Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation, also informally known as Parks and Rec, is an American political comedy television sitcom starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a perky, mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009 to February 24, 2015 for 125 episodes over seven seasons. It uses the same filming style used in The Office, with the same implication of a documentary crew filming everyone. The ensemble and supporting cast features Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, Retta, and Billy Eichner.

The writers researched local California politics for the show and consulted with urban planners and elected officials. Poehler's character of Leslie Knope underwent major changes after the first season in response to audience feedback that she seemed unintelligent and "ditzy". The writing staff incorporated current events into their episodes, such as a government shutdown in Pawnee inspired by the real-life global financial crisis. Several guest stars, such as Will Arnett, Sam Elliott, Bill Murray, and Paul Rudd, have been featured in the show, and these characters often appear in multiple episodes.

Late Night

Late Night is shorthand for several different things:

See also

Ron Swanson

Ronald Ulysses "Ron" Swanson is a fictional character portrayed by Nick Offerman from the situation comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. In the series, Ron is the director of the Parks and Recreation department of fictional Pawnee, Indiana and the immediate superior of series protagonist Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) until Knope's election to the Pawnee City Council at the end of Season 4. In demeanor, political philosophy and work ethic, Knope and Swanson are very nearly polar opposites: where Knope is sunny and outgoing, decidedly liberal and constantly working, Swanson is distant, and as a staunch libertarian, is a strong advocate for small government—stating his belief that government should be privatized—and therefore believes that the parks department should not even exist.

Ron, who has an extremely deadpan and masculine personality, actively works to make city hall less effective and despises interacting with the public. He loves meat, woodworking, hunting, whisky, and breakfast foods. He hates and fears his two ex-wives, both named Tammy, one of whom is played by Offerman's real-life wife, Megan Mullally. Ron claims not to be interested in the personal lives of those around him but actually cares a great deal about his colleagues, and has a particularly strong respect for Leslie.

Seth Meyers

Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, television host, actor, and voice actor. He currently hosts Late Night with Seth Meyers, a late-night talk show that airs on NBC. Prior to that, he was a head writer for NBC's Saturday Night Live (2001–2014) and hosted its news parody segment Weekend Update.

He also hosted the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2014, starred in the animated Hulu series The Awesomes (2013–2015), appeared in Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), and is the co-creator, co-writer, and executive producer of Documentary Now! (2015–present)

Early life

Meyers was born in Evanston, Illinois, and was raised in Okemos, Michigan from ages 4–10 and Bedford, New Hampshire after that. His mother, Hilary Claire (née Olson), was a French teacher, and his father, Laurence Meyers, Jr., worked in finance. His younger brother is actor Josh Meyers. His paternal grandfather was Jewish, and although Meyers has performed at several Jewish Community Centers, he does not consider himself Jewish. His other ancestry is Czech-Austrian (from his paternal grandmother), Swedish, English, and German. Meyers attended Edgewood Elementary in Okemos and later graduated from Manchester High School West in New Hampshire. He then attended and graduated from Northwestern University in Evanston, where he became a member of the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta.

Greatest hits album

A greatest hits album, sometimes called a "best of" album or a catalog album, is a compilation of songs by a particular artist or band. Most often the track list contains previously released recordings with a high degree of notability. However, to increase the appeal, especially to people who already own the original release, it is common to include remixes and/or alternate takes of popular songs; even new material (previously unreleased). At times a greatest hits compilation is the original release for songs that have themselves been released as a single and charted successfully.

Notable compilations

Madonna's The Immaculate Collection is the best selling greatest hits compilation by a solo artist; all of the songs on it are presented in different versions than the original hit versions. The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the best selling greatest hits compilation by a group and also one of the ten best selling albums in history. Greatest hits albums are typically produced after an artist has had enough successful songs to fill out an album release. Some artists, such as Mariah Carey, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Kenny Rogers, Aerosmith, Kiss, U2, Dolly Parton, Journey, Los Tigres del Norte, Queen, Kylie Minogue and Billy Joel, have released multiple greatest hits albums through their long careers. Some greatest hits albums are released only at the end of the artist or group's career. For example, My Chemical Romance released a greatest hits album after they disbanded. Other artists, like Eminem have released hits albums in the center of their success. He released Curtain Call: The Hits in 2005 and then Shady XV as a compilation album in 2014.