Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Season 1 – Parks and Recreation

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Parks and Recreation 2009 Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
68% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Leslie Knope, a midlevel bureaucrat in an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department, hopes to beautify her town (and boost her own career) by helping local nurse Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction site into a community park, but what should be a fairly simple project is stymied at every turn by oafish bureaucrats, selfish neighbors, governmental red tape and a myriad of other challenges. Leslie's colleague Tom Haverford, who delights in exploiting his position for personal gain, is as likely to undermine her efforts as to help her, while her boss, Ron Swanson, is adamantly opposed to government in any form, even though he's a bureaucrat himself.
Watch on Peacock Stream Now

Where to Watch

Parks and Recreation — Season 1

Parks and Recreation — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

While it has yet to develop its own identity, Parks and Recreation's awkward and absurd humor hints at its potential to become a great comedy, thanks largely to the talents of Amy Poehler.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (37) Critics Reviews
Caitlin Moran Times (UK) Parks and Recreation is a show that is impossible not to befriend. Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Nate Jones New York Magazine/Vulture Like a lot of early comedy episodes, the jokes are fine, but the series' worldview is hard to pin down, and, true to myth, the tone never really coalesces until the finale. Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Emily Nussbaum New York Magazine/Vulture Parks has begun to kick free for me, mainly because the writers are onto something timely and resonant with Leslie, a fool who is also a budding heroine. Oct 10, 2019 Full Review Alan Pergament Buffalo News It is hard to fall head over heels over the pilot of "P&R" because it doesn't tickle the funny bone that often and seems so much like an "Office" rerun. Rated: 2.5/4 Feb 14, 2020 Full Review Jason Zingale Bullz-Eye.com Okay, so maybe the show isn't quite as quotable as The Office, but with only six episodes to impress, Parks and Recreation does a far better job convincing its audience to tune in for a second season than its counterpart did in its freshman year. Rated: 4/5 Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Tom Gliatto People Magazine Poehler has the skills to pull off the role -- Leslie is sweetly, credibly dumb -- but this kind of sitcom needs to build slowly. For now the biggest laughs go to Nick Offerman as her boss. Oct 10, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (55) audience reviews
Luke R This is such a great series! Andy Dwyer is literally the best character! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/06/25 Full Review in name o Strange, because season 1 wasn't funny at all. But from season 2 onwards it became my favourite US comedy Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/22/24 Full Review Theo K Seasoin 1 hurts to watch. I can't defend it. But KEEP WATCHING. It gets amazing. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/03/24 Full Review David R My favorite TV show. I will give every season 5 stars. Thank you. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/15/24 Full Review Rory M Awkward and too short, the characters are all majorly improved upon over time (except for April, she is characterised the same hear as she is in the rest of the show). I personally can't stand Mark (no hate to the actor he does a decent job with what he's given) and Leslie's a bit in this season too (She greatly improves in later seasons) Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/20/24 Full Review Jerzy H Season 1 was average. Just a bunch of akward gags with not much of a storyline but..it is definetely worth to stay and watch the season 2 and onwards Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Parks and Recreation — Season 1

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All Cast and Crew

Amy Poehler

Leslie Knope

Rashida Jones

Ann Perkins

Aziz Ansari

Tom Haverford

Aubrey Plaza

April Ludgate

Nick Offerman

Ron Swanson

Paul Schneider

Mark Brendanawicz

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Apr 9, 2009 Pilot Leslie Knope tries to beautify her town by helping a local nurse turn a construction pit into a community park. Details Episode 2 Aired Apr 16, 2009 Canvassing Leslie and her committee try to build support for her park project; Tom uses questionable recruiting tactics. Details Episode 3 Aired Apr 23, 2009 The Reporter Leslie asks a reporter to do a story on her project; Tom tries to kiss up to his boss. Details Episode 4 Aired Apr 30, 2009 Boys' Club Leslie faces a tough ethical choice at a casual get-together; Andy has a surprise for Ann. Details Episode 5 Aired May 7, 2009 The Banquet Leslie makes an impression at a banquet honoring her mother; Mark and Tom go to a bar to pick up women. Details Episode 6 Aired May 14, 2009 Rock Show Leslie goes to a meeting with a local bigwig while her subcommittee members go to Andy's first concert since breaking both his legs. Details

More Like This

View All Popular TV on Streaming
Sunnyside 36% 58% Sunnyside Watchlist TRAILER for Sunnyside The Good Place 97% 90% The Good Place Watchlist TRAILER for The Good Place Community 88% 88% Community Watchlist Mr. Mayor % 60% Mr. Mayor Watchlist TRAILER for Mr. Mayor Trial & Error 88% 88% Trial & Error Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related TV News

View All Related TV News
10 TV Shows You Should Binge-Watch This January
View All Parks and Recreation — Season 1 photos

Parks and Recreation — Season 1

Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation View more photos

Season Info

Executive Producer
Greg Daniels, Mike Schur, Howard Klein
Network
NBC
Rating
TV-PG (D)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date
Apr 9, 2009
Watch now on