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Parks and Recreation Main Character Index
Main Characters | Relatives | Government and Media | The Sapersteins and the Newports | Other Characters

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Government Employees

Ethel Beavers

Played By: Helen Slayton Hughes

A very old woman who works in the dreaded fourth floor of City Hall and is also a court stenographer. In "Two Funerals" we find out she had an affair with the late Mayor Gunderson who had an open marriage with his wife.

Brutal Honesty: When Leslie asks Ethel what she thinks her chances in her trial are in "The Trial of Leslie Knope", Ethel doesn't sugarcoat her belief of what the outcome will be (50-50 at best, 60-40 against when betting money on it).
Cool Old Lady: April even wants to adopt Ethel as her grandmother.
Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally plays this role.
The Mistress: Subverted. She was dating Mayor Gunderson, but he and his wife had an open marriage, and all parties were fully aware and 100% on board with the situation.
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: She doesn't sugarcoat her words and has a very blunt and snarky tone when interacting with other people, especially if they're at least a few decades younger than her.
Secret Relationship: Had one of these with the late Mayor Gunderson.

Jeremy Jamm

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2018_01_12_at_50039_pm.png

Played By: Jon Glaser

City councilman, orthodontist and Jerkass extraordinaire who generally opposes everything Leslie does on principle. As time goes on, it becomes clear that he's also a lonely and pathetic man who desperately needs a friend.

Alliterative Name: Jeremy Jamm.
Break the Haughty: While dating Tammy Two. Her attempts to turn him into a clone of Ron turn him into a hollow shell of a man.
Card-Carrying Villain: Practically brags that he uses underhanded tactics like fear-mongering and demonisation and takes positions for purely self-serving reasons. In "Gin It Up!" he calls a hearing over a tweet in order to undermine the Parks and Rec department and waste Leslie's time; he freely and publicly admits that he is blowing things out of proportion, conducting a witch hunt and looking to score political points. In "Flouride" he admits that he opposes putting fluoride in the Pawnee water supply only because he is a dentist and he doesn't want people's teeth to get better. And in "The Cones of Dunshire", he says Leslie is the Superman to his Lex Luthor, preferring to be the supervillain because Lex is rich.
Character Catchphrase: "You just got Jammed!"
Cool Car: He's very proud of his yellow Corvette.
Jamm: I once got an Asian girl to sit in it!
Demoted to Extra: A prominent antagonist in Seasons 5 and 6, he only gets a couple of appearances in Season 7, one of which is just a cameo in the finale.
Depraved Dentist: Well, he's depraved at everything else, but he does seem to be competent in his day job.
Empty Shell: Tammy 2 turned him into this while they were dating. Jamm ends up so depressed and broken that Leslie and Ron, who hate Jamm, felt morally obligated to put their vendetta at the time aside and help him get out of the relationship.
Establishing Character Moment: He's introduced by having Leslie walk in on him in the private bathroom attached to her councilor's office. He then refuses to take "no" for an answer when she tries to prevent this from continuing into the future.
Eviler than Thou: On the receiving end of this when he starts dating Tammy 2.
Foreign Culture Fetish: In "The Cones of Dunshire" he is shown to have a fetish for East Asian culture.
Hated by All: Jamm is not liked by all that many people. He exists largely so Leslie can have an annoying enemy on the council, and even has his own lackeys who encourage his dickwad behavior.
Hate Sink: Quite possibly the biggest Jerkass in the show, whose sole purpose in life seems to be to antagonize Leslie and be completely incompetent as a councilman.
Hazy-Feel Turn: He never explicitly renounces his selfish ways, but he becomes far more sympathetic after being abused by Tammy 2 and he grows to have a genuine fondness for Ron and Leslie and no longer undermines their efforts.
Hummer Dinger: Owns the Trope Namer, also in yellow.
I Just Want to Have Friends: It's very telling that, when Leslie needed his support on an issue, the hoops he forced her to jump through were having breakfast with him and singing karaoke with him. He also calls Leslie and Ron his two best friends in the world, even though neither of them can stand him.
Jerkass: Especially to Leslie, even though he considers her a friend.
Karma Houdini: Jamm several times admits, in public and at one point in front of an entire wedding, that he financially benefits from many of the issues before the city council, up to and including accepting bribes.
Karma Houdini Warranty: His time with Tammy 2 definitely makes up for all the shit he got away with.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: Tries to obstruct anything Leslie does on principle.
Occidental Otaku: His collection of Japanese memorabilia suggests this. He even becomes a teppanyaki chef in the Distant Finale.
Pet the Dog: Played for laughs when he repays Leslie and Ron for helping him escape an abusive relationship with Tammy Two. He holds a deciding vote in a dispute over land that Leslie and Ron both want and after they help him he abstains from the vote, feeling equal gratitude for both but not wanting to help one at the cost of the other. Though he's sincere, this ultimately helps neither of them.
Politically Incorrect Villain: One of the most regular antagonists and he makes no attempts to be politically correct. Ever. However, even he squirms under Ken Hotate.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: One of Leslie's many, and her most prominent in Seasons 5 and 6.
Smug Snake: He clearly sees himself as some sort of devious mastermind but he usually gets outplayed by the main characters or shoots himself in the foot, such as when he has to drop his lawsuit against Ron for punching him in the face when the team find out that he lied 11 times in his affidavit.
Stealing the Credit: Whenever he hears an idea that he likes he openly announces that he is going to tell people that it was his, and if this happens in a meeting he says he wants the record to show that, even in cases where he was arguing the opposing view for his own benefit.
Took a Level in Kindness: In the series finale, while he's still a bit of jerk, he does do some kind gestures for Leslie, including giving her a painting of them posing like John Lennon and Yoko Ono as a parting gift.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Oddly, he genuinely considers Leslie to be his best friend, and presumably sees their relationship as friendly sniping. Leslie doesn't return the sentiment, at all.
Wicked Pretentious: Despite his Asian cultural interests, he mispronounces words and cooks regular American breakfasts as if they were Japanese dishes (although the Distant Finale implies that he does genuinely go on to become a successful Japanese chef); he also tries to lure people to his own rock concert by singing generic rock words that don't belong to any particular song and doesn't see the issue.

