Parks and Recreation used the good old technique of filming different endings for the season 4 finale “Win, Lose or Draw”. Produced by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation premiered on NBC in 2009 and came to an end in 2015 after seven seasons. The series was followed by the life of the eternal optimist Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her friends and co-workers from the Parks Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana.
Throughout seven seasons, viewers followed Leslie Knope’s career. They dreamed closely, from his days as Deputy Director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation, quite possibly to the President of the United States, as a Finale of the series seen in a flash. Leslie also became City Councilor of Pawnee, and it was not an easy or smooth campaign, but in the end, he defeated Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) and won the election.
However, the writers were not always sure that Leslie was going to win, and to make all the choices they needed to make the best decision, they shot alternate endings.
Parks & Recreation Season 4’S Alternate Endings Explained
The production crew of Parks and Recreation shot three endings for the episode “Win, Lose, or Draw”, which are pretty self-explanatory when looking at the title of the episode: Leslie’s election victory did one, another one was her defeat. Saw, and had a tie with third Bobby Newport. It is not uncommon for TV series to shoot different endings for the season finale, as they do so to prevent leaks from failing. Still, the makers of Parks and Recreation also did so for other reasons related to the narrative.
In an interview with EW in 2012, Michael Schur shared that they were not sure who to choose, and the final decision was taken two weeks before it was shot, but there was a lot of indecision. Schur reports that he talked to Amy Poehler and convinced himself of the win and lost versions several times. They found good and bad arguments for both, but in the end, they decided it was best for her after how much her friends helped her win during the campaign — it was not only fair for Leslie, but also the rest. Leslie’s career did not stop there, and he later became regional director of the National Park Service Midwest Region, deputy director of operations in the United States Department of the Interior, and governor of Indiana. Leslie Knope achieved all his goals in parks and Recreation — from building a garage in the infamous pit to becoming a respectable figure in politics — and he did so with his friends by his side.
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