Parks and Recreation Finale Features Big Changes, "Exciting" Moments That Set Up Season 7

Series star Amy Poehler and co-creator Mike Schur teased what's ahead for NBC comedy

By Chris Harnick Apr 18, 2014 8:26 PMTags
Amy Poehler, Adam Scott, Parks and RecreationSteve Jennings/NBC

Everything changes, that's a fact Parks and Recreation has expertly embraced. The fan-favorite NBC comedy is wrapping up a season of surprises on Thursday, April 24, and they've saved the biggest twist for a "very exciting last moment" in the finale.

"The last minute or so of our season finale…the last moments are really important and big things happen that kind of show you where we're going and where a lot of the characters are going or shows you where they may go," series star Amy Poehler told reporters. "I would encourage everybody to make sure they watch until the very end…It ends with, I don't know, a pretty exciting and—dare I say, in a good way—very exciting last moment. I'm very excited for people to see it."

Leslie Knope (Poehler) recently lost her city council seat and returned to the parks department. But her work didn't go unnoticed and she was presented with a big new job…outside of her beloved Pawnee. While grappling with the decision to leave her beloved hometown, Leslie found out she was pregnant…with triplets.

"What's exciting about working on Parks always is that we keep moving things forward and never kind of sitting still as far as what happens to people. People leave, they get new jobs, they get married, they breakup. I think it's another example of big change happening to a lot of people. I think fans of ours will be really excited coming into season seven about what this season's finale will mean," Poehler said.

Parks and Recreation recently did the baby storyline with Ann (Rashida Jones) before the character left the show alongside Chris (Rob Lowe). Don't expect them to repeat stories on crazy pregnancy mood swings and cravings. Series co-creator Mike Schur said the show works very hard to make sure they don't repeat themselves.

Steve Jennings/NBC

The show has already been given a pickup for a seventh—and maybe final?—season. After a season of so much change, what more can possibly happen to Leslie Knope and the citizens of Pawnee?

"There's a sense that the show is like this big baking loaf of bread that keeps expanding in the pan. The only challenge really is to try to stay true to the characters and their ambitions, dreams and hopes, but still have a show where the characters can all interact with each other," Schur said. "I think that the biggest question for season seven will be how do you continue to honor the characters and their lives and what they want in life while still keeping everybody in a sphere where they actually get to interact with each other."

Leslie Knope has always been unflappable—just look at the way she handled the news of triples—and career-focused, but don't expect a ton of "How will she do it all?" quandaries on the show.

"Even though this is the first time she's pregnant and going to have children, she's actually been a working mother for a while, even before she was married," Poehler said. "Pawnee is her kid, so she's been like always torn between her town and doing what's right for it and making sure she gives it enough time, and herself and her career…We always believed that Pawnee was Leslie's kid and she wanted the best for it. That's why when she's trying to decide to take a new job or when her real, actual, physical family may get in the way of her life in Pawnee, it just creates more challenges. I think she's always been a pretty maternal and paternal [Laughs.] force at the same time on the show. It will be fun to see which baby wins. Baby fight!"

Parks and Recreation season six finale airs Thursday, April 24, at 8 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family).