Bill Dexhart

Played By: Kevin Symons

City councilman. An incredibly Sleazy Politician who is usually involved in some kind of sex scandal.

Corrupt Politician: A sexual deviant who will do anything to win and stays in office due to a combination of living in the worst district in town and playing incredibly dirty.
Double Standard: Enjoys the benefits of this. Whenever a sex scandal crops up, it's the women around him who get lambasted rather than Dexhart himself, such as his wife for staying with him despite his many infidelities, or suspected mistress Leslie Knope for "throwing herself at him."
Extreme Omnisexual: Whenever a sex scandal comes up, expect it to involve multiple people of any gender identification, age, profession, etc.
Jerkass: He stays in office despite his many sex scandals only because he runs scorched-earth negative campaigns to make his opponents look even worse than he does.
Kavorka Man: His sexual exploits are genuinely impressive, if only because he's not notably attractive but manages to bed a ridiculous number of women.
Running Gag: Whenever Dexhart is mentioned, he's usually at the center of another sex scandal.
The Bus Came Back: While he never actually went anywhere, he first showed up in Season 2 where he drags Leslie into his sordid sex scandals, then largely disappears until Season 5 once Leslie joins the City Council.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Subverted, as he has likely never been a likable person to begin with, but during his brief appearance in season 1, his sex scandals come off as more funny given the sheer ridiculousness of them. Even during his first appearance in season 2, he starts off as simply someone to make jokes about during the city council roast. But once he targets Leslie by falsely claiming she had slept with him, it becomes clear he has always been a terrible person under the silly jokes about his infidelity.

Fielding Milton

Played By: James Greene

City councilman since 1948. Mostly a source of Racist Grandpa jokes.

Politically Incorrect Villain: Not necessarily an out-and-out villain, but he's a noted racist and sexist who regularly tries to down-talk Leslie and treats Tom like an errand boy.
Racist Grandpa: As noted above. He originally ran for office on a promise to re-segregate baseball.
Senior Sleep-Cycle: Often dozes during meetings. In fact, many jokes are made about him being older than dirt.

Douglass Howser

Played By: Yvans Jourdain

City councilman. Seems to be a Straight Man. A Running Gag involves Leslie running into him in awkward situations and her using the opportunity to try and talk about some issue.

