contrast to April's personality, her parents are extremely positive and enthusiastic people. At the start of the show, April was dating her openly gay boyfriend, Derek, who was simultaneously dating his gay boyfriend, Ben. April and Derek eventually broke up, and April harbored a crush on Andy Dwyer for most of the second season. They started dating in the third season and, after a very short period, were married during an impromptu ceremony in the episode " Andy and April's Fancy Party." She also became the manager of Andy's band, Mouse Rat, previously known as Scarecrow Boat. When Pawnee's Animal Control division is threatened, April recommends that the Animal Control division should be absorbed into the Parks and Recreation division. She is put in charge as the deputy director of the animal control part of Parks and Recreation. With Ann's help, she applies and is accepted into veterinary school, which she declines to attend. Eventually she finds enjoyment in a job in Washington D.C. as a career placement counselor.

Andy Dwyer

Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) is a goofy and dim-witted but lovable slacker who works as a shoeshiner at Pawnee city hall, and later works for Leslie in the Parks Department. He was dating Ann at the start of the show and, prior to the events of the first episode, he falls into a construction pit and breaks both his legs. This inadvertently caused Ann to meet Leslie after Ann attends a city hall meeting to demand the pit be filled in. Ann broke up with Andy after learning he faked the severity of his injuries so she would pamper him. The unemployed and homeless Andy initially lives in the pit, but became more self-sufficient when Leslie gets him the shoeshiner job. Andy started dating April Ludgate during the third season and, after a very short period, the two got married on a whim in the episode "Andy and April's Fancy Party." Andy is the lead singer and guitarist for his band, Mouse Rat. In the final season, he is shown hosting a children's TV show as the character "Johnny Karate." Andy was originally only meant to appear in the first season, but the ''Parks and Recreation'' producers liked Chris Pratt so much that, almost immediately after casting him, they decided to make him a regular cast member.

Ben Wyatt

Ben Wyatt ( Adam Scott) is Leslie's husband. He joined the show in the penultimate second-season episode " The Master Plan" as an Indiana state auditor, but eventually took a job in Pawnee working with Chris. When he was 18, Ben was elected mayor of his Minnesota hometown, but was impeached after two months because he had no government experience and bankrupted the town. He became an auditor as an attempt to redeem himself and prove he can responsibly manage city government. At the start of the show, Ben contrasted Chris' cheery personality by bluntly describing the need for economic cuts in Pawnee, which caused conflicts between Leslie and Ben. While Ben never previously established roots in a town due to the constant traveling from his job, Ben gradually came to develop a love of Pawnee, which coincided with his developing romantic interest in Leslie herself. The two start dating in the episode "Road Trip," despite Chris' strict policy forbidding workplace romances. When he learns Leslie is running for office in the episode "I'm Leslie Knope," they break up for fear of jeopardizing Leslie's chance of winning the election in the event they could get caught and create a scandal. However, they decide to get back together in "Smallest Park," and later get married.

Chris Traeger

Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) first appeared in "The Master Plan," along with Ben Wyatt, as an Indiana state auditor who visits Pawnee to help solve their crippling financial problems. This led to major budget cutbacks and, eventually, a three-month government shutdown. In the episode "Camping," he took a job as acting city manager after the previous manager, Paul Iaresco, suffered a heart attack. Chris is an extremely positive person who is always upbeat and energetic. Extremely health-conscious, he exercises constantly and eats only healthy foods, and hopes to be the first human being to live 150 years. He briefly dated Ann Perkins, but the two split up in the third season. Chris imposed a strict policy against workplace dating at city hall, which serves as a detriment to Leslie and Ben. Rob Lowe was originally expected to appear in only eight episodes as a guest star, but eventually signed on to remain on the show as a permanent cast member.

Jerry Gergich

Garry "Jerry"/"Larry"/"Terry"/"Gengurch" Gergich (Jim O'Heir) is a parks and recreation department employee who is regularly mocked and taunted by his co-workers. Jerry is clumsy, is overweight and often mangles his speech while speaking publicly. He is teased so badly that, after falling and dislocating his shoulder in the episode " Park Safety," he falsely claimed he was mugged just so his co-workers would not make fun of him. Despite their jokes at his expense, the parks department employees like Jerry, and Jerry himself claims not to mind the jokes because he is nearing retirement with a full pension. Jerry often demonstrates great artistic talent and is an excellent pianist and painter, although his talents are usually overlooked, ignored or even mocked by his colleagues as though they were character faults. Jerry's personality was not established until the second season, but the producers cast O'Heir at the start of the show because they liked the actor and decided they would develop the character later in the series. In an episode of season 4 during Leslie's trial for the relationship she had with Ben, Jerry reveals his real first name, Garry, while under oath. He then goes on to explain that he was accidentally called Jerry by a high-ranking employee of the city and thought it was rude to correct him. It was also revealed that he has a Leap Day birthday and is 64/16 years old. In contrast to his awkwardness at work, Jerry leads an idyllic family life with his gorgeous wife, Gayle (played by Christie Brinkley), and their children, as shown when he hosts a holiday party in the Season 5 episode "Ron and Diane." In season six, his coworkers take to permanently calling him Larry instead of Jerry. In a flash forward sequence in the season six finale, Jerry is shown working for Leslie at her new job three years in the future, with Leslie now calling him Terry. He is named mayor of Pawnee in the second to last episode of season 7. In flash forwards in the series finale, it is revealed that he was elected mayor multiple times before retiring and dying peacefully in his sleep on his 100th birthday.

