NBC's 'Parks And Recreation' Filming In Chicago Today

By Lisa White in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 4, 2014 3:50PM

(The cast of NBC's Parks and Recreation/Photo: NBC)

Some of our favorite fictional neighbors to the east from Pawnee, Indiana are in town today filming for the seventh and final season of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. The show centers around Amy Poehler’s character Leslie Knope, an optimistic go-getter who works in the parks department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana.

We’ve long been fans of the show, especially since it authentically captures some of the subtle charms and annoyances of living in a small Indiana town. Sure, characters and situations are exaggerated but we’ve seen how serious Hoosiers take their breakfast food (JJ’s waffles would be welcome at many Indiana morning business meetings), how a town can rally around a somewhat absurd local cult figure like Li’l Sebastian, and this writer remembers at least a handful of news anchors on television growing up in Southern Indiana who reminded her of Perd Hapley. The show is a pretty spot on slice of Hoosier life even if it isn’t filmed always in the heartland.

At the end of the sixth season (spoiler alert) Knope takes a job with the National Parks Service in Chicago, but convinces her new boss to relocate the office from Chicago to Pawnee. Clearly not all operations are based in the land of corn, since the show is filming upcoming scenes in Hyde Park, Wrigleyville and possibly some other locations around the city today according to the Sun-Times. So if you’ve got extra time on your hands and enjoy stalking celebrities while they try and work, get to it.

Obviously the show is keeping tight-lipped on the characters in town filming, but it’s a pretty safe bet that Chris Pratt’s character Andy Dwyer and Aziz Ansari’s character Tom Haverford will be on location since both were in Chicago last night. After grabbing a bite at Xoco, Ansari did a surprise popup show at the Vic and Pratt threw out the first pitch at the Cubs game and sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch. It’s no “5,000 Candles In the Wind” but it will do. Check out his singing (which is much better than his pitching) below: