What the ‘Parks and Recreation’ Cast Members Have Been Up to Since the Series Ended

By Ellise Shafer

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – With the “Parks and Rec” cast reuniting for a scripted special benefitting Feeding America, both original fans and those who binge-watched the show via streaming are surely in for a treat. Almost all cast members will be in character for the half-hour reunion, including Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir and Retta, as well as a few of the series’ guest stars.

But, what have these actors been up to since the series finale in February 2015? From Poehler’s role as Susie in the revamped “Wet Hot American Summer” series to Pratt’s breakthrough in the world of Marvel, here’s an update on the talent behind your favorite Pawnee residents.

Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope)

Since her time as Leslie Knope, deputy director of the parks and recreation department turned deputy director of the department of interior, Poehler has kept quite busy as a performer, producer, writer and director on several projects. She voiced the character of Joy in the Oscar-winning animated film “Inside Out,” played Susie in “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” and its sequel “Ten Years Later,” and co-created the new animated series “Duncanville,” in which she also stars. Most notable for “Parks and Rec” fans is her hosting gig with former co-star Offerman on the craft show “Making It.” Just as she was a producer on “Parks and Rec,” Poehler has continued to take a behind-the-scenes role in many of the projects in which she has also acted, including the aforementioned “Duncanville” and “Welcome to Sweden,” which was created by her real-life brother Greg Poehler. In addition, through her Paper Kite banner, she has executive produced “Broad City” and co-created “Russian Doll.” Poehler also has directed several films including “Dumb Prince” in 2016; 2019’s “Wine Country” with Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey; and “Moxie,” which is currently in post-production.

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson)

Offerman, who played the cynical Ron Swanson on the show, has voiced animated characters in “Ice Age: Collision Course,” “Sing” and “3Below: Tales of Arcadia.” He also played Dick McDonald in 2016’s “The Founder,” starred and executive produced the 2018 film “Hearts Beat Loud” and most recently, starred in FX on Hulu’s limited series “Devs” from Alex Garland. In 2017 he and his real-life wife (and sometimes “Parks” co-star) Megan Mullally released a special entitled “Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally: Summer of 69: No Apostrophe. Offerman also hosts and executive produces “Making It” with Poehler.

Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate-Dwyer)

Plaza broke through as deadpan intern April Ludgate, and has since acted in a handful of films, including “Dirty Grandpa,” “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates,” “Child’s Play” and “Ingrid Goes West,” which she also produced. She also starred in the FX series “Legion” and has guest-starred on “Criminal Minds” and “Drunk History.”

Chris Pratt (Andy Dwyer)

As “Parks and Rec” began wrapping up, Pratt landed the roles of Peter Quill in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and Owen in “Jurassic World,” which would each go on to produce several sequels. In addition, Pratt starred as Quill in “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” and reprised the role of Emmet Brickowski in the 2019 sequel to “The Lego Movie.”

Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford)

After becoming known on the show for his character Tom Haverford’s infectious catchphrase, “Treat Yo’ Self,” Ansari wrote, produced and starred in his own Netflix series, “Master of None” until 2017, and guest starred as Darryl in over a dozen episodes of “Bob’s Burgers.” In 2018, Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct after an article surfaced online detailing a woman’s experience on a date with the actor. Ansari addressed the allegations in his 2019 special “Aziz Ansari: Right Now,” stating that he “felt terrible that this person felt this way.”

Rashida Jones (Ann Perkins)

After “Parks and Rec,” Jones starred in and produced the TV series “Angie Tribeca,” which ran from 2016 to 2018. She also lent her voice to several animated films, including “White Fang” and “The Grinch” in 2018, created the original story for “Toy Story 4” and executive produces “Claws” on TNT. Most recently, Jones can be seen as Kenya Barris’ wife Joya in the new Netflix series “#BlackAF,” which she also executive produces and directs. Jones also has a role on Poehler’s animated series “Duncanville.”

Adam Scott (Ben Wyatt)

Scott, who played an ambitious politician and Leslie Knope’s love interest on the show, has stuck mainly with TV since the series’ end. He played Ben in “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” alongside Poehler, starred in “Ghosted” with “The Office” alum Craig Robinson, carried the iconic “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” episode of “The Twilight Zone” reboot, and held the role of demonic Trevor on “The Good Place.” Most recently, Scott can be seen as Ed Mackenzie, husband of Reese Witherspoon’s character Madeline on HBO’s hit series “Big Little Lies.”

Rob Lowe (Chris Traeger)

Since his stint as the uber-healthy and even more positive Chris Traeger on the show, Lowe has starred in the TV series “Code Black” as Dr. Ethan Willis, “The Grinder” as Dean Sanderson, “Wild Bill” as Bill Hixon and “9-1-1: Lone Star,” playing Owen Strand. Lowe also executive produced those latter series, voiced the role of Simba in Disney’s “The Lion Guard,” a spin-off of “The Lion King” franchise, and directed the updated “The Bad Seed” television movie for Lifetime in 2018. He has had an impressive reality TV stint, as well, working with his sons on the ghost-hunting show “The Lowe Files” and hosting “Mental Samurai” for Fox.

Jim O’Heir (Jerry Gergich)

Jim O’Heir, whose character Jerry also went by Terry, Garry and Larry, has guest starred in other such comedies as “The Neighborhood,” “Veep” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” as well as other series in general from “Pearson” to “Bill Nye Saves the World” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” since the NBC sitcom wrapped up in 2015. He also had a role in Drew Goddard’s 2018 film “Bad Times at the El Royale.” These days, he can be seen on the ABC sitcom “Bless This Mess.”

Retta (Donna Meagle)

Post “Parks and Rec,” Retta has held supporting roles on dramedy series including “Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce” and “Good Girls,” and she has also appeared in movies such as “Good Boys,” “To the Bone” and “Other People.” She has also done some voice work, contributing to “Where’s Waldo?” and the popular Netflix animated show “Big Mouth,” and in 2018 she became a published author with “So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y’all Don’t Even Know.”