15 Reasons Why 'Parks and Rec' Has Always Been Better Than 'The Office'

One character can't make an entire series, but Nick Offerman's performance as the stern, yet loveable Ron Swanson makes a pretty strong case. The intensely-mustachioed department director could have easily become a one-note man's man but the writing staff turned him into a complicated and complete character and Offerman hit every note perfectly.

Ron is wise and cranky, kind and fair, easily triggered, and has complicated relationships with women named Tammy. He hates Canada. He hates Europe. He leads a double life as sexy jazz saxophonist Duke Silver in the next town over. He uses the Internet to get the addresses of people and places he hates, and then writes them strongly worded letters from his typewriter. Oh, and he marries Xena herself, Lucy Lawless, late in the series.

Understanding why your show connects with an audience isn't as simple as it sounds. Sometimes, studio execs (and, yes, even showrunners) don't understand the formula, and a show with plenty of promise dies way too early. The Office had its British counterpart (and Steve Carell) to build hype for the show, but Parks and Recreation didn't have the same built-in audience and Amy Poehler didn't have the same name-brand recognition Carell brought to the table.

Parks stumbled out of the gate, largely because the writers didn't know what to do with Leslie Knope, and she needed to, well, carry the show. Then, they made her less ditzy and more Tracy Flick-esque, and that's when Parks took off. They kept April aloof and dark, while filling out her love life. Tom lost some of his silly over-the-top materialism. And Ron revealed his heart of gold.

Showrunners Michael Schur and Greg Daniels kept the show relevant and entertaining because they knew what worked and what didn't.

Parks and Recreation added two of its most significant characters, Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe), after dumping the useless Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider). Both Traeger and Wyatt were featured prominently as the love interests of Leslie and Ann, in addition to being a central part of the Parks narratives throughout their tenure on the show. Lowe and Scott left an indelible mark on the Parks legacy, and the show was at its best when they were in the cast. Even Leslie's City Council nemesis Jeremy Jamm (Jon Glaser) was nice fresh arm out of the bullpen in the later seasons.

The same cannot be said for The Office. The original cast was already pretty darn strong, but they didn't add too many worthwhile characters after the first handful of seasons. Outside of Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), no one really left a lasting impression on the offices of Dunder Mifflin. Even Gabe (Zach Woods), Erin (Ellie Kemper), and Holly (Amy Ryan) were largely forgettable.

Karen was just awful on The Office. It wasn't Rashida Jones's fault – she was saddled with a character whose whole presence on the show was to be "not Pam." She was basically a pretty person in business clothes, and viewers knew she was never going to end up with Jim. 

On Parks, though, Jones started out as an angry citizen at a zoning meeting and the caretaker of Andy Dwyer. She quickly became best friends with Leslie, and their relationship defined a central part of the whole Parks experience. She had a hilarious love/hate feud with April, and had plenty of great scenes with almost everyone in the cast. Some of her narrative twists and turns made no sense at all (dating Tom?), but she ended up standing out as a strong character on a show with a whole lot of strong characters.

Steve Carell (Michael Scott) got plenty of attention when Anchorman came out, but The Office really cemented his star status. John Krasinski (Jim Halpert) has become a Hollywood leading man. But the rest of the cast hasn't really shown up too often since Dunder Mifflin closed up shop.

Parks and Recreation introduced viewers to Chris Pratt (now one of Hollywood's most bankable stars), Aziz Ansari (now one of the biggest comedians in the business and a showrunner, to boot), and Aubrey Plaza (currently starring on FX's Legion). Adam Scott (Big Little Lies) hit his stride on the show, and Rob Lowe basically restarted his career. That's not to mention how the show finally found a fun character for Rashida Jones, who was underutilized on The Office.

Michael Scott didn't grow throughout his time on The Office. He was a selfish, awkward, and often sweet dummy from the pilot until he left Dunder Mifflin with a new bride-to-be. Jim, Pam, and Dwight grew plenty, but they also had significantly more screen time than the rest of their co-stars. Many of the supporting cast were one-note jokes at best (looking at you, Kevin), and most of them contributed little or nothing to The Office legacy.

The success of Parks and Recreation relied heavily on the growth of their characters, and so many of them went through significant career and personal evolution over seven seasons compared to The Office's nine. Leslie, Ann, Ben, Ron, Tom, Chris, April, Andy, Donna, and, yes, even Jerry/Larry/Garry/Terry were not the same people at the end of their Parks run that they were at the start.