Not many TV shows can say they got away with spoiling one of their biggest moments and twists, but Parks & Recreation can, as that’s exactly what happened with April and Andy’s wedding. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation followed the always optimistic Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and her friends and co-workers from the Parks Department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana.
Over the course of seven seasons, viewers followed Leslie and her closest friends through many ups and downs in their personal and professional lives, and many of them became fan favorites, such as April Ludgate and Andy Dwyer. It took these two a while to accept they had feelings for each other, and they finally got together in season 3 after going through a rough patch. April and Andy were a one-of-a-kind couple, and the writers decided to give the audience and the characters within the series a big surprise in that same season.
April and Andy got married just a few weeks later in a surprise wedding disguised as a “fancy party”, but NBC spoiled the big event weeks before the episode aired, yet the network managed to get away with it.
How Parks & Rec Spoiled April & Andy’s Wedding
After season 3’s episode “Ron & Tammy: Part Two” aired, NBC ran an ad on the show’s official website imploring viewers to check out April and Andy’s wedding registry. NBC’s official explanation was that it was an honest mistake, as an employee mixed up the two couples. This excuse worked, mostly because there was a wedding in the Ron & Tammy episode, as this problematic couple remarried in the middle of a night of drinking that left them both in prison. When the episode “Andy and April’s Fancy Party” finally aired two months later, it was obvious that it hadn’t been an honest mistake at all, which Schur later admitted, but NBC managed the situation quite well.
April and Andy’s surprise wedding was a success in the series and the real world too, as it was well received by audiences and critics, who mostly praised its mix of funny and sweet moments, as well as Ann and Donna’s subplot (in which the latter helped the former with her flirting game, and encouraged her to enjoy herself in the present). Parks & Recreation spoiling its big surprise wedding is something that ends up fitting the tone of the series (it could have easily been something Jerry would have done), and NBC can brag about getting away with it without a problem.