The NBC comedy Parks and Recreation has just started its seventh and final season. No matter whether you were there from the beginning, or you jumped in when the series became wildly popular, you’ll want to learn a bit more about than you can find out just by watching. Did you know:
1. THE SHOW WAS INITIALLY CONCEIVED AS A SPIN-OFF OF THE OFFICE.
NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman asked Greg Daniels, the man in charge of the American version of The Office, for a spin-off of the popular comedy. Along with Office writer Michael Schur, the two considered some concepts, including one where a broken copy machine from Scranton would break down in an episode of The Office and then end up in Pawnee, making the office equipment the spun-off character. Despite the originality of that idea, Daniels and Schur decided to create a show of their own, while using The Office’s mockumentary format and one of the show’s actors, Rashida Jones.
18. AMY POEHLER WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FINAL SEASON’S TIME JUMP.
The final season will take place in 2017—a three year time hop that took place in the surprising final moments of the season six finale “Moving Up,” which revealed a no-longer-pregnant Leslie Knope interacting with her and Ben’s three small children. Retta, who plays Donna Meagle, revealed that Amy Poehler influenced the decision. Poehler expressed a desire to not work with infants on the show, because she had her fill of babies raising her two children in real life.
There’s more to learn between numbers one and eighteen in a list of Parks and Recreation trivia at mental_floss.