There are striking similarities betweenThe OfficeandParks and Recreation. Both have the same mockumentary format, each are set in a workplace, the characters all have their ‘quirks’, and even their counterparts (the elevator doesn’t go to the top floor for Kevin (Brain Baumgartner) or Andy (Chris Pratt)). It’s not happenstance:Parks and Recreationwas originally conceived asa spin-off ofThe Officebefore creatorsGreg DanielsandMichael Schurdecided against it, choosing instead to let it stand on its own. After a mediocre first season,Parks and Recreationturned things around in Season 2, much like… you guessed it…The Office. Daniels and Schur clearly made the right decision by separating the two series, but was it a clean separation, or is there still a connection that was borne out of those original spin-off plans?
Originally conceived as being in the same universe, there is evidence to suggest that the two series still are. There is nothing in either series that explicitly states that the two are in the same world. By the same token, there is nothing that explicitly states that the two are not in the same world. As a result, fan theories abound with connections between the two series. Some of the evidence, as it were, is highly speculative and circumstantial, and some theories are based on nothing more than fleeting glimpses of Easter eggs. The remaining few, though, have decent supportive arguments that make the theory just plausible enough that it leaves the door of possibility open a crack.
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‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ Are Connected In Creative Ways
Some connections are the result of keen observation. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that in one episode ofThe Office, Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir) can be seen in the background of a scene where Michael (Steve Carell) and Jim (John Krasinski) are at a table talking. In the “Meet ‘N’ Greet” episode ofParks and Recreation, Ben (Adam Scott) can be seen using a Sabre printer. That would be the same Sabre that bought Dunder Mifflin in the eighth season ofThe Office. A musical group called The Decemberists played at Pawnee’s Unity Concert… and then played at Schrute Farms. Apart from the character names, one final “concrete” connection sees actressApril Edenin two roles. One as the chair model in a picture that Michael falls in love with in “Chair Model”, while onParks and RecreationEden plays the winner of the Miss Pawnee pageant. Yes, the chair model died in a car accident, but what if she didn’t?
If the chair model connection is on the cusp of unbelievable, well, theRashida Jonesconnection jumps right into it. According to this theory, her character inThe Office, Karen, testified against the Scranton Strangler and promptly entered the Witness Protection Program. From there, she took on a new identity in the unassuming town of Pawnee, Indiana, as Ann Perkins. The Reasonabilists, a 1970s-era cult in Pawnee, worshipped a large lizard humanoid called Zorp, destined to return to Pawnee and raze it to the ground with fire from his mouth. It’s unknown if Robert California (James Spader) had fire breath, but he did call himself “the Lizard King”, so that’s a strong maybe. There’s also speculation that Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) are cousins, due to their common interests, which really isn’t as crazy as it initially sounds.
‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ Aren’t Alone In the Universe
The OfficeandParks and Recreation, if further theories ring true, aren’t alone in their shared universe, with no less than four other series potentially aboard. For two of those series,The Good PlaceandBrooklyn Nine-Nine, it isn’t surprising, given Michael Schur’s association with all four.The Good Placereferenced the Swanson Safe Company twice during its run, a nod to the security-conscious Ron Swanson. A clearer connection betweenThe Good PlaceandParks and Recreationexists with the presence of Pawnee’s own Lil' Sebastian, happily settled in the afterlife.The OfficeandBrooklyn Nine-Nineshare thesame brand of coffee vending machine, which is enough for fans to make that connection.Brooklyn Nine-Nineconfirmed it existed in the same universe as a non-Schur property -New Girl- when the two Fox shows (Brooklyn Nine-Ninewas on Fox at the time) had crossover episodes.
The fourth series is completely out of left field, and it’s a killer. Literally. In theDexterSeason 6 episode “The Angel of Death”, Dexter (Michael C. Hall), is looking over evidence of the most recent Doomsday Killers murder. He goes back to his office to print off the results of a chemical breakdown of a glue found on angel wings that were left behind. What kind of printer does Dexter use to print those results, you may ask? A Sabre printer, one that hasn’t gone up in flames. Sabre, of course, is the parent company ofThe Office’s Dunder Mifflin. Its presence is most likely a fun Easter egg thrown in by the show runners as opposed to a full-on confirmation of existing in the same universe, especially given the radical difference between the comedies and the popular serial-killer drama. But because it’s there, there is always a remote possibility, no matter how preposterous the notion may be. Who knows? Maybe Dexter is the Scranton Strangler, or maybe he’s the one whose cousin isDwight Schrute.
With theBrooklyn Nine-Nine/New Girlcrossover the only true connection between these series, the rest is purely speculation and a fun exercise, much like the argument that thePixar films are all connected. Yet there’s an odd comfort in knowing that sometime in the future, Michael Scott, Captain Holt (Andre Braugher), and Leslie Knope could be sharing a table at Hot Dog On A Stick On A Stick, chatting about their lives in the (real) Good Place. It goes without saying that Dexter is highly unlikely to pull up a seat and join in.
