At the top of the list of comfort food comedy shows sits Parks & Recreation. Michael Schur’s beloved NBC sitcom quickly shucked off its roots as a cringe-comedy Office clone to become the most wholesome series on TV. You might not automatically associate Parks & Rec with Halloween, then, and yet the staff of the Pawnee parks department could get spooky as well as kooky.
Across its seven glorious seasons, Parks & Rec made Halloween-themed episodes practically a yearly tradition, revealing what escapades Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope and her friends got up to on Oct. 31. As you’d expect, these eps aren’t exactly what you would call terrifying — unless you find good-natured comedy and heartwarming character interactions scary — so if you’re looking for less of a jump scare and more of a warm hug this Halloween, here’s what you need to watch.
“Greg Pikitis” (season 2, episode 7)
Even the most devoted of Parks fans (like yours truly) have to admit that the show’s first season isn’t great. However, after some creative retooling, season 2 quickly fixed any mistakes and by episode 7 Parks was flying at full mast. In many ways, you could argue that “Greg Pikitis” is the first properly great episode of the show.
In this first Halloween-themed installment, Leslie attempts to best her teenage nemesis, the eponymous Greg Pikitis, who vandalizes the town’s parks every All Hallow’s Eve. In a way, this hilarious and inventive episode is a precursor to fellow Schur creation Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Halloween Heist specials as Pikitis is an evil mastermind who’s able to concoct a convoluted scheme to get the better of Leslie.
“Meet n Greet” (season 4, episode 5)
Parks & Rec‘s fourth season, you know, the one with Paul Rudd as Bobby Newport (who has never worked a day in his life) — has many great episodes. Honestly, “Meet n Greet” isn’t especially one of them, but it is an entertaining episode of plate-spinning regardless. While the A-plot sees Leslie entrusting Tom to handle the promotion for her City Council campaign, the B-plot is where things get Halloween-y.
When Andy and April throw a big costume party without telling him, Ben — who’s their roommate at this point in the show — attempts to avoid a confrontation with Andy, while April intervenes when Chris keeps making out with Jerry’s daughter in front of him. The best part of the episode, though, might actually be its C-plot, which sees Ron and Ann form a rare and adorable bond as they fix up Andy and April’s house.
“Halloween Surprise” (season 5, episode 5)
“Greg Pikitis” is hilarious, but the best Parks & Rec Halloween episode has to be “Halloween Surprise.” Leslie is excited to buy a home for herself and Ben once he returns from a job in Washington, but when it looks like Ben might stay in D.C., she funnels all her energy into helping Jerry pay for his medical bills after he has a heart attack (or, as Tom dubs it, a fart attack) during a Halloween prank gone wrong.
Spoilers for those who have never seen the series before… Yes, this is the “Leslie and Ben get engaged” episode. Although it seems like the titular surprise is the jump scare that causes Jerry’s heart attack, it’s really Ben turning up at the house he’s bought for Leslie in Pawnee and getting down on one knee, having turned down the Washington job to come back to their life together. Benslie fans, this one was for you.
“Recall Vote” (season 6, episode 7)
Fast forward a year and Leslie and Ben are happily married, but Leslie has been voted off City Council. The development hits her hard and the biggest workaholic in Pawnee transforms into a demotivated slacker just in time for Halloween. When Leslie and Ben get drunk, dressed as Princess Buttercup and Wesley from The Princess Bride, it’s up to Ann to stop them from doing something drastic.
Meanwhile, April is feeling lost without Andy to share Halloween with (Chris Pratt was on temporary absence from the show to shoot Guardians of the Galaxy), so Chris does his best to get her in the spirit with a series of lame pranks. Another solid slice of spooky Pawnee action on a pair with “Meet N Greet.”
“One Last Ride, Part 2” (season 7, episode 13)
Although it isn’t a fully-fledged Halloween episode, the Parks and Rec season finale deserves a mention as one of its key subplots takes place on two Oct. 31s. If you’ll recall, the final episode skips ahead in time to give us a complete overview of the characters’ futures. On Halloween 2022, visiting trick-or-treaters leads Andy and April to discuss having kids. Fast forward to one year later to the day, April goes into labor in zombie makeup and gives birth to their son, Jack.
How to watch Parks and Recreation’s Halloween episodes
All 126 episodes of Parks and Recreation, including its three spooky season installments, can be streamed on Peacock. While the streaming service doesn’t offer a free trial, there are two different payment plans for you to choose from. Namely, the Premium plan for $5.99 per month or the Plus plan for $11.99 per month. If you opt to pay yearly, you get the last two months of the year for free.