Adam Scott has said believes Parks And Recreation would be a different show if it were made today, due to the societal shifts caused by the Trump Administration.
The sitcom follows the lives of staff at the Parks and Recreation department of the local government of the town of Pawnee, Indiana, and ran from 2009 to 2015, a year before Donald Trump was elected as President for his first term.
Remembered for its light-hearted tone and hopeful storylines, the series launched the careers of many of its cast members, including Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, and Scott himself, who is currently the lead in hit drama Severance. The actor played Poehler’s love interest Ben Wyatt in the show.
Reflecting on the show’s legacy, Scott told Variety: “I think back on Parks And Rec and the hope and joy that it brings people. It’s so lovely to hear from people that it helped them through the pandemic or helps them through trying times now.
“And it is a dark time right now,” he continued. “And I do feel like our country may have lost what was left of its innocence in 2015, when Donald Trump stepped up and stepped into politics. And it’s easy to forget just how much our country has changed in the last 10 or 11 years.”
“As far as whether it could kind of survive or how it would sit in the now if it started now: Certainly, it would be different,” he said.
“But something like Abbott Elementary is able to maintain this really lovely tone, and it’s able to be hilarious and heartfelt and all of those things in a climate that isn’t always conducive to that. They’re able to protect themselves and make this great show. I think there’s always an audience for that.”