Bald of Authority: He seems to be the City Council's president/chairman/whatever (he sits in the middle and his chair is on a raised platform). He is also bald.
Not So Above It All: In spite of his usual The Comically Serious role, he laughs when Leslie dumps a pitcher of margarita on Jamm's head. Considering he has to work with the guy, this is completely understandable.
Only Sane Man: On the city council. You've got overzealous Leslie, sleazy Jamm, sex-scandal-prone Dexhart, Racist Grandpa Milton, and then Howser, whose only quirk is a propensity to keep running into Leslie at inconvenient times.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Although Howser doesn't seem to appreciate Leslie's antics, he almost always voted with her during her stint on the city council. He's also visibly disgusted by Jamm and Dexhart's blatant corruption and reins it in when he can.
Shout-Out: One wonders if he's a doctor.

Larry Pillner

Played By: Bradley Whitford

The city councilor whose seat Leslie and Bobby are campaigning to fill in Season 4.

Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Has shades of this when giving his "live ammo" speech to Leslie.
Casting Gag: Much like his old The West Wing co-star Rob Lowe plays Chris Traeger, Bradley Whitford plays Councilman Pillner in this series.
Expy: Similar to how Chris Traeger is practically like a more comedic Sam Seaborn, Councilman Pillner comes across as an older and more world-weary Josh Lyman.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Generally tries to be one, being measured and calm in the face of Leslie's zealousness.

Ingrid de Forest

Played By: Kristen Bell

A resident of the former Eagleton and Leslie's replacement on the city council.

Anti-Villain: She runs for City Council against Leslie during the recall election arc purely in her hometown's interest.
History with Celebrity: Name-drops a few. Apparently, she and Karl Lagerfeld partied together on one of her yachts.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Quite mean at first, but later shows herself to be a great politician who honestly cares about the former Eagletonians.
Rich Bitch: Like the other Eagletonians, she happily rubs her wealth in the faces of the poorer Pawnee residents. After the town goes bankrupt (and she likely has lost her own money too), she mellows out.
Worthy Opponent: Considers Leslie this after running against her.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Seems to have vanished after the Time Skip; the one time a City Council vote is shown, there's simply an empty seat with the nameplate simply reading "Councilwoman".

Wreston St. James

Played By: Brad Hall

A resident of the former Eagleton and Eagleton's esteemed architect. He works with Leslie and Ben to finalize plans for Lot 48.

Everyone Has Standards: After he learns that two of his employees attempted to sabotage his plans for the park with Leslie and Ben, he's rightfully furious and has them fired for going against his instructions.
Good Is Not Soft: Tells Leslie that her constant antagonizing of him isn't helping despite him making a genuine effort to be on friendly terms. He also fires two of his employees after he trusted them to deliver a model of Lot 48, but they ended up pranking Leslie and Ben, which explicitly went against his wishes.
Nice Guy: In comparison to other Eagletonians, he's much more pleasant to be around.
Token Good Teammate: From Leslie's perspective, Wreston is the only good Eagletonian who doesn't continue their ongoing feud and actively goes out of his way to make sure she loves and approves of his design for Lot 48. Ben even invites him to his and Leslie's wedding.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Vanished after appearing at Leslie and Ben's wedding.

Dave Sanderson

Played By: Louis C.K.

Leslie's boyfriend in Season 2. A bumbling cop. Their relationship is cut short due to Dave joining the Army Reserve and moving to San Diego, but he comes back in Season 4's "Dave Returns" and awkwardly interacts with Ben.

Friend on the Force: Tries to be this for Leslie and the Parks Department in "Greg Pikitis", but between his reluctance to stray too close to the line and Leslie getting way too emotionally invested in the problem at hand, it doesn't work out well for anyone involved.
Malaproper: Frequently misspeaks and strings his words together incorrectly.
Nice Guy: He's a pleasant if bumbling man.
Put on a Bus: Has to move to San Diego in Season 2 to fulfill his obligation to the Army Reserve.
- The Bus Came Back: For the Season 4 episode aptly named "Dave Returns."
Second Love: He was Leslie's first serious boyfriend since she finally moved on after spending nearly five whole years hung up on Mark. They don't last, but the relationship gives her the courage to be more outgoing with her feelings, and ultimately gets her together with Ben.
Took a Level in Jerkass: When he's seen again in Season 4, he's a good deal more unhinged than when he departed in Season 2, still hung up over his feelings for Leslie, expecting her to return them, and even going so far as to handcuff Ben to a urinal in the restaurant they were all in.
- Jerkass Realization: When he realizes what he's done, he lets Ben go and wishes the best for Leslie.
Verbal Tic: Speaks in very blunt, straightforward sentences.

