page_title: Pawnee Zoo
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Pawnee Zoo / Production
caption_attribution_description: Picture taken by Michaela Murphy and posted with permission; original found at http://www.notduck.com/Other/Celebrities.html She owns the copyright and said the following: "I grant permission to copy, distribute and/or modify these images under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts."
context_page_description: "Pawnee Zoo" is the second season premiere of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the seventh overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009. In the episode, Leslie accidentally takes a stand in favor of same-sex marriage when she holds a marriage for two male penguins during a publicity stunt for the zoo.
  The episode was written by Norm Hiscock and directed by Paul Feig. The writing staff sought to address more topical issues during the second season, and the same-sex marriage plot was inspired by the real-life pairing of Harry and Pepper, a pair of romantically involved male penguins at the San Francisco Zoo. However, Hiscock said he was focused more strongly on comedy than making a political or social statement.
  "Pawnee Zoo" received generally positive reviews, with several commentators claiming it showed improvement and growth compared to the show's first season, which received generally positive reviews. According to Nielsen Media Research, "Pawnee Zoo" was watched by 5 million households.
context_section_description: "Pawnee Zoo" was written by Norm Hiscock and directed by Paul Feig. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on September 17, 2009. It is the first episode to feature Chris Pratt in the title credits as a regular cast member rather than a guest star. The episode addressed the issue of same-sex marriage, typically a controversial social topic for government officials. The staff of Parks and Recreation sought to address more topical issues with the second season episodes, and the writers discussed with series co-creator Michael Schur possible topics for the season debut. They settled on same-sex marriage, which was an issue of particularly high debate at the time, especially in the Los Angeles area. During that discussion, one of the writers brought up the real-life pairing of Harry and Pepper, a pair of romantically involved male penguins at the San Francisco Zoo. The real-life penguins had separated from each other shortly before the episode aired, which resulted in press coverage that the pair "broke up".
  Hiscock felt a gay penguin marriage was a good way to connect Leslie's character and profession to the issue, since a zoo would be part of the parks department. He said, "It seemed like a funny starting place: a cute zoo promotion that spins out of control." Although the storyline is comedic through its use of penguins in the same-sex marriage, commentators inferred the episode nevertheless takes a position in favor of same-sex marriage. Hiscock said in writing the script, he did not intend to make a strong political or social message, and that the staff was more focused on comedy and developing the Leslie Knope character. However, Hiscock said, "What I like is that Leslie doesn't back down from her zoo promotion idea and refuses to annul the wedding. In a weird way she takes a stance."
  Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, two deleted scenes from "Pawnee Zoo" were made available on the official Parks and Recreation website. In the first two-and-a-half-minute clip, Tom talks at the penguin wedding about the "penguin bachelor party" he threw for the birds. Later, Tom and April help prepare Leslie for the Pawnee Today show by impersonating the other guests and berating Leslie without giving her a chance to speak. In the second two-minute clip, Andy gives a tour of his home in the pit, and Leslie changes around Ann's apartment to change the feng shui after her breakup with Andy. Ann also gives Mark brownies to bring to Leslie, which he promptly starts to eat himself.
  Scenes at the Pawnee Zoo were filmed in Abandoned Zoo Picnic Area in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
caption: "Pawnee Zoo" was directed by Paul Feig.
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