Donna Meagle

Donna Meagle (Retta) is an employee for the parks and recreation department. Confident and lively, she has been described by NBC as the "parks diva." Donna enjoys partying, and often takes two shots of alcohol at once without any problem. She can be extremely competitive, especially when it comes to dating, where she has an every woman for herself philosophy. Nevertheless, Donna helped Ann recover from her bad break-up with Chris by giving her advice and encouraging her to pursue rebound dates. Donna has worked at the parks department longer than Leslie, and is one of the few people who can speak sternly to Ron Swanson. She is the proud owner of a Mercedes, which she is extremely protective of and often brags about. As with Jerry Gergich, the personality for Donna was not established until the second season, but Retta was cast during the first season because the producers liked her, and they decided they would establish her character as the series progressed.

Craig Middlebrooks

Craig Middlebrooks (Billy Eichner) is the former office manager of Eagleton's parks department, the equivalent of Donna's position in Pawnee. In the episode "Doppelgangers," he and other Eagleton employees were brought in to Pawnee's offices after the Pawnee–Eagleton city merger. Craig is the one former Eagleton Parks employee not laid off after the merger, and continues to work at the Pawnee offices under the title of "Associate Administrator." By 2017, he has replaced Ron Swanson as director of the Pawnee Parks department. Craig at first seemed to be the polar opposite to Donna's more laid-back personality (with layoffs imminent, Donna actually suggested to Leslie that Craig should have her job because he was much more passionate). The two of them bonded over their mutual love of the TV series ''Scandal''. The overdramatic Craig often raises his voice to the point of shouting, and frequently blows things out of proportion, although he proves to be a highly efficient employee who is familiar with city politics and a strong negotiator. After recurring heavily during the show's sixth season, Eichner was promoted to a starring cast member in the seventh season, beginning with the fourth episode "Leslie and Ron."

Family and friends of main characters

Marlene Griggs-Knope

Marlene Griggs-Knope (Pamela Reed) is Leslie's mother and a major political figure in Pawnee's school system. She is a shrewd and cunning politician who is willing to resort to unethical tactics to get her way. Although Leslie has very different standards, she nevertheless sees Marlene as a source of inspiration, and is extremely eager to impress her mother. Marlene has low expectations for her daughter's ability to succeed, but is ultimately supportive of her, as indicated in "Canvassing" when Marlene attended Leslie's public forum in support of her despite privately predicting it would be a "train wreck." In " The Banquet," Marlene encouraged Leslie to use scandalous information to blackmail a Pawnee zoning official into supporting Leslie's park project. In " The Bubble," Leslie secretly prepared her boyfriend Ben for a meeting with Marlene with the hopes her mother would be impressed with him. The plan backfired, however, when Marlene became attracted to Ben and made a pass at him.

Though not seen after early in season 5, Marlene is still referenced from time to time. In particular, in season 7 it is mentioned on several occasions that she is babysitting Leslie and Ben's triplets (who are also her grandchildren.)

Wendy Haverford

Wendy Haverford (Jama Williamson) starts the first season as the wife of Tom Haverford, although they are later revealed to have a green card marriage. Wendy came to Pawnee from Ottawa, Canada and married Tom so she could remain in the country. Introduced in the first-season finale "Rock Band," Wendy is an attractive, outgoing and wealthy pediatric surgeon, and various characters are surprised she is married to Tom, who often brags about her good looks and impressive job. When the parks department employees hold a contest in "Practice Date" to see who can find out the dirtiest secret about their colleagues, Ron learns the real reason for the marriage, but keeps it a secret at Tom's request.

In " Tom's Divorce," Wendy is granted permanent residence in the United States, and immediately begins planning for a divorce. Tom outwardly claims he is fine with it, but secretly wishes for the marriage to continue, as he has developed romantic feelings for Wendy. When Ron asks him if he can ask Wendy out after the divorce, Tom is heartbroken, despite giving Ron his blessing. In "Galentine's Day," Tom confesses his true feelings to Wendy, but she rejects him, prompting an angry Tom to sue her for alimony in the hope of blackmailing her into being with him; however, he soon recognizes how unreasonable this is, and apologizes to Wendy. The divorce goes smoothly, and the two part on good terms.

