 During the second season, HitFix writer Alan Sepinwall called Ron "easily the show's best creation so far," and during the third season he wrote, "Ron being both awesome and hilarious is something Nick Offerman and these writers can do in their sleep by now." Sal Basile of UGO Networks wrote, "How anyone can make Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation likable is beyond us, but Offerman does it effortlessly. Before we knew it we couldn't wait to see Swanson's reactions to the slightest of problems." Matt Fowler of IGN was critical of Ron at the start of the show, and called him "a bit of the dud (who) offers little to the show, and almost just stand to sour the whole thing." However, by the second season, Fowler said the character had improved and became "an absolute stand-out in the series." Several reviewers have praised the platonic relationship between Ron and Leslie, which has been compared to that of Mary Richards and Lou Grant in The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
