“Parks And Rec” Cast Reuniting For A Socially Distanced Charity Special

If you (like us) have been wondering how Leslie Knope and crew would handle the coronavirus, we now get to find out.

Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler speak during The Paley Center for Media's 2014 PaleyFest honoring "Parks and Recreation" at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler speak during The Paley Center for Media's 2014 PaleyFest honoring "Parks and Recreation" at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

What would Leslie Knope do when faced with a constituent who thinks he can beat the coronavirus by ingesting Lysol?

It sounds like a situation tailor-made for a “Parks and Rec” episode—and we may soon get the answer.

The cast of NBC’s hit show “Parks and Recreation” is reuniting for a special to air April 30, to show us how our favorite government employees would handle a pandemic. The episode will also raise money in the real world for a good cause.

The scripted half-hour special will air on NBC on April 30 and will be available on streaming platforms the next day. Stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir, and Retta will all be joining the socially distanced special, which was filmed from their various homes, as well as several guest stars from the show. 

Poehler says they’re coming together to raise money for the COVID-19 Response Fund for Feeding America, a nationwide hunger-relief charity that works with food banks and serves more than 40 million Americans.

The popular show about local government had a seven-season run ending in 2015, and fans have been clamoring for a reunion — especially because the ever-ambitious and optimistic Leslie Knope is the kind of person you’d want running your city, state or even federal government during a pandemic. And some humorous cynicism from Ron Swanson or ridiculous hijinks from Andy Dwyer certainly won’t hurt, either.

The show’s co-creator, Michael Schur, said “like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money,” according to Variety. He continued: “I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes. Our old ‘Parks and Rec’ team has put together one more 30-minute slice of (quarantined) Pawnee life and we hope everyone enjoys it. And donates!”

Earlier this month, NY Mag’s Vulture reached out to dozens of popular showrunners to ask what their beloved characters might do during a pandemic, and Schur was one who responded—perhaps giving us a preview of what the special will be like.

“First of all, Leslie would’ve known the CDC protocols for social distancing already, and they would’ve been instituted within 24 hours of the first reports of the coronavirus in America,” he told Vulture, adding that “Zoom would be installed on everyone’s computers overnight.”

“Ron would be thrilled because now there’s a reason for him to be alone with no one bothering him. But he’d worry about Leslie,” Schur said.

We can’t wait to see how everyone’s doing.