Before moving on to The Good Place, many actors made a brief stop in Pawnee as characters on Parks and Recreation. There are, in fact, over a dozen actors who appeared in both NBC series. The Good Place recently joined Parks and Rec as a show that has come to an end, but the fans’ love for the cast and characters will never be lost.
Parks and Rec, a sitcom created by Michael Schur and Greg Daniels, first debuted in 2009. The duo was known for their work on a fellow NBC hit, The Office, and they managed to find success with another workplace comedy. The series which followed Leslie Knope and her fellow Parks Department employees eventually came to an end in 2015. A year later, Schur created The Good Place, a refreshing fantasy comedy about the afterlife.
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The Good Place and its stellar cast that included Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden, and Ted Danson instantly won over viewers. Schur also proved that he had his own shared TV universe among his projects due to various connections and crossovers. He also proved that he loved collaborating with past actors. That said, here’s every actor from Parks and Rec that worked on The Good Place.
Kristen Bell
Bell had arguably one of the most prominent roles on The Good Place since the series began and ended with her time in the afterlife. Before portraying Eleanor Shellstrop, a core member of Team Cockroach for four seasons, Bell played Ingrid de Forest on Parks and Rec. The character was the councilwoman from Eagleton who had no qualms bragging about her upper-class, glamorous life. When Pawnee and Eagleton merged, Leslie was recalled and her councilwoman position went to Ingrid. Bell’s arc in season 6 lasted three episodes, but the actress must have left an impression with the show’s creative team because she would go on to team with Schur again just a few years later in a leading role.
Adam Scott
Viewers of The Good Place would remember Adam Scott as Trevor, the sadistic torturer from the Bad Place that Michael once hired. The character was later flung into the void by Judge Gen after interfering with human affairs. His demonic personality was far different than his role as Ben Wyatt in Parks and Rec. Ben was introduced in season 2 as a state auditor before becoming a regular from season 3 and beyond. After becoming involved with the Parks Department, Ben and Leslie entered a relationship that led to a marriage and a house full of kids.
Nick Offerman
Offerman memorably portrayed Ron Swanson in all seven seasons of Parks and Rec. The character was a fan favorite due to the character’s quirks and attitude towards things like the government, social norms, and breakfast meats. Offerman made a brief cameo in The Good Place series finale teaching Tahani how to master woodworking. Although some viewers thought the actor was reprising his role as Ron, he was actually playing a version of himself.
Dax Shepard
Dax Shepard played Hank Muntak in Parks and Rec season 7. Hank was an executive at a TV station based in Pawnee and negotiated a better deal with Andy for producing the Johnny Karate Show. A few years later, Shepard made a cameo to work alongside his wife, Kristen Bell, as Chet in The Good Place. Like Adam Scott’s Trevor, Chet was a Bad Place torturer who accidentally confused Chidi for a demon in season 2.
Marc Evan Jackson
Jackson notably played a key character throughout The Good Place‘s run as an enemy of Team Cockroach. Shawn was a senior architect of the Bad Place and served as Michael’s superior. He remained a thorn in their side for most of the series, until the crew got Shawn on their side for rolling out a new afterlife system. Before playing a demon, Jackson portrayed Trevor Nelson on Parks and Rec. The character appeared in nine episodes as an attorney in Pawnee.
Jason Mantzoukas
Mantzoukas appeared in multiple seasons of Parks and Rec as Dennis Feinstein, the fragrance maker residing in Pawnee. Dennis viewed himself as a prominent person in the community and was often rude to others. His perfumes and colognes made various appearances throughout the series and ads for them were even seen in The Good Place. The actor made the jump to another Schur series starting in The Good Place season 2. Mantzoukas played Derek, a human-like being created by Janet.
Maribeth Monroe
When Janet decided to get rid of Derek in The Good Place, she sent him to the Medium Place to be with Mindy St. Claire, a character played by Monroe. Mindy was a former lawyer and the only human sent to the Medium Place. Before her time as a recurring character on The Good Place, Monroe played Elise Yarktin, the Indiana Organization of Women’s Director in Parks and Rec.
Jama Williamson
Williamson played Wendy Haverford, the ex-wife of Tom, for multiple episodes of Parks and Rec. It was later revealed that her marriage to Tom was a result of a green card issue since she was from Canada. In The Good Place, Williamson portrayed Val, a woman who worked at the Bad Place Headquarters who often assisted Shawn in his escapades.
Jamie Denbo
Denbo once played Kim Terlando in a season 5 episode of Parks and Rec. The character was a tabloid reporter for The Pawnee Sun and an enemy of Leslie Knope. The actress then appeared in The Good Place‘s fourth episode as Chef Patricia, a demon posing as a real person in what the core four thought was the real Good Place.
Paul Scheer
Scheer played Keef Slertner, the leader of KaBOOM! in Parks and Rec season 2. The character ended up leading an elaborate scam since KaBOOM! was just a prank. In The Good Place, Scheer appeared as Chuck, a member of the Good Place Committee that helped discuss the current points system.
Mike O’Malley
O’Malley would be recognized as the Doorman in The Good Place who guarded the Door to Earth. His name was actually Jeff and was remembered for his like of frogs, which he proudly showed off on his desk. Before playing the Doorman, O’Malley served as Bill, the owner of the bus rental company, in Parks and Rec season 4.
Will McLaughlin
McLaughlin appeared in six episodes of Parks and Rec as Officer Randy Killnose. Coincidentally, the actor also played a cop in The Good Place with his portrayal of Officer Prawnmandler. He was the cop that arrested Pillboi, and revealed that Jason had died during the pair’s failed robbery.
Eugene Cordero
Pillboi, Jason’s best friend, appeared as a recurring character throughout The Good Place. The actor first appeared in Parks and Rec as Minister Xorpaxx-7, the man who spoke at Jerry’s funeral in the far future during Parks and Rec’s series finale.
Li’l Sebastian
Everyone’s favorite miniature horse from Parks and Recreation made a quick cameo in The Good Place season 3. Li’l Sebastian, whose tragic death inspired the song “5,000 Candles in the Wind,” was present in the background of the “Pick a Pet” day. This brought into question why the sweet horse was in the Bad Place, but it was clearly a fun nod. The show’s social media accounts took the time to share an image of the horse with Janet and appropriately captioned it with dozens of candle emojis.
