Parks & Recreation: 10 Hidden Jokes You Totally Missed
The best hidden jokes in Parks and Recreation!
Parks and Recreation's six-episode first season began airing on NBC in April 2009 and was met with a tepid critical response at first due to its general slow pace and slightly formulaic nature, although many critics did opine that the series did show some promise.
This turned out to be very true as subsequent seasons proved to be highly acclaimed by both fans and critics, and Parks quickly became one of the most popular sitcoms on the air at the time.
As well as its top notch cast which includes Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Rob Lowe and Nick Offerman, the series also became the hit it did because of its team of writers, who along with their many great surface level jokes, couldn't help but hiding countless subtle and subtextual jokes and callbacks to earlier episodes hidden in plain sight in various scenes throughout the show.
Whether they're hidden details in the background of episodes or subtle payoffs to setups that were established several episodes before, there are many secret gags lying beneath the surface of some of your favourite Parks and Rec moments.
10. The List Of Things Leslie Is For
"Campaign Ad" is one of the best episodes of a near-flawless fourth season that sees Parks and Rec at the top of its game. Thanks to a particularly strong set of plot lines, a myriad of great lines and a stellar guest appearance from Paul Rudd, "Campaign Ad" allows the show to highlight all the things that make it as brilliant as it is.
In the episode, Leslie creates an ad to promote her run for city council. The video is hilarious not only because of how funny it is at first glance, but also because of the blink and you'll miss it list of things that Leslie "is for" that is included at the end.
The list is incredibly long and moves too fast to comprehend, but it rewards you with some gut-busting one liners if you pause to read it. Some examples include "Shutting down the Child Left Behind program", "Regulate heights of trampolines" which is followed by "Memorial for those lost in the trampoline incident", "one school for every student" and "Senior citizens rights".