Parks and Recreation reunion: Fans are a ‘mess’ after ‘emotional’ quarantine special

Episode has been hailed the 'absolute best part' of lockdown

The cast of Parks and Recreation came together over video conference for a reunion special during quarantine, and it went down a treat with fans.

The socially distanced episode visited all the characters in isolation, from Aziz Ansari’s Tom – who was pretending to be in Bali against a palm tree background – to Amy Poehler’s Leslie, in her default problem-solving mode.

Rashida Jones, Rob Lowe, Adam Scott, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Ben Schwartz and many others also took part in the reunion.

The episode included Pratt’s Andy leading the former colleagues in a rendition of “5,000 Candles in the Wind”, the tribute song to the tiny horse Li’l Sebastian, which proved an especially emotional moment for many fans.

“So good to see the whole gang again!” wrote one Twitter user. “Miss you in the saddest fashion!!”

“Nothing has brought me more joy than this,” added another.

A third said: “The parks and rec reunion is the only thing keeping me going, god i can’t express how much i love this show.”

"If watch #ParksAndRecreation special tonight on @nbc and don’t cry at the last 5 minutes you aren’t human," said one adoring fan. "I am a mess. THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO MUCH."

Parks and Recreation ran on NBC from 2009 to 2015, and focused on the adventures of a group of dysfunctional – or, in Leslie’s case, over-functional – employees working for local government in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana.

The reunion special raised money for Feeding America amid the coronavirus pandemic. A UK airdate has yet to be announced.