Parks and Recreation
Make My Pit a Park
Season 1, Episode 1 · Aired 2009-04-09
Synopsis
From Emmy Award-winning executive producers of "The Office" comes a new mockumentary that looks at the exciting world of local government. The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In an attempt to beautify her town Leslie takes on what should be a fairly simple project: help local nurse Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park. Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague, Tom Haverford, who cheerfully exploits his government position for personal gain. She is also thwarted by her boss Ron Swanson who is philosophically opposed to government in any form. Helping Leslie and Ann navigate the Pawnee bureaucracy is charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz, whose outlook has been soured by 15 years of public service. If they can pull it off, Leslie hopes that she also will have inspired her uninterested college intern April and April's whole generation - all the while moving one step closer to her ultimate goal: becoming the first female president of the United States.
From the desk: Parks and Recreation opens its catalog run with “Make My Pit a Park” (2009-04-09). Office-adjacent mockumentary that chose sincerity over pure cringe and won the rewatch wars. Amy Poehler / cast chemistry lore and the mid-show tonal glow-up.
In the series
This episode is part of Parks and Recreation (2009–2015) on NBC.
Pawnee's optimistic bureaucrat vs. small-town chaos — treat yo'self forever.
Key cast
- Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope
- Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins
- Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson
- Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford
- Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer
- Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate