PARKS AND RECREATION

Creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur made Parks and Recreation with the goal of mixing political satire and marriage with comedy. The main protagonist, Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) was a mid-level bureaucrat who helped a local nurse turn a construction site into a community park. However, the two encounter red tape and selfish neighbors. From 2009 to 2015, Parks and Recreation had audiences entertained by the main character’s weird optimism (credit goes to Poehler’s effective portrayal) amidst snotty and self-centered people.

While the sitcom’s first season struggled to be at the same level as the sitcoms The Office and Pawnee, Parks and Recreation eventually found its own niche in the following seasons and had its final episode in 2015.