<P> During the first season, the writing staff received audience feedback that Leslie Knope seemed unintelligent and "ditzy". Schur said the writers did not intend for Leslie to be stupid, but rather an overeager woman who "takes her job too seriously," so a particular effort was made to present that character as more intelligent and capable at her job starting in the second season . The staff also decided to move on from the construction pit story arc, having the pit filled in the second - season episode "Kaboom". Although it was originally conceived that the pit would only become a park in the series finale, Schur said the plotline was accelerated because early episodes were too focused on the pit and had led viewers to believe the entire show was about filling it in, which was not the writers' intention . Also starting with the second season, the writers made an effort to be more topical and incorporate current events into their scripts . For example, the episode "Pawnee Zoo" included social commentary about same - sex marriage . "The Stakeout" included a parody of the controversial arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, and a sex scandal involving a Pawnee councilman in "Practice Date" mirrored the real - life 2009 scandal of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford . </P> <P> Starting in the middle of the second season, the writing staff began to draw inspiration from the premise of The Contender (2000). Schur explained that The Contender was about a female politician trying to succeed amid intense scrutiny in a political arena dominated by men, which is similar to challenges Leslie Knope occasionally encounters . The financial difficulties Pawnee experiences during the late second season and third - season episodes were reflective of the financial crisis facing the nation and much of the world when the episodes were produced . The introduction of Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt as state auditors visiting Pawnee, and the subsequent government shutdown, were inspired by news reports at the time of a number of states considering a shut down of schools, parks and other services due to the global recession . The third season included a seven - episode story arc about the characters organizing a harvest festival, and staking the financial future of their department on its success . The festival served as a device to unite the characters, much like the construction pit had earlier in the show . Schur said this was done because the first six episodes were written and filmed early, and the writing staff felt that having one concise storyline to tie them together kept the writers focused and, in Schur's words, helped "organize our tired, end - of - the - year brains". For the romance arc between Leslie and Ben in seasons three and four, The Remains of the Day was used as an inspiration, as a story about two people who are forced not to convey their romantic feelings for each other due to a repressive social system, which Schur compared to modern - day government . </P> <P> Like The Office, Parks and Recreation is filmed with a single - camera setup in a cinéma vérité style simulating the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track . Within the context of the show, the characters are being filmed by a documentary crew, the members of which are never seen or heard from on - screen . The actors occasionally look at and directly address the cameras, and in some scenes directly engage the cameras in one - on - one interviews with the documentary crew members . The episodes are scripted, but the production encourages the cast to improvise, and dialogue or performances the actors make up during filming often make the final cut of the episodes . Schur said he believes the mockumentary style is particularly fitting for a show about city government because, "It's a device for showing the ways people act and behave differently when they're in public and private (and) the difference between what goes on behind closed doors and what people present to the public is a huge issue ." </P> <P> The Parks and Recreation producers approach each episode as if filming a real documentary . They typically shoot enough for a 35 or 40 - minute episode, then cut it down to 22 minutes, using the best material . Due to the improvisational acting and hand - held camerawork, a great deal of extra footage is shot that must be discarded for the final cut; for example, the original cut of the 22 - minute pilot was 48 minutes long . The producers film about nine pages of the script each day, a large amount by U.S. television standards . </P>

Who are they talking to in parks and rec