'A Parks and Recreation Special' branded 'normie show' as 'The Office' fans debate over which show is better
What started with fans crying smiling through the 25-minutes of 'A Parks and Recreation Special' reunion, soon turned into fans asking the show's biggest rival - 'The Office' to air its quarantine special reunion next. This called for all fans of 'The Office' to vehemently point out how Parks and Rec is 'normie' compared to Scranton's finest, and soon led to a full-fledged war on Twitter about which sitcom is better. It's an age-old debate that is still relevant half a decade after the two shows wrapped and this reunion special from Pawnee's wholesome residents and how they're battling quarantine just stoked the embers.
Both surrounding corporate jobs and the daily, mundane lives of people made hilarious by Mike Schur's incredible humor and the cast's impeccable penchant for comedy - the two shows have always paralleled each other in terms of fanbase. 'The Office' lot like to call themselves the smarter ones with a more refined taste of humor while the 'Parks and Recreation' fans are more of your love professing wholesome do-gooders, if you will. If they were Harry Potter houses, 'The Office' would be condescending but funny Ravenclaws, and 'Parks and Recreation' would be everybody's beloved Hufflepuffs who just want to spread positivity and light. Both are unique in their own way, but the fandoms have more or less constantly been at war surrounding which one is better. (Even though on a personal note, both are stellar examples of workplace comedy at its finest and deserve top medals)
But Twitter isn't all that rational or even accepting of the fact that two things can be great at the same time and this reunion special featuring Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) checking up on her friends' mental health mid-quarantine to raise funds for the Feeding America charity had to evolve into that debate which honestly doesn't need a succinct answer. This urged fans to propose to NBC "Can the office be next? pretty please?" and how "This parks and rec reunion proves why we need to bring the office back too!"
More fans, however, flocked to Twitter to share right away "The office could NEVER do what #ParksAndRec did tonight." Another fan chimed in supporting the idea and bashing people who think otherwise, sharing: "I can’t believe people still think The Office is better than Parks and Recreation. The office has funny moments throughout but #ParksAndRec has sophisticated writing that has deeper meaning. Plus each cast member experiences incredible growth over the show’s lifetime."
Naturally, it didn't take PB&J and Michael Scott fanatics long to defend their team: "Probably the most normie show next to the office and greys anatomy #ParksAndRec," shared a fan of our very own Scranton branch on Twitter. Another flew in, with some piping hot tea about how: "Is #ParksAndRec even good? I just don't see it. It just tries really really hard to be The Office." A third fan even tried rationalizing things saying: "P&R is better than The Office ... but only when watching it the first time through. Where The Office wins is when during rewatches, pushing it ahead in the eyes of many. Both are amazing, but this is the hill I will die on."
But since it was the night of Parks and Rec, major support flowed in with people saying how 'The Office' can't even compare. In the end, the winning arguments aligned toward "Parks and Recreation was hands down 10,000x better than The Office and that’s a fact. I miss it so much."
'A Parks and Recreation Special' aired on April 20 at 8:30 pm only on NBC.