It seems like the long-awaited reunion promised to Leslie Knope in the series finale of “Parks and Recreation” — “It will happen, someday,” her husband, played by Adam Scott, says — has finally arrived.
It just took a global pandemic to make it happen, according to a report in Variety.
“This is essentially the only circumstance that would call for a ‘Parks’ reunion, I think: to help people out,” Scott, who plays a mild-mannered state auditor named Ben Wyatt, told the publication. “It makes emotional sense, and creative sense as well.”
According to the report, show co-creator Mike Schur sent an email to the cast of “Parks and Rec” in March asking if they would be interested in doing a reunion episode to help raise donations for Feeding America, a non-profit organization that helps feed hungry Americans through its network of 200 food banks.
The idea was to create an episode that mirrors today’s world: the actors would videoconference in from their homes rather than gathering on a set, and the characters would address quarantine and the pandemic explicitly.
The episode’s entire point is to see “what would happen if this was happening in Pawnee? Where would we find these characters in their own quarantine situation?” says Aubrey Plaza, who plays the deadpan slacker April Ludgate.
It was not clear Thursday night how much money the episode has raised, though State Farm and Subaru of America have each made matching contributions of $150,000.
Donations will be accepted through May 21.