Ron Dunn

Played By: Sam Elliott

Ron Swanson's counterpart from the Eagleton parks and recreation department. He is superficially identical to Ron Swanson, until it transpires he is a New-Age Retro Hippie and generally Ron Swanson's political and philosophical opposite in every way. Although he does not stay in the combined parks department for long, he shows up twice more in the series.

Actual Pacifist: Says that if Ron attacks him, he won't fight back.
Bourgeois Bohemian: Worked for the Eagleton government and has a very hippie mindset.
Cool Old Guy: He is a calm, chilled, easygoing guy who gives out positive advice and wishes everyone well. Naturally, Ron hates him.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: He believes in spirit animals and is seemingly able to summon his own (a falcon) at will. He also believes in astrology and guesses that Ron Swanson is a Taurus — Ron never tells anyone his birthday, but he alluded in a later episode that it was in the springtime, meaning that Taurus is a possibility.
Shadow Archetype: He is basically Ron if he was a vegan hippie instead of a carnivorous hunter.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Ron Swanson seems to regard him as one, though Dunn naturally doesn't consider anyone his enemy.

Brett and Harris

Brett Hull and Harris Wittels

Played By: Colton Dunn and Harris Wittels

Two stoned morons who work at Pawnee Animal Control and are the major reason for its massive incompetence in catching animals. They are fired in Season 5 and later end up squatting in the basement of City Hall.

AM/FM Characterization: Harris is a fan of Phish and has seen over 300 of their concerts, just like his actor had. Harris is also a huge stoner, stereotypical of Phish fans.
Cloudcuckoolander: Due to being high in all of their appearances.
Comically Missing the Point: They join the "Recall Leslie Knope" rally, thinking it's a rally to legalize marijuana.
Insult Backfire: When Leslie describes the animal control department as being run by two moronic stoners, Harris thinks it's a compliment.
Lethally Stupid: When Leslie ordered Brett to pretend to kill every bird in Pawnee for the avian flu crisis simulation, Brett doesn't get the "pretend" part, and keeps asking Leslie how she wants the birds killed.
Running Gag: Harris keeps declaring that he's "down to clown" with April and either attempting to flirt with her or asking another character if she's available. One time, it's right in front of Andy (who is naturally less than impressed) and the other time it's at the party immediately after her wedding.
Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Ron, April and Andy find them in the City Hall basement, they say they certainly aren't living there.
The Stoners: They're high all the time.
Stoners Are Funny: Their antics are always played for laughs.
Those Two Guys: They're rarely ever seen without each other.
Too Dumb to Live: They got fired because they left a coyote trap around since they had a huge pest problem, and tried to reach Animal Control about it but no one would pick it up. As Leslie pointed out, they were the people they'd call about it.

Mayor Gunderson

Mayor Walter Gunderson

Played By: Bill Murray

The invisible mayor of Pawnee. Ends up dying two months before his term is up in the seventh season episode appropriately titled "Two Funerals".

The Cameo: In "Two Funerals", he appears as a corpse.
The Ghost: Mentioned frequently before "Two Funerals," but never shown. Of course, by the time we see him, he's dead, so this entry works on two levels.
Polyamory: He and his wife and an open marriage, which Ethel (Gunderson's girlfriend) said kept all parties happy. Ethel and his wife are shown smiling fondly at each other during his funeral, so it really does seem to have worked for them.
Secret Relationship: With Ethel Beavers. Apparently, Gunderson's wife knew and was completely okay with it.

Kyle

Played By: Andy Forrest

A regular at Andy's shoe shine stand and an attorney for City Hall, he is the lowest on the City Hall pecking chain. Even Jerry treats him like garbage.

Butt-Monkey: Only Chris is actually nice to him.
The Chew Toy: Unlike Jerry, there is no good nature to the ribbing and no silver linings in his life.
Extreme Doormat: He tries to assert himself, but it doesn't work. Even Jerry of all people, doesn't like him (because Kyle takes his parking space to the point he rants about it in the Whine and Cheese Club).
Occidental Otaku: Subverted: he is characterized as this once by Ron, even though all he was doing was eating rice.
Old Windbag: His stories inspire either this or inappropriate laughter.

Joe Fantringham

"Sewage Joe" Fantringham

Played By: Kirk Fox

The head of the Pawnee Sewage Department and also a really creepy and disgusting pervert.

