Parks & Recreation used the good old technique of filming different endings for season 4’s finale “Win, Lose, or Draw”. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation premiered on NBC in 2009 and came to an end in 2015 after seven seasons. The series followed the lives of eternal optimist 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 Knope’s career and dreams closely, from her days as Deputy Director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation, to quite possibly President of the United States, as seen in a flash forward in the series finale. Leslie also became City Councilor of Pawnee, and it wasn’t an easy or smooth campaign, but in the end, she beat Bobby Newport (Paul Rudd) and won the election.
However, the writers weren’t always sure Leslie was going to win, and in order to have all the options they needed to make the best decision, they shot alternate endings.
Parks & Rec Season 4’s Alternate Endings Explained
The production crew of Parks & Recreation shot three endings for the episode “Win, Lose, or Draw”, which are pretty self-explanatory when looking at the title of the episode: one had Leslie winning the election, another one saw her losing, and the third was a tie with Bobby Newport. It’s not uncommon for TV series to shoot different endings for a season finale, as they do so to prevent spoilers from leaking, but the producers of Parks & Recreation also did it for other reasons related to the narrative.
In an interview with EW in 2012, Michael Schur shared they weren’t sure which ending to choose, and the final decision was taken two weeks before it was shot, but there was a lot of indecision. Schur explained he talked to Amy Poehler and they convinced themselves of the win and lose versions many times. They found good and bad arguments for both, but in the end they decided it was best for her to win after how much her friends helped her during the campaign – it was not only fair to Leslie, but also the rest. Leslie’s career didn’t stop there and she later became Regional Director of National Park Service Midwest Region, Deputy Director of Operations at the United States Department of the Interior, and Governor of Indiana. Leslie Knope achieved all her goals in Parks & Recreation – from building a park in the infamous pit, to becoming a respectable figure in politics – and she did so with her friends by her side.