'Parks and Recreation' cast: Where are they now? (original) (raw)

The Parks and Rec cast, then and now

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In 2015, fans said farewell to Pawnee and the cast of characters that made up the town's Parks and Recreation department. While the cast reunited for a special in 2020 in honor of Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund (and a few castmates got together again in 2023), their careers have mostly gone in different directions since the original series ended. Go ahead and "treat yo self" and catch up with everyone from Star-Lord to Lone Star.

Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope)

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After starring as Leslie Knope for seven seasons, Amy Poehler moved on from her local government days for new shows and films. From 2018 to 2021, she served as cohost of NBC's craft competition series Making It with her fellow Parks and Rec alum Nick Offerman. She also did voiceover work for Pixar's Inside Out (2015) and Fox's Duncanville, which she created, from 2020 to 2022. She earned triple-threat status by starring in, directing, and producing Netflix's original films Wine Country (2019) and Moxie (2021), and went on to direct the 2022 Amazon documentary Lucy and Desi.

Also known for her many collaborations with comedian and friend Tina Fey, Poehler and her former Saturday Night Live castmate announced their first comedy tour together in 2023.

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson)

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Memorably starring in Alex Garland's FX on Hulu miniseries Devs as Forest, the long-haired, wizard-bearded tech mogul attempting to decode the mysteries of quantum mechanics (and god), Nick Offerman, also cohosted Making It with Poehler. He then traded in his flannels and woodworking as Ron Swanson for…other flannels and more woodworking to play a version of himself in The Good Place's series finale.

Over the years, he's racked up many acting and voiceover credits on shows and in films like Will & Grace, Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) Bob's Burgers, Lucy in the Sky (2019), The Great North, Pam & Tommy, A League of Their Own, and The Last of Us, among others. In addition to his busy screen career, Offerman has written several books, including one with his wife Megan Mullally, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, in 2018.

Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford)

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After Parks and Rec wrapped, Aziz Ansari found awards recognition with his Netflix series Master of None, which he created, directed, and starred as Dev. He also voiced Darryl on Bob's Burgers and in The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022).

Ansari found himself mired in controversy during the #MeToo movement when, in January 2018, a woman using the pen name "Grace" accused him of sexual misconduct in a Babe.net piece that inspired new conversations about enthusiastic consent. After spending some time away from the spotlight, he came back with his own Netflix comedy special, Aziz Ansari: Right Now, in 2019, in which he addressed the issue.

Retta (Donna Meagle)

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From supporting player to star, Retta leveled up since Parks and Rec ended. After playing fan favorite Donna Meagle, Retta played Ruby Hill, one-third of Good Girls' main trio, on the NBC crime drama. She also racked up TV and film credits for projects like Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Good Boys (2019), Big Mouth, DuckTales, and Tuca & Bertie. In 2022, Retta began hosting HGTV's Ugliest House in America, where she visits properties with disagreeable layouts and renovations across the country.

Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt)

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Adam Scott played the perfect boyfriend-turned-husband on Parks and Rec, but he turned around and was the exact opposite of Ben Wyatt in his biggest post-Parks gigs. From being a much more realistic version of a husband on Big Little Lies to an actual demon on _The Good Plac_e to a cheating billionaire on Loot, Scott also appeared on The Twilight Zone reboot, I Love You America, and Ghosted. His starring role in the Apple TV+ drama series Severance earned him his first Emmy nomination. Scott will once again sport a pink bowtie as actor-caterer Henry Pollard in Starz's limited revival of the cult comedy Party Down.

Rob Lowe (Chris Traeger)

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Rob Lowe traded in Chris Traeger's running shoes for a cowboy hat with his series 9-1-1: Lone Star. After Parks and Rec ended, he starred in the Netflix films Holiday in the Wild (2019) and Dog Gone (2023); voiced Simba on The Lion Guard from 2016 to 2019; starred on Code Black and Wild Bill; and earned other onscreen credits for The Orville, Super Troopers 2 (2018), The Bad Seed (2018), and The Pentaverate.

In addition to his work on Lone Star, Lowe also hosted the Fox game show Mental Samurai for two seasons and will star alongside his son John on the 2023 Netflix comedy series, Unstable, inspired by their parent-child dynamic.

Jay Jackson (Perd Hapley)

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Pawnee's favorite TV anchor didn't stay local after Parks and Rec ended. Jay Jackson, best known for playing Perd Hapley on the NBC comedy, also went on to play a reporter on The L Word: Generation Q, and a news anchor on Scandal, Silicon Valley, The Morning Show, Impeachment: An American Crime Story, Inventing Anna, and Dahmer_—_Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

In other non-news roles, Jackson appeared on Criminal Minds, Good Girls (with fellow Parks and Rec alum Retta), Black Monday,Minx, andGaslit, among other shows.

Jon Glaser (Councilman Jamm)

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In the final seasons of Parks and Rec, Jon Glaser played local orthodontist and city councilman Jeremy Jamm who lived to annoy Leslie Knope.

Once the series wrapped, he wrote, executive produced and starred on his own mockumentary series, Jon Glaser Loves Gear; went on to voice Larry Kudlow on Our Cartoon President; appeared on series Living With Yourself, Mr. Robot, Single Drunk Female, and Life & Beth; scored roles in Hustlers (2019) and Don't Look Up (2021); and worked as a writer on Inside Amy Schumer.