Why Rashida Jones' Ann Perkins Left Parks And Recreation

A decade after it ended, the NBC comedy "Parks and Recreation" continues to be one of the most beloved, online-favorite sitcoms of the 21st century. The show's blend of upbeat optimism in the form of local-government official Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and its scathing satire of small-town America have both held up strongly. But while seven seasons of "Parks and Recreation" have aged well in retrospect, the fact that it was often a show on the bubble of either being renewed or cancelled by the network on which it aired, NBC, may well have contributed to the departure of one of its stars.

The other thing to keep in mind here is that while those seven seasons had many strong episodes, engaging arcs, and entertaining characters, there was something of a revolving door with cast members. The first and second seasons featured Paul Schneider as city planner Mark Brendanawicz before he departed near the conclusion of the second year. Around that same time, new characters Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt (Rob Lowe and Adam Scott, respectively) joined the show, with Ben serving as Leslie's new love interest and eventual husband. One of the show's initially vital characters, local nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), was part of the original cast but departed the series in the middle of its sixth season. So, why did Jones leave Pawnee?

When "Parks and Recreation" began airing on NBC in the spring of 2009, audiences weren't quite sure what to make of it. Coming from the same production team as the American remake of "The Office," and featuring Jones as one of its co-stars after her season 3 stint on "The Office", some people may have figured it was a direct spin-off. But when "Parks and Rec" began, the scope was revealed to be different, with Jones playing Ann, a friendly local who ends up helping Leslie on her first major project within the show: replacing a massive pit with a beautiful park. Leslie was initially much more like the early iteration of Michael Scott (Steve Carell) on "The Office": a self-involved, ridiculous character who is mocked by her coworkers, sometimes to her face. If you stuck with this sitcom through to the end, though, you'll know that Leslie Knope was far from a figure of ridicule by the conclusion.

The nature of a show like "Parks and Recreation" shifting as it continues is partly what led to Jones leaving the show, along with Lowe, in the middle of the penultimate season. Within the series, the explanation is that Ann and Chris, who have had an up-and-down romance over a few years, are moving to Michigan to start a family. In real life, it was a mix of two factors, neither of which were a commentary on the show's creative team. In fact, the first of those factors was the writing team, according creator, Michael Schur. "We had the idea creatively to sort of move in that direction and it totally dovetailed and aligned with what the two actors envisioned for themselves in their careers," Schur said in 2013. "So it's a big, happy, mutual hug-fest celebration."

It's also easy to imagine, though it's never been fully confirmed, that there was another factor. Despite its passionate fan following "Parks and Recreation" wasn't a big ratings hit, at least not initially. As Jones explained on an episode of Conan O'Brien's podcast, the show always seemed to be on the verge of cancellation:

"Every single season, we were like, 'This is it. They're not gonna want us back.' At one point we were canceled and then the president of NBC got off the plane and changed his mind. It was like, 'Eh, don't cancel it yet, I guess.'"

Being on the bubble is not wildly outside the norms of network television these days, but it's hard to envision that being a terribly stress-free lifestyle — especially if the future of your show can be reversed on a whim 35,000 feet above sea level.

Even after Jones and Lowe left the show, "Parks and Recreation" still boasted an eight-member main cast, so it was ultimately able to weather their dual departure. Though it was no doubt sad for fans to not hear the word "literally" peppered throughout Chris' dialogue, as well as Leslie coming up with new ways of complimenting Ann on her natural beauty, it's also not a bad thing when a robust ensemble grows over time. If anything, this was an early sign of the wise choice to conclude "Parks and Rec" with its seventh season: a way to go out strong without dragging things out way past the show's creative sell-by date. (We're looking at you, "The Office.") Sometimes, it's OK to end something before the rest of the world has chosen to pass it by.

Leslie Knope losing her best friend (at least in terms of proximity; Ann did make two more guest appearances, including once in the series finale) was equally sad for her as it was for the audience. But Ann Perkins arguably only had so much creative reason to be on a show that was mostly peopled with those who worked inside the city government of Pawnee. Even Ann's ex, Andy (Chris Pratt), wound up working at City Hall. It was sad to see Rashida Jones go, but the reasons behind it were pretty undeniably logical.