When the characters of NBC’s Parks and Recreation descend on Indianapolis, it makes for quite a scene. The sitcom takes place in the fictional—yet sometimes all too real—town of Pawnee, Indiana. This week’s episode, set to air on Thursday night at 8 p.m. (EST), will feature the Pawnee Parks Department’s operatives visiting Lucas Oil Stadium, as Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) leads an NFL Play60 campaign with several Indianapolis Colts players.
It won’t be the first time this program has pulled Indiana sports figures into its storylines.
In a season-two episode, former Pacer Detlef Schrempf was forced to squeeze into Tom’s (Aziz Ansari) tiny compact car. Last season, during Andy’s (Chris Pratt) bachelor party, the group ran into Pacers center Roy Hibbert at St. Elmo Steak House. To the surprise of no one, Colts owner Jim Irsay also plays into the party.
Based on Thursday’s preview clips teased on NBC’s website, Reggie Wayne will receive a route-running lesson from Leslie; Donna (Retta) is set to reject Robert Mathis; and April (Aubrey Plaza) creeps out Andrew Luck.
The show, now in its sixth season, is always worth a watch, but this week’s episode should be considered mandatory viewing for Hoosiers. When the grizzled neck beard of Andrew Luck and the finely trimmed mustache of Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) appear on screen simultaneously—well folks, that’s why high-definition television was invented in the first place.
As mentioned above, these scene set in Indy previously appeared on Parks and Rec:
