page_title: Christmas Scandal
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas Scandal / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Louis C. K. at the 2012 Time 100 gala.
context_page_description: "Christmas Scandal" is the 12th episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the eighteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on December 10, 2009. In the episode, a meeting with a disgraced councilman puts Leslie in the middle of a sex scandal that forces her to hide from the press.
  The episode was written by series co-creator Michael Schur and was directed by Randall Einhorn. "Christmas Scandal" marked the last of a string of guest appearances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K. as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend.
  According to Nielsen Media Research, "Christmas Scandal" was seen by 5.62 million households, the highest viewership of the season. The episode received generally positive reviews, although some commentators felt the central story risked becoming too busy and chaotic.
context_section_description: "Christmas Scandal" was written by series co-founder Michael Schur and directed by Randall Einhorn. The episode featured the last of a string of guest performances by stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who reprised his recurring role as Dave Sanderson, Leslie's police officer boyfriend. Louis C.K. left the show to devote more time to his own upcoming series, Louie, which was to air in early 2010. Louis C.K. was widely praised for his brief stint on the show, where he adopts a deadpan, technical tone of voice far different from his usual comedy persona. Matt Fowler of IGN said, "Louis C.K., known for being a raucous, raunchy comic, is almost frightening in his ability to play against his stage persona and give us a wonderfully caring, and deadpan, character".
  "Christmas Scandal" also featured Kevin Symons as Pawnee Councilman Bill Dexhart. Dexhart was previously introduced in "Practice Date", where his sex scandals served as a parody of the real-life 2009 scandal of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who publicly admitted to a long-time extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman. Jay Jackson also reprised his prior role as Perd Hapley, a Pawnee television news reporter. "Christmas Scandal" is the first episode to feature the former Pawnee pit location serving a legitimate town purpose. Filling a giant construction pit and turning it into a park had been a central plot-point of Parks and Recreation throughout the first season and the first half of the second season. The pit was filled in the episode "Kaboom", and the space is turned into the town's Winter Wonderland Christmas village in "Christmas Scandal". The Christmas village scenes were filmed in the same location as the past pit scenes in Van Nuys, a district of Los Angeles, California. During one scene, Ron expresses concern about dangerous raccoons at the Christmas village. This is a reference to a running gag, established from the series, that Pawnee has a terrible raccoon infestation problem.
caption: Stand-up comedian Louis C.K. made his second to last guest appearances as Officer Dave Sanderson in "Christmas Scandal".
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