Part of the reason I love Parks And Recreation so much is that they have populated Pawnee with an amazing array of incredibly funny ancillary characters. They may pop up once a year, or once a month, but every time they are used it is pure comedy gold.
With dozens to choose from it's hard to narrow down any list to just 10. Those that didn't make the cut but deserve a mention include: Tammy 1, Brandi Maxxx, Ethel Beavers, Crazy Ira & The Douche, Kyle, Councilman Dexhart, Marcia & Marshall Langman, Ron Dunn and of course not forgetting the dearly departed Lil' Sebastian. I've not included Jerry/Gary/Larry because he's now a series regular, otherwise he'd likely be in first place!
So coming in at number 10 on my list of favourite Parks And Recreation recurring characters is...
10. Craig
Craig, played by Billy Eichner, is my favourite recent addition to the Parks and Recreation cast. If he'd been in it longer then I think he might be up there in the top 3.
9. Ingrid de Forest
Just because how can you not love Kristen Bell?
8. Orin
April Ludgate's creepy intense friend. Orin studied zoology in college, and claims he can control animals with my mind. I kinda believe him.
7. Councilman Jamm
Pawnee's local orthodontist and Councilman, Jeremy Jamm, is brilliantly portrayed by Jon Glaser. He's ridiculously offensive and has gone from Leslie's main nemesis to her best friend, well in his eyes anyway.
6. Tynnyfer
I really really hope we get to see more of Tynnyferin the future (she used to be Jennifer but then decided to re-brand herself!). If Parks And Recreation ever finish then please God give us a spin-off show where April & Tynnyfer travel the world together.
5. TammyII
Ron Swanson's second ex-wife is played by Nick Offerman's real life wife, Megan Mullaly. The sexual hold she has over him may have now been broken by Diane, but I'm sure we've not seen the end of Tammy II.
4. Mona-Lisa
She is totally the worst person. Ever.
When Mona-Lisa Saperstein first appeared in the episode Bailout, I honestly had to wait until the credits at the end to check it wasn't just Ben Schwartz (her brother Jean-Ralphio) in a wig!
3. Joan Callamezzo
The face of Pawnee
Today and long term Parks And Recreation recurring character. Joan Callamezzo has a strong sexual appetite, and likes a drink, or two.
2. Jean-Ralphio
Tom's friend and ex-business partner is the perfect recurring character for Parks And Recreation. He only needs to pop up a couple of times a year because, quite honestly, he has much more of an impact in small doses.
Ben Schwartz is amazing, he was totally born to play the part. I can't watch him in anything else now and not think of Jean-Ralphio.
It was a real close call between first and second place for my favourite Parks And Recreation recurring character, but narrowly beating Jean-Ralphio is...
1. Perd Hapley
Jay Jackson is so great as Perd Hapley he even got his own web series spin-off recently, but over the last 6 years he has given us some of the finest Parks And Recreation moments.
Perd has hosted many local news shows including, Ya Herd? With Perd, The Final Word with Perd, Lights Camera Perd and Are You There Perd-verts? It’s Me Perd, Hosting a New Segment.
I have 2 absolute favourite Perd moments, firstly the brilliant clip where he reports the news and at the end realises that even though his hand is held out he's forgotten his microphone, and the clip from 1980s Perd where he is reviewing E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. He famously only gave it 1 and 1/2 stars because "it's a good story, but it's just not believable"
Love it.
Who are your favourite Parks And Recreation recurring characters?