Abhorrent Admirer: To both Leslie and April in different episodes.
All Men Are Perverts: He shamelessly flirts with every woman in City Hall in inappropriate ways and employs a group of attractive female interns for his department. He eventually gets fired for sending a picture of his genitals to every female employee of the city government.
Animal Motifs: With his repulsive obsession with sewers and dumpsters and his overall slimy demeanor, he most likely is meant to invoke the image of sewer rats.
Casanova Wannabe: Despite the fact that his job is not a charming profession, he's delusional about his "charisma" and is oblivious about how much of a vile and repulsive creep he is. In "I'm Leslie Knope", he emailed a photo of his genitals to every woman in the Pawnee city government (which got him fired), and was later diagnosed with the mumps.
Sewage Joe: I'm up to my waist in hot snizz.
Cloudcuckoolander: He's creepy and weird the same way Orin is, but while Orin is not particularly offensive with his eccentricities, Joe's actions are very much sexual harassment.
Hate Sink: Before Jeremy Jamm was a known presence on the show, Sewage Joe was an annoying Smug Snake that was often hated by other characters due to his lack of redeeming qualities.
Jerkass: Sewage Joe is a perverted, obnoxious and unlikable slimeball who's very brash about his sewer work. He's also petty and immature enough to throw pies at Ben (one of which hits Jerry) just to get back Ben for firing him despite his unemployment being his own fault.
Slimeball: He's such an intolerable sleazeball that he gives people like Jeremy Jamm, Bill Dexhart and Jean-Ralphio Saperstein a run for their money when it comes to douchey behavior.
Teeny Weenie: According to Leslie, the picture of his genitals he sent out to every female City Hall employee is not that "big" of a deal.
Too Dumb to Live: When sending out emails with a photo of his genitals, he completely ignores that he has the mumps.

Carl Lorthner

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Played By: Andy Samberg

A member of Parks Security in Pawnee, notable for his loud voice.

Fanboy: He really loves Avatar.
No Indoor Voice: His default setting is constant yelling.

Pawnee Media

Joan Callamezzo

Played By: Mo Collins

The vapid host of Pawnee Today, a talk show frequented by the main characters. She likes Tom due to his flattery, but seemingly has a vendetta against Leslie. She's oddly arrogant for a local media personality.

Abhorrent Admirer: Always had a mutually flirty relationship with Tom, but when she starts drunkenly throwing herself at him, it scares the hell out of him.
The Alcoholic: Has a poorly-concealed drinking problem that she tends to try to cover up with lame excuses like eating too much shellfish.
Cloud Cuckoolander: While never a paragon of stability during the series, she entirely lost her mind during the Time Skip between Seasons 6 and 7. Highlights include calling all her ex-boyfriends while sitting on a washing machine on-air, having her audience fight over a car, and believing she's in Gotham City in the middle of a speech.
Immoral Journalist: She's a reporter who has a taste for controversies more than she is interested in the truth. She extrapolates every little thing that goes wrong and even outright lies about things and events in the city (such as telling that all staff in Leslie's Harvest Festival are criminals when she was specifically told they aren't), and freely shames many of her show's guests (mainly Leslie) whenever it will bring her ratings.
Jerkass: Rarely kind to anyone, as she thinks she's above most people.
Kent Brockman News: She's an insufferable Jerkass and has no shame in hiding it whenever she's on air.
Lady Drunk: She's almost always inebriated, even on air.
Narcissist: To an absurd degree — she has huge oil paintings of herself in the nude in her house, for example. The only people she doesn't constantly belittle are suck-ups who praise everything she does.
Not So Above It All: As snobby and superficial as she is, she still squeals in delight at seeing Li'l Sebastian at the Harvest Festival.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: One of Leslie's first. She seems to relish taking her down.
Small Name, Big Ego: A local talk show host who seems to think she's the next Oprah. She even has nude paintings of herself hanging from her walls.

Shauna Mulwae-Tweep

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Played By: Alison Becker

"I can't even land the shoeshine guy!"

The Intrepid Reporter for the local paper. Usually, the Parks Department gives her access in the hope that she'll report something positive for them, but hijinks ensue and her story ends up with a negative, sensationalistic slant. In Season 5, Chris has a short-lived and ambiguously romantic relationship with her.

