Both Parks and Recreation and The Part are some of the best comedies to have aired on idiot box and there's a reason that each show has its large fan bases.The OfficeandParks and Recreationtake a lot in common as both look at the interpersonal relationships of close-knit employees in an office environs and both use a mockumentary setup.

AlthoughThe Officecame kickoff and there are many fans who would debate that they preferThe PartoverParks and Rec,there are a few things thatParks and Recarguably did better.

Updated on January 14th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara:Although The Office and Parks and Recreation have both been off the air for a few years, both shows even so have a dedicated fan-base that continues to rewatch their favorite shows once more and once again. Both shows are iconic and accept made their way into pop culture. And with streaming services making both shows bachelor to scout, many more are merely discovering the hilarious characters of both Scranton and Pawnee. Although many prefer The Office over Parks and Rec, arguably Parks and Rec was more successful in some aspects including invitee stars, supporting characters, and creating a recognizable location.

Pawnee Townspeople

Parks and Recreationhas several scenes where the parks section interacts with Pawnee citizens and information technology'south e'er insane and hilarious. Sometimes a constituent wants only some of their snails removed from their sidewalk simply not all of them while other times they wanted to complain well-nigh getting sick later on drinking from a water fountain fifty-fifty though they had read a sign saying not to drink from the fountain or they just wanted to yell their grievances at Leslie Knope.The Partdidn't see the primary characters interact with their clients very often and when they did it wasn't as funny as whenParks and Recdid.

Female Character Friendships

Leslie Knope being the main character of Parks and Recand having several friendships with other female characters was great to see on such a pop show and something thatThe Officedidn't fully commit to in comparison. There are moments where Phyllis and Pam or Pam and Angela are friendly, merely information technology doesn't compare to Leslie and Ann or Leslie and April's friendships and even the hilarious animosity turning into mutual respect between Ann and Apr.

Detailed Location

It was clear thatParks and Rectook place in Indiana and it made several references to the fictional Pawnee while bringing in real-life references to the country too. Pawnee ever felt real whereasThe Officedidn't make equally much attempt to footing its location in comparison.

Philadelphia, Scranton, and New York were mentioned several times in the show, butParks and Recdid a amend job of showing its audition the location instead of but talking about it.

Wacky Supporting Characters

Most ofThe Office's supporting characters similar David Wallace and January Levinson, in the offset, were meant to act equally straight-laced foils to Michael'south zany behavior.Parks and Rectook a different approach and introduced wackier supporting characters that made the already pretty zany parks department look normal in comparing. Leslie running against the incompetent just lovable Bobby Newport or Tom interacting with his excitable best friend Jean-Ralphio is arguably funnier than David Wallace trying to calm down Michael Scott.

Consistently Got Meliorate

The Functionwas pretty well-established from the start as a great evidence, fifty-fifty though it had a rocky starting time with its pilot, onlyParks and Recwasn't every bit successful in its get-go season. It took some time forParks and Recto get into a rhythm, but in one case information technology got there the evidence stayed consequent in its character development and brought satisfying arcs to each master grapheme every bit the show went on. In comparison,The Officelost its footing when Michael Scott left and the evidence was reaching for storylines that weren't every bit successful in afterward seasons like the issues in Jim and Pam's marriage that were never fully resolved.

Amend Antagonists

The Parthas characters that are non great people, including a lot of the main bandage and protagonists, merely the audience however roots for them. In Parks and Recreation, withal, the audience has fun antagonist characters to root against. Whether that's Tammy 2 or Councilman Jamm, Parks and Rec is well-populated with hatable jerks. The trouble they cause serves non merely to give us a expert bad guy merely to likewise endear us to the heroes of the Parks and Recreations Department.

Non Dragging Out Relationships

The Part arguably stretched the Jim and Pam relationship out a bit also long, forth with the Angela and Dwight human relationship, and even kept Andy and Erin in a holding pattern as well. Merely on Parks and Recreation, relationships progressed a lot faster like April and Andy. Yes, in that location were even so some ups and downs, simply ultimately, and more realistically, the relationships in Parks and Rec were a lot more straightforward.