In the second-season finale, "Freddy Spaghetti," a horrified Tom learns that Wendy and Ron are indeed dating. Although the pairing causes significant tension between Ron and Tom, Ron proves so happy in his relationship with Wendy that it allows him to resist the temptations of his horrible ex-wife Tammy II. However, in "Ron & Tammy: Part Two," Ron and Wendy break up after she decides to return to Canada to take care of her ailing parents.

Dave Sanderson

Dave Sanderson ( Louis C.K.) is a former boyfriend of Leslie Knope and ex-police sergeant in Pawnee. Socially awkward, Dave always speaks in an extremely deadpan and technical tone of voice, but has a sweet personality despite his serious and sometimes gruff exterior, with one Pawnee cop telling Ben that Dave had been the crankiest member of the force until he met Leslie. He first appears in " The Stakeout," where he arrested Tom after finding him suspiciously lingering in a parked van. Leslie angrily demanded that Dave set Tom free, and Dave immediately found Leslie attractive. He asked her on a date in "Beauty Pageant" and she accepted, although she initially hesitated when Dave failed to recognize photos of major female political figures hanging in Leslie's office. Nervous about the upcoming first date, Leslie became drunk in " Practice Date" and visited Dave's house in the middle of the night, acting foolish until Dave brought her home. Leslie was humiliated, but Dave comforted her the next day and they continued dating. In " Greg Pikitis," Dave helped Leslie monitor her nemesis, high school student Greg Pikitis, on Halloween night and ultimately helped catch him in the middle of committing a prank. Dave made what seemed to be his final appearance in " Christmas Scandal," when he told Leslie he is in the United States Army Reserve and has been called for maintenance work in San Diego. He invited Leslie to move there with him, but she insisted she could not leave her home of Pawnee, so they amicably split up. In " Dave Returns," Dave comes back to Pawnee for the retirement party of the current police chief. On a whim, Leslie invites Dave out to dinner with her and Ben and while Ben is in the bathroom, Dave reveals to Leslie that he still has feelings for her. He then handcuffed Ben in the bathroom, but Ben had access to his cell phone and called Leslie, who then sat down for a friendly but firm chat with Dave where she said she was in love with Ben. Dave apologized for his behavior and accepted the situation, being glad to know that Leslie is happy. At the end of the episode, he finally convinced Ben to use the bathroom (Ben has a fear of cops) in the form of a command, which Ben gratefully accepts.

Derek and Ben

Derek (Blake Lee) is April Ludgate's openly bisexual ex-boyfriend, who himself had a gay boyfriend named Ben (Josh Duvendeck) while dating her. Like April, both Derek and Ben are cynical and sarcastic, often mocking others around them. The two first appear together in " Pawnee Zoo," where they and April congratulate Leslie for organizing a publicity stunt that married two homosexual penguins at the local zoo. In "Sweetums," they begin to notice April is spending more time with Andy Dwyer, and they mock his personality, upsetting and embarrassing April. In " Galentine's Day," Derek and Ben attend a senior citizen dance party, where they mock the seniors. Tired of their constantly sarcastic behavior, and growing more romantically interested in Andy, April breaks up with them. Derek and Ben reappear again, in the episode " Andy and April's Fancy Party," making cameos as flower-men at Andy's and April's wedding.

Dr. Harris

Dr. Harris (Cooper Thornton) is a doctor who works at the hospital with Ann Perkins. He has an extremely sarcastic personality and responds to everything in a deadpan manner. He first appeared in the first-season finale "Rock Show," where he tended to Andy Dwyer, who broke his legs falling into a construction pit. He appeared again in "Greg Pikitis," where he attended Ann's Halloween party dressed as a doctor. When the party proved boring, Dr. Harris left early and took the bottle of wine he brought to Ann's party because no one drank it. Dr. Harris tended to Andy again in "Freddy Spaghetti," after Andy was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle. When Andy asked whether Dr. Harris can have him fully healed in the next 10 minutes, the doctor sarcastically responded, "Sure, I'll just advance medical science 30 years." He also appeared in the third-season finale "Li'l Sebastian," where he treated Chris Traeger for a case of tendinitis. Chris responded to Dr. Harris' sarcasm by declaring him "literally the meanest person I have ever met." Ann considered him as a potential sperm donor when she decided to become pregnant.

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein

Jean-Ralphio Saperstein (Ben Schwartz) is the idiotic and cocky friend of Tom Haverford who, like Tom himself, fancies himself a pickup artist and baller, although he is looked upon with contempt by most people around him except Tom. He tries to dress stylishly, makes up and raps spontaneous rhymes and often speaks in slang terms such as variations of the suffix -izzle