Parks and Recreationmay have ended in 2015, but the spirit of Pawnee lives on duringSNL’s Weekend Update.
Last night’sSaturday Night Livewas hosted byAubrey Plaza, currently starring in the Netflix crime thrillerEmily the Criminal. But, no matter how serious Plaza may get on screen, fans who love her best for her deadpan sarcasm as April Ludgate – the apathetic intern from NBC’sParks and Recreation– were in for a treat during a specialWeekend Updatesegment in which she reunited with her local Pawnee government counterpartAmy Poehlerto reprise their beloved roles.
Parks and Recreationaired whenWeekend Updatewas anchored by now-Late Nighthost Seth Meyers – who previously co-anchoredUpdatewith Poehler – before she left theSNLcast to pursue her leading sitcom gig as Leslie Knope.
Poehler-as-Knope made a point to address this head-on:
“I want to pick your brain about this job, about this show, because I used to watch this when Seth Meyers did it by himself with no one else, and he made it look really easy.”
Colin Jost asked April Ludgate if she could impart any advice to job seekers who may be considering government work during this challenging economic recession, herself having worked for the town of Pawnee, Indiana, for a storied six years while Parks & Rec was on the air:
“I will when you stop yelling at me… OK, fine. So, yeah, everybody should get involved where they live. If you’re young, you should get a job as a garbage man or something.”
When prompted for more, she said:
“Fine. Drive a bus. You don’t have to be on time. Nobody cares… Work for the water department. You can drain the reservoir and find all the bodies and murder clues, or just be a dog catcher, and just say you couldn’t find any. Because when you work for the local government, doing the bare minimum is doing your part.”
Parks and Rec Is a Beloved NBC Classic
This marks the first time April Ludgate has made any direct appearance on NBC’s airwaves in many years, not counting those Progressive commercials, which seem to be attempting to can her acerbity. Another star who made it to the big time is Chris Pratt, a fan-favorite character fromParks and Recreation. However, there’s no word on whether his character, Andy Dwyer, will appear on SNL later this year when the highly anticipatedGuardians of the Galaxy vol. 3hits theaters.
