Parks and Recreation, in at least two ways, has become the new 30 Rock.

In addition to having one of the funniest and most likable lead characters on television, Parks and Recreation has also amassed a steady stream of hilarious guest stars. The show added Will Arnett, Andy Samberg and Detlef Schrempf in its second season, as well as Rob Lowe and Party Down’s Adam Scott as series regulars.

In its third season, Parks and Recreation will also introduce Will Forte for at least one episode, according to EW.com.

The MacGruber spoofster will play a Pawnee resident whose obsession with the Twilight franchise complicates a pet project Poehler’s Leslie is working on.

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Even though he is leaving the full-time cast of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters at the end of the current season, Rob Lowe is going to be on television constantly next season.

Lowe has signed on to join the cast of Parks and Recreation in order to spice the cast up and bring in a wider audience and, it was announced yesterday, Lowe will appear in at least one episode of Showtime’s Californication.

I watch both shows and, to be honest, the news about the Parks and Rec casting is kind of disappointing. The basic gist of the story is that the producers and NBC higher-ups didn’t feel like enough people were watching the show. So they cast Lowe to attract female viewers who wouldn’t normally watch the program.

Californication, on the other hand, has cast Lowe to play movie star Eddie Nero, who is being considered to star in the film version of a book written by (and starring) Hank Moody, David Duchovny’s character.

Lowe will appear in at least one episode, but Showtime says the role could recur.

Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler is pregnant with her second child, multiple sources have confirmed.  Poehler’s pregnancy is obviously a blessing for her and husband Will Arnett (Arrested Development) and I’d imagine it’s good news for everyone who personally knows the couple, but it has caused some chaos with the producers of Parks and Recreation.

There are several different reasons Poehler’s pregnancy makes the lives of the Parks and Rec staff more difficult.  First, the writers of the show will have to either hide her showing stomach or write a baby into the show.  Both things will likely prove to be extremely difficult because it will either force an entirely new storyline/character to be introduced or will decrease Poehler’s role in the series.

Both options, as Parks has developed into one of the funniest comedies on television in its second year, sound unappealing.

The other possibility is that Parks and Rec completely beat Poehler’s pregnancy by jumping right into season three’s episode immediately after season two wraps by delaying its scheduled summer hiatus.  But with the baby due in late summer, it’s going to be a tough task for the Parks producers to accomplish.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, visit RipcordNews.com.

I find it amazing that, less than nine months ago, there was serious discussion about what whether NBC Parks and Recreation would be back for a second season.

The amazing thing isn’t the discussion itself – Parks and Rec was a sub-par television show in its first season – but how drastically things have turned in its second season.

At the end of February, the Amy Poehler-starring comedy has turned into one of the funniest shows on television, while tapping into a similar formula as The Office without blatently doing so.  Parks and Rec now seems real and has a heart, much like its sister program. As a result, it has been renewed for a third season.

So if you haven’t seen Michael Schur and Greg Daniels’ program, please start watching now.  It’s rare to see a comedy on network TV that’s fresh and funny all at once, but that’s exactly what Parks and Recreation is.  You can watch it at Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

Anyone who stuck with Parks and Recreation into the show’s second season has been pleasently surprised by the noticable improvement in the show’s quality.  Greg Daniels and Michael Schur seem to have made Poehler and the rest of her co-horts much different from The Office characters and also much more likeable.

But that’s all about to change (or maybe it won’t) during the next month when Pawnee’s Parks Department is rocked by a sex scandal.  Leslie Knope will reportedly be involved in some way (no word yet how) and this should be one of the funniest moments in the series’ young history. 

Also in the E! article is Poehler dropping a hint that Will Arnett, her real-life husband, will eventually make a guest appearance during this season.

To read more about both, check out the article right here.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

In the midst of Jay Leno’s dreadful hour-long talk show disaster and looking financial ruin in the eye, NBC has found a glimmer of hope in the fall of 2009 with two 30 minute comedies.

On Friday, NBC picked up Parks and Recreation and Community for the rest of the season as both critics and fans seem to enjoy both shows.

Variety reports…

Pickups were announced by NBC/Universal Media Studios primetime entertainment prexy Angela Bromstad, who gave kudos to “Community” for “delivering a first-rate, quality show that is very promising as the newest of NBC’s first-rate Thursday night comedies.”

And she cited the conventional wisdom that “Parks and Recreation” has improved creatively this season.

I tried to watch the first episode of Community, but couldn’t get into it because I hate Chevy Chase.  I think he’s smug and annoying and don’t care for his brand of comedy. 

Parks and Recreation, on the other hand, has been one of my favorite shows of the fall.  It took Amy Poehler out of the Michael Scott mold and made her 100% more likable and more knowledgeable of what’s going on around her.  This has made the show believable and the jokes much sharper.  I love where Parks is headed and I can’t wait to watch the entire second season.

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This post was written byEric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

Saturday Night Live, after losing Amy Poehler to NBC’s Parks and Recreation, have taken preliminary steps to finding her long-term replacement.

Lorne Michaels and the rest of the show’s producers have hired two additional female castmembers, Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad.  Pedrad and Slate will serve as featured players, which new hires Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins will also be this season.

The addition of Pedrad and Slate gives Saturday Night Live an increasing amount of depth.  Though Elliott and Watkins are very talented (especially Watkins), they simply are not as pretty as both of SNL’s new hires.  I think this move will prove to be a great addition to the upcoming season of SNL, which I’m very excited for.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

I felt really bad during the Super Bowl.  Not because I was pulling for either team, but because of two reasons.

1. I ate some terrible clam chowder and then washed it down with RC, salsa and a dried fruit mix.  Ugh.
2. The new name of the new show from the creators of The Office is now called Parks and Recreation.

And I had no idea that this was in fact its name.  Over on one of my other daily writing gigs, Is This It X, I wrote that the new NBC show will be called Community Service. But, as 95.4 million saw last night, the new Amy Poehler-starring show is called Parks and Recreation.

The interesting thing about the show is that Rashida Jones plays second-fiddle to Poehler.  But Jones will return to The Office this week. And she will be pregnant.

So, based on what’s typically the case with TV shows, a pregnancy means that Jones should be around The Office for quite a while.  Or maybe not.  We’ll have to see Thursday night, when The Office has to live up to a pretty great post-Super Bowl episode.

And, Office fans, be sure to check out Jones and Poehler in Parks and Recreation in April.  The new show figures to be hilarious.