While it's been several years since Parks and Recreation's run on NBC ended, the workplace comedy remains quite popular. That's in great part due to streaming. Considering that continued buzz, it's hard not to wonder whether a revival or reboot will happen. That remains to be seen, but it turns out Chris Pratt is down to reprise his role as Andy Dwyer for a follow-up. Not only that, but Pratt has a wild idea for Dwyer that I think it too great not to, at least, be considered.
Parks and Recreation ran for seven seasons from 2009 to 2015. The show briefly returned in April 2020 with a COVID-centric special that saw basically the entire cast reprising their roles. A Zoom-based event, that production was well received and allowed fans to catch up with their favorite characters. As fun as the special was, a true-blue reunion movie or miniseries would arguably be even better. Chris Pratt spoke to Access Hollywood about the prospect of telling more stories set in Pawnee, Indiana, and I love his thoughts:
A reboot? Of course, I’d be game. That was one of the most special seasons of my life, all seven seasons of the show, but that entire era for me, it was so much fun. I love it so much. I’d be so curious to see what Mike Schur and Greg Daniels, and Amy Poehler would have imagined where Andy Dwyer may have gone.
Chris Pratt's career has exploded since the mockumentary series concluded, as he's joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Jurassic World franchises. He also headlines The Terminal List (which is streamable with an Amazon Prime subscription).
It’s very sweet to hear just how much Parks still means to Pratt and that he also still thinks about Andy. During the COVID lockdown special, Andy was humorously revealed to have locked himself in his shed. That shed development seemingly indicated that Andy hadn't changed much but, if Pratt were to have his way, Dwyer would be a very different person in a reboot:
I think he moved to Eagleton and became a yuppie. I think that’d be really funny to explore.
Fans of Parks and Recreation surely know that nothing is ever predictable when it comes to Andy Dwyer. Personally, I love the idea of him becoming a member of the wealthy town of Eagleton. Andy was already funny as he was on the show, but imagine an Andy who has more money than he knows what to do with. Of course, some may wonder how or why Andy's characterization would take such a turn. Well, Chris Pratt has put a lot of that in that as well:
Well, he’s now Johnny Karate’s Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show. He’s a children’s performer. So he probably got a little high on the hog being a children’s performer, and it’d be great to kind of see him turn heel. I think that’d be pretty funny.
Parks and Recreation is arguably one of the best sitcoms in NBC history, so it wouldn’t surprise me if a reboot were to happen sometime in the future. Of course, that would surely depend on whether the show's EPs have an idea that's worth executing. Plus, the producers are also busy with other projects. For example, it was reported earlier this year that Amy Poehler and co-creator Mike Schur would reunite for a brand new streaming show.
So, for now, a Parks and Rec revival feels relatively far out of reach. Nevertheless, I'm holding out hope that something comes to fruition and that the original cast and crew return. Of course, I'm also praying that fans will one day get to see a hilariously snobby Andy Dwyer living it up in Eagleton.
At the moment, fans can enjoy all seven seasons of Parks and Recreation by streaming them with a Peacock subscription.
