Chris Pratt Was Only Supposed to Be in 6 Parks & Rec Episodes
After starring in two installments of Jurassic World, two installments of Guardians of the Galaxy, and two installments of Avengers, Chris Pratt undoubtedly became one of the biggest and most sought-after stars in Hollywood.
But not so long ago, back in 2009, he was just a young comedian wannabe, who had only a handful of minor roles under his belt.
So when he got cast on NBC's new satirical mockumentary Parks and Recreation, he was only supposed to have a six-episode arc on the series.
His character, Andy Dwyer was going to quickly break up with Ann Perkins (played by Rashida Jones), and then disappear from the show forever.
But Pratt's talent won the day, when he was given this small shot at success. The showrunners liked Pratt's performance so much that, almost immediately after initially casting him, they've decided to turn him a into a main cast member.
In Season 1 of Parks and Recreation scripts did not allow for that, but starting with season two Pratt become one of the main characters, as a part of various corrections made between Seasons 1 and 2.
As the result, not only Parks and Recreation became the real start of Chris Pratt 's ascension to stardom, but the show achieved considerable success.
It had good viewership throughout its seven-season run, was widely acclaimed and well-awarded, including the Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy in 2013.
The bureaucratic red tape, which provided so much of Parks and Recreation's comedy, clearly did not affects is actual production – that's how good showrunners are supposed to operate, watching for new talents, and adjusting so that those they manage to find are placed to the forefront.
By the way, the fictional band Mouse Rat, in which Andy Dwyer played in Parks and Recreation, released first a couple of singles, and then, in August of 2021, an album, thanks to the cooperation between Pratt and the show's producers.
It is called Mouse Rat: The Awesome Album. Just think about a runaway success – Pratt even managed to give real songs to a band made up for his first major role!