Characters Accomplishing Their Dreams

In the early seasons of The Office, we learn that Pam wants to be an creative person and that Jim has ambitions of getting out of Dunder Mifflin. Pam drops out of graphic blueprint schoolhouse and pretty much stops painting, and Jim doesn't go out Dunder Mifflin until the very last season. On Parks and Rec, however, Leslie is elected, April starts several fulfilling jobs, and Tom begins some successful businesses. Although information technology's realistic that not every character would fulfill their dreams, information technology was still satisfying to see most of theParks and Reccharacters get fulfilling endings.

More Real-World Stories

Neither The Office nor Parks and Rec. is known for its realism. Still, the shows utilise their wacky, out-of-this-globe characters in different ways. In The Office, those characters are there to brand up hilarious situations. That'south truthful of Parks and Rec besides, but the latter show volition also use their characters for another reason to tell allegorical stories to real-globe situations. For instance, there's an episode that tells a powerful story well-nigh beloved; just it merely happens to be about penguins.

Casting Rashida Jones Every bit A Pb

Rashida Jones is a fantastic actress and finally had a leading role inParks and Rec.She appeared inThe Office, just her character Karen's main purpose was to be an obstacle to Pam and Jim'due south relationship and once Jim and Pam were together Karen was sidelined as a character. Ann Perkins ofParks and Rec is a likable delight, perfectly suited every bit Leslie's best friend while as well having storylines on her ain and not only existing as an obstacle to a romantic human relationship.

Building A Bigger World

The world of Scranton's all-time paper visitor is pretty much limited to Scranton. Rarely practise we come across characters of The Office venture exterior the tiny Pennsylvania city. That's not the case in Parks and Rec. The adventures and characters on that show are hardly limited to Pawnee, Indiana, even though that's where the testify is based. Even within the show'southward respective towns, Pawnee is a much bigger place. Merely in The Office, we spend nigh of our time in Dunder Mifflin.

Invitee Appearances

Several recognizable Hollywood greats showed up on The Partlike Will Ferrell, Amy Adams, and even James Spader. But Parks and Rec was simply packed with amazing guest appearances, and they win overThe Office in this category. Pawnee had guest stars from Sam Elliott to Andy Samberg, and even while venturing to Washington DC Joe Biden and Michelle Obama made an advent. The guests on The Role were amazing, only none of them were the coolest First Lady in American History.

Endearing Characters

In The Part, the audition fell in love with Jim and Pam as much every bit they fell for each other, and for all his faults, it was still incredibly sad when Michael Scott decided to go out. But for every endearing relationship or character on The Office, in that location were more than on Parks and Rec.

From Andy and April's spousal relationship to the wacky but lovable Chris Traeger to the fearless hero Leslie Knope. The world of Parks and Rec is brimming with characters and relationships to love.

Families

The Functiondidn't delve into the families of the main characters very often. There'southward Mose, Dwight's brother, Pam'south mom, and Stanley's daughter showed up one time. Simply too these and a handful of others, family members of The Office bandage rarely appear on the show. In Parks and Rec, notwithstanding, the characters' families matter. Ron's ex-wives, and somewhen his current wife, are integral to what goes on in the show. The same can be said for Leslie's mom and even Jerry's daughters. We know that The Office is supposed to focus on work relationships more than family ones, but it'south notwithstanding nice to see the families outside of the work environment.

The Ending

The ending of The Office is astounding. Information technology is a cute, heart-wrenching render to everything the audition loved about the show; it serves equally the perfect send-off to the series. The same is true of the Parks and Recreation series finale, butParks and Rec didn't have a two-flavour controversial lead-up to the end. While both finales were peachy, The Office had a much bumpier road to get there. Parks and Rec, in opposition, had a brilliantly fulfilling final season; one that ready-upwards a finale as only that evidence could. To fence that 1 finale solitary is better than the other wouldn't exist fair. But arguablyParks and Rechad a better overall final flavor.

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