UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – January 14, 2010 – NBC.com will present a special “Producers’ Cut” version of NBC’s comedy “Parks and Recreation” with extra footage and an extended version of the episode “The Set-Up,” featuring guest-stars Will Arnett (“30 Rock,” “Arrested Development”) and Justin Theroux (“John Adams,” “Tropic Thunder”). The full “Producers’ Cut” episode will be available on NBC.com beginning Friday morning, January 15.
The special “Producers’ Cut” will feature extra footage with Arnett and Theroux, improvisation, ongoing dialog with the primary characters/starring cast — and an extra scene with Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones.
In “The Set-Up,” Ann (Jones) sets Leslie (Poehler) up on a blind date with a co-worker (guest star Arnett) — which does not go as well as Leslie had hoped. Meanwhile, an old friend of Ann’s (guest star Theroux) makes Mark (Paul Schneider) feel insecure. Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt also star in the episode.
From Emmy Award-winning executive producers Greg Daniels (NBC’s “The Office,” “King of the Hill”) and Michael Schur (NBC’s “The Office,” “Saturday Night Live”) comes a mockumentary that looks at the exciting world of local government. The half-hour comedy examines the mundane but necessary ways that people interact with their government, and asks why it’s frequently so complicated — as everyone knows from standing in line at the DMV, applying for home construction permits, or trying to get the city to fix a pothole.
The documentary cameras follow Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” “Baby Mama”) a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. In an attempt to beautify her town — and advance her career — Leslie works on her project of helping local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones, NBC’s “The Office,” “Unhitched”) to turn abandoned lot 48 into a community park. Opposing them are defensive bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, real estate developers, and single-issue fanatics — whose weapons are lawsuits, the jumble of city codes, and the very democratic process that Leslie loves so much.
Leslie is alternately helped and undermined by her colleague, Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari, “Human Giant,” “Scrubs”), who cheerfully exploits his government position for personal gain. She is also thwarted by her boss, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman “Children’s Hospital”), who is philosophically opposed to government in any form.
Helping Leslie and Ann navigate the Pawnee bureaucracy is charismatic city planner Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider, “The Family Stone”), 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 (Aubrey Plaza, “Mayne Street”) 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.
Chris Pratt (“The O.C.,” “Everwood”) also stars as Andy, Ann’s loser ex-boyfriend who broke both legs after taking a fall into the abandoned pit.
“Parks and Recreation” is a production of Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios. Along with Daniels and Schur, Howard Klein and David Miner also serve as executive producers for the series.
For a limited time, fans can also enjoy every episode from Season 2 of “Parks and Recreation” on NBC.com through Sunday, January 17. NBC.com will return to posting the five most recent new episodes of “Parks and Recreation” on Monday, January 18.
“Parks and Recreation” on NBC.com:
http://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation/
“Parks and Recreation” Episodes Online:
http://www.nbc.com/parks-and-recreation/video/categories/season-2/1158001/