Anti-Villain: Yes, she causes problems for the department, but she's simply doing her job.
Bros Before Hoes: Variation. Her relationship with Chris hits a snag because she insists on bringing her family and friends onto every date she has with him. She considers this entirely natural and doesn't see a problem with it. Chris doesn't exactly conflict with them per se, but he isn't really thrilled about this behavior either.
Green-Eyed Epiphany: She causes this with three of the main relationships of the show (Andy/April, Ben/Leslie, and Chris/Ann) by getting friendly and seemingly hitting it off with the guy and making the woman realize her true feelings for him, driving them to confess their feelings and become official.
Intrepid Reporter: Well, about as intrepid as one can be in Pawnee. If there's a story, Shauna's on it.
Nice Girl: She's a sweet, well-meaning lady who doesn't seem to have any contempt for anybody.
No Social Skills: Downplayed. On the surface, she seems entirely normal socially, but a pattern emerges of her being oblivious to the way she says or does things affects those around her or acts inappropriately, such as bringing friends and family with her on dates (although this implies that she might also have been raised this way if they see no issue with this either).
Only Sane Man: Compared to the rest of the Pawnee news media. She has her quirks but is by far one of the most reasonable and level-headed people in Pawnee.
Romantic False Lead: Her other usual role besides doing news reports on the Parks Department's projects involves her having some friendly rapport with a male character, making his actual Love Interest have a Green-Eyed Epiphany. This happens with Andy, Ben, and Chris in that order.
Romantic Runner-Up: As a perpetual Romantic False Lead, she winds up as this frequently. She even lampshades this ("I can't even land the shoeshine boy!"). It gets deconstructed later on, as it's shown she's pretty miserable because of this.
Running Gag: Whenever she's reporting on a story involving Leslie, Leslie will suggest an overly long pun-filled headline for the stories to her, and Shauna will gently reject them.
Stepford Smiler: Revealed to be this in "Galentine's Day 2", where she tries to stay positive to ignore the painful parts of her personal life. Leslie can't help but pity her a little.
Throw the Dog a Bone: After being a perpetual Romantic Runner-Up, she finally finds romantic happiness in the distant finale with Bobby Newport of all people.

Perd Hapley

Perderick "Perd" Hapley

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Played By: Jay Jackson

Host of Ya' Heard? with Perd, and a prominent newscaster inside Pawnee. Tends to speak redundantly, which are sentences which repeat their meaning.

Acrofatic: Perd can do the Worm despite being rather round around the middle.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: In his more competent moments, he can show some skill at hosting a show, and is clearly likable enough to cultivate a local following.
Captain Obvious: He speaks like this, most of his statements are pointing out the obvious, then adding a redundant statement:
"Issue number one is the first issue we're going to talk about."
Cloud Cuckoolander: Even if he isn't sure if there are real cuckoos living in the clouds, his offbeat behavior would fit right in if there were. He has to ask if centaurs are real.
Department of Redundancy Department: His standout trait is to speak in Captain Obvious sentences, which is quite notable and redundant.
The Ditz: While Pawnee is filled with them, he stands out as the most naïve and idiotic media representative.
Fan Community Nick Name: He refers to his fans as Perd-verts.
The Fool: Has done quite well despite not being the smartest tool in Pawnee.
Incredibly Lame Pun: Loves making these with his name.
Kent Brockman News: Of the spacey, cuckoolander kind.
Literal-Minded: Is so tunnel-visioned with his questions and answers, jokes and sarcasm tend to escape his mind:
Perd: The lewd photo, how big of a deal is it?
Leslie: Well, Perd, it's not that big a deal, if you know what I mean.
Perd: I don't know what you mean, but it had the cadence of a joke!
Nice Guy: The nicest person in the Pawnee media. Any time he's caused trouble for Leslie, it hasn't been on purpose, if anything, he's not at all against helping Leslie.
Pungeon Master: Anytime he makes a pun, it's always related to his name.
Sarcasm-Blind: Occasionally, due to being so literal-minded.
Spin-Off: In-universe, he gets a new show, called Judge Perd, which often reminds the viewer, that Judge Perd is not a real judge.
Verbal Tic: Speaks in sentences that are somewhat redundant and repeat themselves, because of the redundancy of rephrasing everything he says in the sentences that he speaks is just hilarious.

Derry Murbles

Played By: Dan Castellaneta

Host of a public radio show that plays terrible music. Leslie has been a guest on the show a couple of times.

