Parks a Recreation To Get a Seventh Season

Coming out of the Television Critics Association presentation for NBC yesterday is the news that the network intends to renew veteran comedy Parks and Recreation for a seventh season. The show's future had been in some doubt given the poor performance of NBC's Thursday night comedy block this season, but the series--which stars Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World's Aubrey Plaza and once featured Ant-Man star Paul Rudd as a recurring guest star--is the first of that block to come back, while the network was noncommittal about the future of Community and things seem bleak for The Michael J. Fox Show and Sean Saves the World. Last week's ratings saw all four series perform at a 1.3 or lower, with Fox and Sean coming in at 0.6 and 0.8, respectively and being beaten out by cable series like Cougar Town and re-runs of The Big Bang Theory. NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt first said that the network was "bullish" on Parks and Recreation before later upgrading that statement to "Parks and Recreation is going to have a seventh season," reports Deadline. It seems likely that a seventh season could be the show's last hurrah; in addition to Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt is set to headline  Jurassic World and with any luck for the studios both of those will have sequels. Meanwhile, this season will see the departure of longtime supporting actors Rob Lowe and Rashida Jones.