A Parks and Recreation Special

There are no new resolutions needed. Instead, It's meant to exemplify the very core of Leslie and the show itself: doing good.

Well, I cried, of course. But it was the nice kind of crying. Maybe I even needed it. And hey, sometimes that's all you can ask for from a visit with old friends.

It's fun. I loved it. Spending 30 minutes visiting these fake characters who I haven't seen in five years ranked right up there with many of my Zoom calls to friends and family who I haven't seen in what feels like five years.

Watching the reunion special, I found I could still enjoy its bighearted comedy, albeit less as optimistic realism and more as utopian science fiction.

It was impossible to dislike - even if it was inescapably melancholy.

It was everything fans of the sweet, hopeful and hilarious series could have hoped for in this time of great need.

Parks and Recreation managed to raft a reunion special that, while satisfying on a base level, also speaks directly to the challenges we're facing today.

Rather than pure escapism or cringe-worthy seriousness, the Parks and Rec writers created something that feels urgent without being self-important, and sweet without being saccharine.

Groundbreaking or not, we need that warmth and that hope now more than ever and, with a characteristically good cause, "A Parks and Recreation Special" more than delivered.

"A Parks and Recreation Special" doesn't need my charitable pass because it's a delight. Given the technical limitations and difficult circumstances, the Parks team is able to create something that feels like a satisfying reunion.

The Parks and Rec special was a lot of fun as an experiment. I don't want to see it become the new normal.

Fortunately, the one-off special doesn't disappoint, as the cast and crew did an amazing job when it comes to picking up where things let off.