<Ul> <Li> Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat with a strong love of her home town of Pawnee, who has not let politics dampen her sense of optimism (which apparently has lasted six years in her job); her ultimate goal is to become President of the United States . Poehler departed from the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where she was a cast member for nearly seven years, to star in Parks and Recreation . It was only after she was cast that Daniels and Schur established the series' general concept and the script for the pilot was written . </Li> <Li> Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, a nurse and political outsider who gradually becomes more involved in Pawnee government through her friendship with Leslie . Jones was among the first to be cast by Daniels and Schur in 2008, when the series was still being considered as a spin - off to The Office, where Jones had played Jim Halpert's girlfriend Karen Filippelli, who formerly worked at the Stamford Branch but was soon transferred to the Scranton Branch in the 3rd season . She and Lowe departed later in season 6 . Jones and Lowe returned in the Season 7 series finale . </Li> <Li> Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, a city planner who entered the field with a sense of optimism, but has since become jaded and disillusioned . Schneider said early in the series he was insecure in the role because he was still trying to figure out the character's motivations . Schneider left the cast after the second season and the character is not referenced at any point during the remainder of the series' run . </Li> <Li> Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Leslie's sarcastic and underachieving subordinate, who eventually begins to consider leaving his city hall job to pursue his own entrepreneurial interests . As with Jones, Daniels and Schur had intended to cast Ansari from the earliest stages of the development of Parks and Recreation . </Li> <Li> Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson, the parks and recreation director who, as a libertarian, believes in as small a government as possible . As such, Ron strives to make his department as ineffective as possible, and favors hiring employees who do not care about their jobs or are poor at them . Nevertheless, Ron consistently demonstrates that he secretly cares deeply about his fellow co-workers . </Li> <Li> Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, a cynical and uninterested parks department intern who eventually becomes the perfect assistant for Ron . The role was written specifically for Plaza; after meeting her, casting director Allison Jones told Schur, "I just met the weirdest girl I've ever met in my life . You have to meet her and put her on your show ." </Li> <Li> Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, a goofy and dim - witted but lovable slacker and Ann's ex-boyfriend . Pratt was originally intended to be a guest star and the character Andy was initially meant to appear only in the first season, but the producers liked Pratt so much that, almost immediately after casting him, they decided to make him a regular cast member starting with season two . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat with a strong love of her home town of Pawnee, who has not let politics dampen her sense of optimism (which apparently has lasted six years in her job); her ultimate goal is to become President of the United States . Poehler departed from the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where she was a cast member for nearly seven years, to star in Parks and Recreation . It was only after she was cast that Daniels and Schur established the series' general concept and the script for the pilot was written . </Li> <Li> Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, a nurse and political outsider who gradually becomes more involved in Pawnee government through her friendship with Leslie . Jones was among the first to be cast by Daniels and Schur in 2008, when the series was still being considered as a spin - off to The Office, where Jones had played Jim Halpert's girlfriend Karen Filippelli, who formerly worked at the Stamford Branch but was soon transferred to the Scranton Branch in the 3rd season . She and Lowe departed later in season 6 . Jones and Lowe returned in the Season 7 series finale . </Li> <Li> Paul Schneider as Mark Brendanawicz, a city planner who entered the field with a sense of optimism, but has since become jaded and disillusioned . Schneider said early in the series he was insecure in the role because he was still trying to figure out the character's motivations . Schneider left the cast after the second season and the character is not referenced at any point during the remainder of the series' run . </Li>

What came out first the office or parks and rec