Biting-the-Hand Humor: At one point, his announcer talks about one of the underwriters for the station, a new film called The Shadows of Seven Heads, "the dramatic tale of an Israeli soldier who falls in love with conjoined Palestinian sextuplets", that's set to be released by Focus Features, another branch of NBC Universal.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Upon finding out that his target audience likes jazz music, he plays two jazz records simultaneously.
Dull Surprise: Even when he's angry he still keeps a very even tone.
Meaningful Name: "Murbles" sounds vaguely like "mumbles", and is also only one letter away from "marbles" — as in, "mouth full of marbles." A fitting name for a host who never raises his voice or inflicts any emotion into it.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: After the Pawnee-Eagleton merger, he finds himself saddled with an Eagletonian co-host, August Clementine (John Hodgman), who he doesn't get along with.
The Stoic: He shows very little emotion, even when he's furious.
Take That!: He and his show seem to be a lighthearted jab at NPR and its soft-spoken hosts.

Crazy Ira and the Douche

Played By: Matt Besser (Ira) and Nick Kroll (The Douche)

Crazy Ira and Howard "The Douche" Tuttleman are two shock jocks of a morning zoo-style Pawnee radio program. They serve primarily as a parody of those types of radio shows, especially in a small-town market like Pawnee. The show prominently features fart jokes and Your Mom insults, as well as constant sound effects from their sound man "China Joe", who hates his job. Crazy Ira and The Douche are widely admired in Pawnee.

Alter-Ego Acting: Howard occasionally points out when he's speaking in character. "That's the Douche talking."
Becoming the Mask: Howard states that he mainly made up "The Douche" for the radio show, but it ended up becoming part of his personality for real.
Dumbass DJs: Played up for all its worth. Despite this, both are also shown to be very intelligent, even courteous.
Hidden Depths: Zig-Zagged. Will occasionally provide moments that show they are more mature than their on-air behavior suggests, only to follow it up by acting like they would on air.
- The Douche, in particular, attended Northwestern University to study semiotics and can be eloquent and intelligent when he wants to be.
Jerkass: The two are NOT the least bit likable.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- The Douche, oddly enough, has a point that Leslie really has no right to make decisions for Ann, especially when it's for something as big and personal as wanting to become a parent.
- While his sincerity about running for interim mayor is understandably questioned, Ben has to concede that Douche has a point when he notes that he went to Northwestern University, worked on two political campaigns, and communicates with the public for a living. All of which are valid qualifications for the position he's trying out for.
No-Sell: In the companion book Pawnee: The Best Town in America, Jerry transcribed the two trying to prank Ron. Ron stonewalls them since their choice of disguises to bug him with are random citizens and other members of the government, both of which Ron avoids like the plague.
Only Known By His Nickname: Crazy Ira.
Pet the Dog: Surprisingly, The Douche genuinely adored his grandmother, considering her to be a strong, inspirational woman, and intends to name his first daughter after her.
Shock Jock: They're quite filthy on-air, and their sound guy is incredibly good at pulling up perfect perverted soundbites.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: They are two among many citizens in Pawnee who ruin things for Leslie on a regular basis.
Smarter Than You Look: Ironically, despite being Pawnee's resident Dumbass DJ duo, they regularly show themselves to be the most well-spoken and intelligent Pawnee media personalities.
Sophisticated as Hell: Prone to suddenly slipping out of their Shock Jock personas in order to eloquently and effectively challenge their guest (generally Leslie), only to slip right back into it just as quickly.
Those Two Guys: Rarely seen apart, other than a brief stint where The Douche was considered to be a sperm donor for Ann.
Toilet Humor: Their show uses fart jokes as punctuation.

Annabel Porter

Played By: Erinn Hayes

Staggeringly pretentious owner and CEO of Bloosh, a popular lifestyle blog Tom and Donna follow.

Colbert Bump: In-Universe example. She's a big trendsetter among the Pawnee upper class, so Tom is extremely eager to get his business featured on her blog.
Famous for Being Famous: Her rise to success heavily relied on befriending various celebrities.
Granola Girl: Invoked: Many of the products she endorses cultivate an image of being "natural" and locally sourced, but the bottom line is she's all about the money.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: She and Bloosh are a nod to Gwyneth Paltrow and her controversial lifestyle brand Goop.

Characters / Parks and Recreation - Government and Media

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