Likewise, the episode "Pawnee Zoo" included social commentary about same-sex marriage. The writing staff also made an effort to be more topical with the second season episodes. Daniels said he believed this allowed the characters to become more balanced, rather than simply an accumulation of flaws, as they sometimes appeared in the first season. Greg Daniels said since the Parks and Recreation characters had now been established in the second season, the writers were able to write more specifically for the actors.
Both Schur and Schneider had indicated they would like the character to make guest appearances in the third season.įollowing season one, Parks and Recreation was originally renewed for a half season-worth of episodes, but was picked up for a full season in late October 2009. Schur said when Mark Brendanawicz was first introduced, it was anticipated he would eventually become a less frequent character that went back and forth between the government and private sector. Schneider will leave Parks and Recreation at the end of the second season to focus on his film career. Andy Dwyer, Pratt's character, was originally supposed to appear only in the first season, but the producers liked Pratt so much that almost immediately after casting him, they decided to eventually make Andy a regular character. Chris Pratt, who was billed as a guest star throughout the first season despite appearing in every episode, was promoted to the main cast in season two. The season ends with Tom shockingly discovering that Ron is now dating his ex-wife, Wendy.Īll of the principal cast members from the first season returned for the second season, including Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza and Paul Schneider. Ann later kisses Andy due to conflicting emotions from her break-up with Mark, prompting April to angrily reject Andy.
Meanwhile, Andy develops feelings for April, but she fears he is still hung up on Ann. Meanwhile, a crippling budget deficit leads state auditors Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt to temporarily shut down the Pawnee government, much to Leslie's horror and Ron's delight.
They break up, and Mark leaves his city hall career for a private sector job. Just as Mark plans to propose to Ann, she reveals she no longer has feelings for him. April becomes attracted to Andy, but he remains fixated on Ann. The pit is eventually filled in and converted to a multi-purpose lot. Meanwhile, Ron is visited by his horrible ex-wife Tammy 2, a librarian who unsuccessfully tries seducing him into turning the pit into a library branch. It is revealed that Tom's marriage to the attractive surgeon Wendy Haverford is actually a green card marriage which, to his disappointment, eventually ends in divorce. Ann breaks up with Andy and begins dating Mark, with Leslie's approval.