The Good Place and Parks & Recreation shared more than just their creator – and here’s every connection between the two shows. The Good Place, created by Michael Schur, debuted on NBC in 2016 and came to an end in January 2020 after four seasons and a lot of philosophical questions about life, death, and the afterlife. The series followed Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who wakes up in the afterlife and is introduced by Michael (Ted Danson) to “the Good Place”, a Heaven-like utopia for those who had a righteous life… except she didn’t really belong there. The Good Place incorporated ethics and philosophy, which mixed with comedy resulted in a very unique type of TV show.
The Good Place also featured numerous nods to another work of Schur’s: Parks & Recreation. Co-created alongside Greg Daniels, Parks & Recreation aired on NBC from 2009 to 2015, and followed perky bureaucrat Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her friends and coworkers from the Parks Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. Although these series had different concepts, The Good Place didn’t miss the opportunity to reference the notable citizens of Pawnee, but there are a lot more connections between these two worlds.
Pawnee and the afterlife also share a couple of actors (in very different roles), writers, and they might very well be set in the same universe – but that can be a bit tricky. Here’s every connection between The Good Place and Parks & Recreation.
Michael Schur & Other Parks and Rec Writers On The Good Place
The biggest connection between these two worlds is, obviously, their creator. Michael Schur is the mind behind The Good Place, Parks & Recreation, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the latter a co-creation with Dan Goor. Schur’s comedy work began in the 1990s when he joined SNL as writer and later became producer of Weekend Update. He later became producer and writer of The Office, for which he wrote ten episodes and also played Dwight’s cousin Mose. Along with Rashida Jones, Schur wrote the teleplay for Black Mirror’s “Nosedive”, and is also a sports writer under the pseudonym “Ken Tremendous”.
The Good Place also had many writers from Parks & Recreation on its team: Aisha Muharrar, Alan Yang, Dave King, Joe Mande, Megan Amram, Matt Murray, and Jen Statsky. It’s not surprising at all that both series have a similar sense of humor and an uplifting tone that helped them win over the hearts of the audience.
Parks & Rec Actors In The Good Place
Many faces from Pawnee (and Eagleton) made an appearance in The Good Place. Funny enough, many of those who had minor roles in Parks & Recreation had bigger ones in The Good Place, and the best example is Kristen Bell. Her character in Parks & Recreation was Ingrid de Forest, a councilwoman from Eagleton that appeared in just three episodes. Marc Evan Jackson (Shawn in The Good Place) appeared as Trevor Nelsson, an attorney living in Pawnee who was first seen representing Dr. Saperstein when he was attempting to get Tom Haverford to sign over his company Rent-A-Swag. Maribeth Monroe was also a Pawnee citizen, Elise Yarktin, director of the Indiana Organization of Women, before she was stuck in the Medium Place as Mindy St. Claire.
Conversely, some actors from Parks & Recreation that had main roles only appeared a couple of times in The Good Place – or just once, as is the case of Nick Offerman, who had a cameo appearance in the series finale as himself. Adam Scott, beloved Ben Wyatt, played a cruel Bad Place demon named Trevor, who did everything he could to avoid Eleanor and company’s entrance to the Good Place. Jason Mantzoukas, who played Pawnee’s fragrance maker Dennis Feinstein, had a role in the afterlife as Derek, Janet’s artificial rebound boyfriend who was rebooted by Mindy so many times he evolved way too much.
Other Parks & Recreation actors who appeared in The Good Place are Paul Scheer, Kaboom’s chaotic good founder turned Good Place committee member; Dax Shepard, who had a minor role as Hank Muntak, an executive at Pawnee’s Channel 4, later appeared as a Bad Place demon; Jama Williamson played Tom’s wife Wendy and a Bad Place architect as well; Mike O’Malley appeared in a minor role as a van company owner but will now be best remembered as Jeff the Doorman and for his affinity for frogs; Jamie Denbo played tabloid reporter Kim Terlando and Chef Patricia, a demon who opened a new restaurant in the fake Good Place; Eugene Cordero played the minister at Jerry’s funeral in the Parks & Recreation finale, as well as Jason’s friend “Pillboi”; and Will McLaughlin played police officers in both series, and was the one who arrested Pillboi and found Jason dead inside the safe.
Parks & Rec Easter Eggs In The Good Place
Aside from sharing many actors, The Good Place had many references to the universe of Parks & Recreation, and they were all very subtle. Eleanor’s favorite magazine, Celebrity Baby, had ads for one of Dennis Feinstein’s fragrances as well as Jean-Ralphio’s champagne brand. The safe in which Jason got trapped is from “Swanson Safe Company”, because if there’s someone who can make a safe that will never fail, that’s Ron Swanson. The Lerpiss family, who were part of Pawnee’s history, also appeared in The Good Place, first when Tahani took a look at the rankings and later when the Accounting Department in the Neutral Zone showed how the point system worked. Bjoern Lerpiss’ favorite restaurant, Paunch Burger, made an appearance when the “Brain-y Brunch” headed over to the Cowboy Skyscraper Buffet with Trevor. Last but definitely not least, Pawnee’s most beloved citizen, Lil’ Sebastian, was seen walking around in the background at the fake Good Place.
Are Parks & Rec and The Good Place In The Same Universe?
The aforementioned Parks & Recreation Easter Eggs suggest that both series exist in the same universe, and while some details make sense – such as Ron Swanson having his own safe company and Dennis Feinstein’s fragrance empire continuing to grow – it can be tricky to place them within the same timeline. For example, Jean-Ralphio’s champagne wasn’t a hit until many, many years in the future, to the point where futuristic underwater cruises were already a thing. With that in mind, it doesn’t quite match that an ad for his champagne brand showed up in a magazine. Unless, of course, this is the one exception and was just a nod to Schur’s previous work and not exactly a link between the two worlds. On the other hand, and given that a lot of Jeremy Bearimys passed once Eleanor and the rest made it to the real Good Place, it makes sense that Nick Offerman made an appearance (and that he helped Tahani become a woodworker, because why not), so in the end, it’s pretty much up to every viewer to decide if The Good Place and Parks & Recreation are in the same universe or not.
Next: Will The Good Place Season 5 Ever Happen?
